Ross Barfoot > Dentons > Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates > Lawyer Profile
Dentons Offices
Level 4, Trade Centre - West Tower
Abu Dhabi Mall
PO Box 47656
United Arab Emirates
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Ross Barfoot
Work Department
Construction and Engineering, Corporate, Energy, Health Care, Industrial Production, Real Estate
Position
Ross is a corporate partner in the UAE with more than 21 years’ experience – first in the UK and since 2008 in the UAE and wider Middle East region.
In addition to advising both international corporations and local companies on a mix of M&A and private equity, joint ventures and corporate advisory work, he regularly advises his clients on business licensing, corporate reorganizations, commercial contracts and corporate governance mandates. He has advised on some of the largest M&A and joint venture transactions in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE.
Ross regularly advises investors and international operators on education investments, M&A, market entry, international expansion, corporate and regulatory matters. He is based in the UAE but operates on a global level, supporting clients on their international expansion.
Ross is generally regarded as the “go-to” lawyer for the education sector and has been involved in a significant number of school and university projects in the Middle East region, as well as some of the largest education M&A deals globally.
He is ranked as a “Leading Individual” in the UAE for Commercial, Corporate and M&A in the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions of Legal 500.
Career
- Partner, Dentons, 2024 to date
- Partner, Clyde & Co, 2013–2024
- Senior Associate, Trowers & Hamlins, 2008–2013
- Senior Associate, Mills & Reeve, 2001– 2008
Languages
English
Memberships
Solicitor, Solicitors Regulatory Authority, 2003
Education
Northumbria University Newcastle, 2000, Legal Practice Course
University of Leeds, 1999, LLB
Lawyer Rankings
United Arab Emirates > Commercial, corporate and M&A
(Leading partners)A ‘great team with unique and valuable insight on local practice and law’, Dentons is active in the full range of corporate deals in the region and acts for clients in a range of sectors, including energy, TMT, healthcare and real estate. Cross-border transactions are a key strength of the team and it is able to draw on the firm’s offices across the wider Middle East. The ‘superb‘ group head Iain Black stands out for his M&A and joint venture practice and David McGrory provides extensive counsel to clients engaged in the fintech, spacetech, renewables, aerospace and healthcare industries. Senior legal consultant Catherine Beckett and associate Kislay Kumar have also been active on an array of mandates. Ross Barfoot and Stephen McKenna were new arrivals in February 2024.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading partners United Arab Emirates > Commercial, corporate and M&A
- Commercial, corporate and M&A United Arab Emirates
Top Tier Firm Rankings
Firm Rankings
- Banking and finance: Corporate finance (including Islamic lending)
- Capital markets
- Construction
- Dispute resolution: arbitration and international litigation
- Dispute resolution: compliance and investigations
- Employment
- Infrastructure and projects (including project finance)
- Commercial, corporate and M&A
- Real estate