About

Formerly a legal project manager for a UNODC project on human trafficking and a private practice lawyer, Zeina Abillamah joined the UAE Trading Group and moved to the Dubai in 2011. ‘There is no doubt that the mere move from serving multiple clients to focusing on just one had a solid impact on me as a professional’, Abillamah says of her move in-house. ‘It got me involved in intricate business details which I would not have been privy to had I remained in private practice, as I was called on to advise on a far wider variety of issues than would be the case in a law firm. After that point, every step was a somehow a highlight, from creating a legal department to restructuring the Group and getting involved in business decisions by wearing the additional “hat” of a business partner. The rewards of being in-house are in the broader commercial perspective gained, the variety of work and the opportunity to participate in the strategy and direction of the Group’s growth and success’. She has also been instrumental in getting a number of transactions over the line: ‘I am lucky to have been part of a couple of M&A deals, the breadth of which have added invaluable understanding of cross-cultural business relationships’. As to litigation, Abillamah reports that she tries, ‘along with my team, to resolve matters amicably and avoid legal action to the greatest possible extent’.