About

In position as head of legal for the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey – as well as senior country counsel for Luxembourg – at JPMorgan Chase since 2012, Tarek Mogharbel has been a key individual within this wide range of jurisdictions for the bank. He mentions his move to JPMorgan as a particular career highlight. ‘My legal experience with JPMorgan allowed me to become more focused on corporate and investment banking transactions, and I was involved in the expansion projects of the bank in the region, especially Saudi Arabia. In addition, the opportunity the role has given me to take on additional responsibilities outside the region – for instance, my recent position as senior country counsel for Luxembourg – has been a major highlight’. Prior to Mogharbel joining, JPMorgan did not have any lawyers located in Dubai which allowed him to build the company’s first legal team in the country. In doing so, Mogharbel emphasised simplified client documentation and urged consistently excellent support of expansion projects in the region by the team. He also streamlined the use of external counsel and developed relationships with major law firms in the region, ensuring the company has always had access to best-in-class legal services. His success in building the Dubai-based JPMorgan in-house legal team has given him a keen sense of what in-house lawyers must do to achieve success for their companies going forward. ‘With increasing business demands and requirements to find more efficient ways to conduct business, I believe that over the next few years in-house lawyers will need to focus on acting fast while using available resources more efficiently – especially through leveraging new technologies as much as possible’, he says.