Team size: Five

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

The rise of remote working during the pandemic has shown the tremendous potential for virtual collaboration across distributed teams, including in-house counsel and their clients. I sense that this trend will continue in the future and have wide-reaching implications. For example, increased connectivity will enable collaborative work between physically separated teams and reduce some of the complexity inherent in other legal work, such as international arbitration. Because technology also tends to enhance efficiency and reduce cost, certain business decisions regarding legal processes will also be rethought as resource allocation parameters shift correspondingly.

What is a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

I am a strong proponent of empowerment, access, and equal opportunities. The legal field has many options for participatory involvement, though certain aspects have sometimes prevented it from fostering a truly participatory culture. I hope that previous barriers to success in the legal profession will continue to fall away. Thanks to technological advances in connectivity and the increasingly universal access to online information, hurdles like the cost of legal education, the ability to build a client network, or even knowing one’s legal rights should no longer be prohibitive.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

As general counsel to two stock exchanges — DFM and Nasdaq Dubai— I sit at the crossroads of complementary missions: on the one hand, like in any business, driving growth is a top priority; but on the other hand, because of our unique nature, we must also do our part to safeguard the public trust and preserve the integrity of a significant part of the UAE economy. The landscape is continually evolving, which means that to play a role in shaping positive change, we must first be aware of new developments as they occur. A deep understanding of the regulatory environment is fundamental, as is a solid grasp of the technical and legal aspects surrounding both traditional and emerging financial products. Overall, it is critical to be commercially savvy and understand our strategic trajectory, but it is just as important to reinforce our role as guardians of the markets’ proper function.

What can law firms do to improve their service to the legal department?

Partnering with the right law firm can be enormously helpful but hiring outside expertise in response to a discrete legal question is not necessarily a simple matter. Like in-house counsel, law firms should view themselves as business partners. Thus, for a law firm to create real value, external counsel should understand the client’s business and technical aspects. Investing in the client’s success means consistently demonstrating commitment, including being responsive to the business’s rhythms and perceiving commercial opportunities and threats when they arise. In this regard, the best external counsel should be practically indistinguishable from their internal counterparts.