Team size: 47  

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense 

Because the Group has more than 80 companies, we conducted a comprehensive study of all the cases filed by consumers throughout the past five years and identified the weaknesses and failures in each company as well as the recurrent problems. After that, we coordinated with each company separately and presented the outcomes along with solutions to prevent recurrence. This practice reduced cases by 71% within two years, reducing court expenses, saving time and effort, and limiting the use of external law firms. This practice is still constantly ongoing. 

How do you balance your responsibilities as a GC with your involvement in dispute resolution and M&A matters? 

A successful GC involves his team, delegates some key responsibilities to his team member and provides them with training to become the future leaders. Delegation and involving employees in work largely reduces my work pressure and burdens. Therefore, it is essential to build an integrated, multi-discipline and highly competent and responsible team.

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years? 

I started to notice that the nature of the GC’s job and his set of skills involve his participation in C-suite work-related decision making. The GC’s powers have expanded to include governmental relations, information security and privacy, companies risks and several other fields. 

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company? 

Alghanim Industries Group constantly strives to cope with the quick developments worldwide to ensure maintaining its competitive edge, by means of diversifying sources and points of sale and facilitating operations in more than 38 countries. Moreover, Alghanim Industries has been keen on promoting meritocracy among employees. As a manager, I contributed to ensuring that the Group achieves its objectives by means of providing all the legal facilities they need in these countries or by means of providing practical solutions to ensure that the Group continues to exercise its business without disruptions. 

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments? 

We have already noticed the role of emerging technologies and how they impact our daily business as these technologies are involved in contracts and court briefs and provides easy access to legal information in any country. We must keep up with all these technological developments to ensure optimal outcomes and not to lose our effective role. Keeping up with these developments can change the traditional basics of business. As such, I am keen on attending related conferences and lectures in several countries and reading related articles. 

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment? 

Our legal team consists of 47 employees, both male and female equally, from more than 12 countries practicing law in more than 7 jurisdictions. I make sure to maintain diversity. Generally, I ensure that employees are enabled regardless of their nationality or gender and we create a work atmosphere that encourages these practices. We are the only department among all the Group sectors that maintains such diversity. We succeeded in applying a policy of non-discriminatory and equal salaries, raises and financial benefits for male and female employees and promoted this policy in all different sectors of the Group. 

Can you discuss a particularly challenging dispute or M&A scenario you encountered and the innovative strategies you implemented to address it? 

Each dispute is assigned a file and is managed differently based on the circumstances and the parties to that dispute. As such, each dispute is handled and managed in a suitable way specific to it. For example, one of the cases was filed against one of the Bedouin tribe members that cherishes its customs and traditions. I proposed that a lawyer from the same tribe is retained to help us understand how to negotiate with them as per their customs and traditions. My proposal proved successful as the case was settled amicably without any losses.