How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?   

I believe that the key here is to align with the overall executive management strategy of the Bank. For example, it may be during a period of crisis that the strategy involves reducing lending or cutting back on lending to a particular sector. The legal team should be aware of this direction and execute it in its own work so that the organisation as a whole is fully aligned in all aspects with the overall strategy.

What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently? 

Recently, I have been involved in a USD$1 billion facility for GEMS Education, the largest private education and school services provider in the UAE. Additionally, I drafted and issued a winding-up petition concerning a major Cayman Islands fund. I also worked on a significant London-based arbitration related to a USD$350 million dispute.

How have you integrated technology into your legal processes, and what impact has this had on efficiency and compliance?   

We now have a fully automated system for query referrals to Legal from our colleagues. All legal queries are logged in our system, which records full details and tracks each query up to resolution. Every query should be resolved within 48 hours; if not, it gets escalated to the line manager in Legal. If a query remains unresolved after 72 hours, the matter is automatically escalated to me as Chief Legal Officer. This system has reduced paper usage since it is entirely paperless and serves as an excellent way to track all work that comes to Legal and identify bottlenecks. Our colleagues are also satisfied because they have a clear timeframe for responses, enabling them to manage expectations accordingly.

Have there been any recent trends or changes in the nature of disputes in the region?   

Yes, I have observed an increase in the number of disputes being directed to the courts in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), rather than the UAE Courts. The DIFC and ADGM Courts operate under common law, which reinforces the primacy of English law in contractual disputes.