Chambers Middle East Awards 2023 – The Research Team in Dubai

I had the great honour of co-hosting the event alongside my colleague Ollie Dimsdale. The event was a good opportunity for us to re-introduce ourselves in the context of our slightly altered roles within the research team.

Ollie was made Head of Africa, Middle East, Caribbean & Offshore (AMECO) in August last year and will continue his responsibilities overseeing research for the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as our Middle East-wide sections.

Meanwhile I have taken over as the Research Manager responsible for Chambers’ coverage of the remainder of the Middle East, including Israel. 

Ahead of the event, Ollie and I took the opportunity to visit Dubai for a few days beforehand and visit as many law firms as we could.

During our visit we were able to find out more about key trends affecting the UAE and the wider region. To draw on some major themes that frequently came up in meetings, one significant trend which was highlighted in our conversations was the increased activity of regulatory bodies across the region, with competition law becoming an increasing concern to several governments.

Secondly, law firms mentioned the continuing diversification of Middle Eastern economies aiming to move away from a reliance on oil and gas and instead to emphasise other sectors such as tourism, technology and infrastructure. This focus has been notably driven by the Vision 2030 initiative of the Saudi Arabian government, with Riyadh drawing an especially high level of focus for its continuing strategy of highly ambitious projects, such as NEOM and the Red Sea Development project. 

Saudi Arabia also drew a significant amount of attention for the ongoing reform of its legal sector, as a result of which international law firms will, in 2023, be permitted operate in the Kingdom for the first time.

Coincidentally, in the same week as the Chambers Middle East Awards, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Justice issued the first three legal practice licenses to international law firms, with the recipients being Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith Freehills and Latham & Watkins. 

In our conversations with law firms, there was also optimism over improved relations within the region. In particular, many of those we spoke to felt that, following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, there is significant potential for greater ties between the UAE and the Israeli market. 

On the night itself, what was particularly gratifying was the number of law firms that travelled from outside the UAE to attend the awards ceremony. We had representatives from several countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Lebanon.

Alongside awards for leading law firms in their respective countries, a number of special awards were also announced. Addleshaw Goddard (a firm that recently announced plans to open in Saudi Arabia) received the Client Service Award after drawing an exceptionally high level of praise from referees, whilst Clifford Chance was announced as Middle East Law Firm of the Year.

You can view the full list of nominees and winners here.  

Awards for individual lawyers included recognition for Dr Faraj Ahnish of Hadef & Partners who won the Lifetime Achievement Award, whilst Sara Holder of Rouse was the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award. Several esteemed younger lawyers were nominated for the Middle East Rising Star award, with Shabnam Karim of Norton Rose Fulbright announced as the very deserving winner. 

Ollie and I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Kevin Lloyd and Elena Prohozescu from our Events team who were on hand to ensure the event ran smoothly.

Thanks also to all the law firms who joined us and congratulations again to all the nominees and winners. We greatly look forward to the awards returning next year.