Corporate counsels recognised and rewarded

June 2012

MORE than 300 leading legal professionals – both in-house and from local, regional and international law firms – attended the inaugural Corporate Counsel Middle East awards 2012 at The Westin Hotel Dubai on May 17.

The Middle East legal and business community gathered to celebrate achievement, excellence and innovation in the legal industry at the awards ceremony, hosted by the Corporate Counsel Middle East Group (CCME) and Legal Week, the English publication for lawyers.

The awards were co-hosted by Richard Dean, presenter of Business Tonight on Dubai Eye and Elias Hayek, chairman of the CCME Group and vice president, legal EAME division Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Hayek, who also chaired the judging panel, said the award ceremony marks the beginning of a new and exciting chapter in the regional legal environment.

“I was immensely impressed by the high standards of entries received. This is testament to the huge pool of legal talent in the region. The awards help to recognise the excellence and scope of the work done by both in-house counsel and law firms across the Middle East.”

The winners were chosen by a panel of independent judges, from senior in-house lawyers and other legal and business professionals throughout the Middle East.

Allen & Overy, Al Tamimi & Company, Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith figured among the winners.

Al Tayer’s Tim Frost took ‘General Counsel of the Year’ having created one of the region’s most sophisticated legal departments, according to the judging panel. Glowing references, high client satisfaction levels and a broad range of legal work covering the group’s many business streams convinced the judges to also hand the ‘Legal Department of the Year’ award to Al Tayer’s legal team.

In winning ‘Middle East Law Firm of the Year’, Al Tamimi & Company impressed the judging panel for being consistently very strong across all areas. It was also awarded ‘Commercial Team of the Year’ and ‘Corporate Team of the Year.’ Recent highlights included its work advising Coca-Cola’s link up with Aujan Industries, a deal that spans the Middle East; involving 13 companies operating in ten regions.

Clifford Chance’s focus on building its existing client relationships and becoming a strategic partner helped the firm win the ‘International Law Firm of the Year’ accolade. As part of the firm’s approach, it offers training to its Middle East clients, many of whom are based in small legal departments. In addition, The Rights Lawyers was awarded the Corporate Counsel Middle East Group Achievement.

Hayek said: “We have been delighted by the response and enthusiasm for these Awards from both the legal and business community across the Middle East. This year’s winners have demonstrated that in-house legal teams and their external advisers continue to drive growth and innovation, develop new partnerships and complete highly complex deals in challenging conditions.” Global children’s charity UNICEF was presented with a cheque for US$10,000 donated by Incisive Media and CCME.

The CCME has more than 200 active members, a network of 500+ in-house counsel and more than 1000 practicing lawyers in the Middle East, and has established valuable partnerships with leading international and national law firms, executive search firms and publishers.

JUDGING PANEL

» Elias Hayek (CCME chairman) JUDGES

» Mona Ashour Madi (CCME board member) general counsel – Arabia, Unilever Gulf

» Anneliese Reinhold (CCME board member), general counsel & SVP legal & regulatory affairs, du

» Michael Rasmuson (CCME board member) vice president, legal – eastern hemisphere, Baker Hughes

» Irene Zaki (CCME Board Member), legal counsel, Zabeel Investments

» Franklin Breckenridge (CCME board member) contracts department, Parsons MENA

» Sahia Ahmad, general counsel, Emirates Investment Authority

» Mark Beer, registrar, DIFC Court

» Etienne Fivaz, director/legal head, Middle East, Egypt, Pakistan & Turkey, Citigroup

» Fadi Hammadeh, general counsel – group legal & compliance, Al-Futtaim Group

» Judge Shamlan Al Sawalehi, DIFC Courts