DWF appoints two senior lawyers in Dubai

Jonathan Burton, Ali Al Assaad

DWF has announced the appointments of corporate legal director, Jonathan Burton and senior associate Ali Al Assad as the business further enhances its corporate and employment offering across the Middle East.

Burton joins DWF from a leading international law firm and comes with over 10 years’ experience providing advice to clients across the Middle East and Africa. He specialises in cross-border mergers, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, private equity transactions and foreign direct investment. He also has a focus on the defence and national security sectors, and prior to becoming a lawyer was an Officer in the British Army.

At DWF, Burton will work alongside the Middle East head of corporate, and defence and security Kayaan Unwalla, who has been with the business for 12 months and during this time has significantly grown the corporate M&A practice through his extensive client base and sector expertise, particularly in defence, security and technology. Burton’s background and expertise will complement and enhance the growing defence and security practice both regionally and globally.

Kayaan Unwalla said, “We are delighted to have Jonathan on board, his enthusiasm and market expertise will be a unique asset to our growing corporate practice. With his background as an Officer within the British Army and having spent time as a general counsel for a large hospitality organisation in Botswana, Jonathan is adept in understanding the changing corporate landscape and has the unrivalled ability to identify areas where clients see value in today’s legal services.”

DWF has also recently appointed, Ali Al Assaad, as a senior associate in its employment practice. Assaad specialises in advising on employment matters and his experience ranges from drafting employment offers and agreements through to enforcing final court judgments. He advises clients on all stages of an employment relationship including; interviewing candidates, drafting and negotiating employment offers and contracts, terminating employment relationships, mediating disputes, negotiating settlement terms and amicable terminations. Assaad will work closely with the Middle East regional managing partner and head of employment, Shiraz Sethi.

Commenting on the appointments, Shiraz Sethi, said, “I am pleased to welcome both Jonathan and Ali to DWF. Each of them brings a unique skill-set which further enhances the breadth and depth of our offering to clients. Both appointments have been driven by client demand to further progress and develop our services.”