Eversheds appoints Barclays head of legal
Muna Dandan, former head of legal for Barclays retail and commercial banking business in the Middle East, has joined Eversheds as a partner on May 1, 2015 to lead the firm's Financial Services Disputes and Investigations (FSDI) practice in Asia. Dandan will be based in Eversheds' office in Hong Kong where she has extensive private practice experience, and will work closely with FSDI partners Mark Yeadon and Vishal Melwani to continue to grow the firm’s FSDI business in Asia.
Prior to Barclays, Dandan was deputy head of legal at major property development company Nakheel PJSC and a senior in-house legal adviser for HSBC in the Middle East. Dandan established and built her practice in Asia working in private practice at Reed Smith and Baker and McKenzie, advising banks and large multi-national corporates on general commercial litigation.
The firms FSDI team in Asia is also bolstered by the transfer of London principal associate Duncan Watt to Hong Kong who is rated by leading directories as "one to watch" for FSDI work.
Matthew Allen, Eversheds global Head of FSDI comments, "Muna's appointment is a significant milestone in the growth of our global FSDI offering. We are well known for the strength of our FSDI practice across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and have been encouraged by many of our institutional clients to add to our team in Asia to provide them with what they see as our very different offering in this growing region. Muna has a unique blend of cross border in-house and private practice experience and will help us deliver on our leading multi-disciplinary approach which straddles disputes, enforcement, financial crime and consultancy and which we believe is unique to the Asian market."
Muna Dandan added, "This is an exciting opportunity for me to work with one of the most highly rated global FSDI practices. My experience of working in senior in-house positions at major institutions has highlighted to me how law firms need to take a fresh approach to the delivery of services if they are to help financial institutions navigate the challenges of a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Eversheds is a firm that embraces innovation and new ways of delivering legal services and I relish the opportunity to lead Eversheds' FSDI practice in Asia."
Stephen Kitts, Eversheds asia managing partner said,"This is a major strategic appointment for us in the region. Many of our clients welcome the refreshing alternative approach that we bring to the Asia market. Muna’s appointment underscores this reputation and enhances the corridor of influence that we have with our global institutional clients from London through Dubai and onto Hong Kong. Exciting times lie ahead for our operations in Asia."
