Rebecca Copley’s new role

Eversheds Sutherland has announced that Rebecca Copley will become head of litigation and dispute management for the Middle East from January 1, 2019.

In the role, she will manage Eversheds Sutherland’s client offering for Litigation and Dispute Management within the Middle East region. Prior to taking on the role, Copley was head of litigation for UAE, and led the Financial Services, Disputes and Investigations Group for the Middle East.

Copley’s new role comes during a period of sustained growth for the global practice’s disputes capability in the Middle East and follows five recent hires including Paul Taylor as partner in Dubai. The Litigation and Dispute Management Group now has 30 dedicated lawyers across five countries in the region, reflecting the increasing demand from global and local clients for disputes and international arbitration capabilities in the UAE and the Middle East.

Based in the Dubai office, Copley specialises in corporate crime, regulatory and investigations work. She also supports global clients on complex litigation instructions, working in the DIFC, UAE and English courts. She will now lead the group as it continues to grow its presence and multi-jurisdictional capabilities in the region.

Tawfiq Tabbaa, Middle East managing partner, commented,“I am delighted that Rebecca has agreed to lead the Litigation and Dispute Management Group in the Middle East where we are seeing a steady increase in litigation and arbitration work, much of it centred around construction and development work or infrastructure projects. I have no doubt that Rebecca will continue to drive things forward and help our clients in the region to thrive.”

Rebecca Copley, head of litigation and dispute management for the Middle East, also commented,“I have had the privilege of being part of a team that has experienced substantial growth over the last few years. We have bolstered the size and expertise of our arbitration offering, developed a first class corporate crime and investigations team and continued to grow our litigation capabilities across the region. When combined with our uncompromising commitment to quality and collegiate approach, I have every confidence that our accomplishments to date will continue in the future. I am both honoured and excited to be taking on the new role.”

In addition to partner Paul Taylor’s hire in Dubai, in the last year Roberta Wertman, Ana Cristina Muňoz, Kristine Kalnina, Mohammed Abdelrehiem and Matthew Ashforth have joined the Litigation and Dispute Management Group, in addition to Katherine Storrar who will soon join the team as project manager for Litigation and Dispute Management technology in the region.