There will be an independent panel of at least 25 senior and experienced legal industry executives to review bid documents. The jury is selected on the basis of its expertise and knowledge and is composed of different sectors to match the diverse list of award categories. An incomplete list of jury names will be published prior to the award ceremony, and the remaining judges will be announced on the evening of the award ceremony. And just as all economies have been affected by the pandemic, yes, Covid-19 has not spared the black gold. The heavy dependence on oil resources, tourism and remittances makes the region vulnerable. A significant loss of indirect taxes and an increase in borrowing could have been a double whammy. One of the most difficult measures has been to reduce employment in all sectors, a potential source of instability. That`s where the legal department stepped in to fill in the gaps and heal the wounds. When there are transactions, projects, systemic changes and large-scale investments, there are disputes and a need for expert legal assistance. This year`s winner is First Abu Dhabi Bank, which recognises the development of its chatbot for the legal department. The tool allows employees of FAB stores to get instant and accurate answers to the most common legal questions through this chatbot, without having to wait for a lawyer to answer their question. This allows the legal team to focus on other tasks. The advice is tailored to FAB branch employees, and the tool is designed to ensure the accuracy of the advice and avoid misleading answers.
The chatbot provides an agile and integrated solution for the bank`s employees and customers, and its capabilities will be extended to other areas in the future. Submissions are possible. The awards are categorized as follows: law firms, in-house, individuals to reflect the diligent work of law firms, legal teams and lawyers in the Middle East. Selection criteria include, but are not limited to, type and area of service, type of business and operation, as well as individual/team expertise. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company`s legal team has welcomed a number of new faces over the past year and deepened its capabilities in the region. The Group was involved in a number of notable operations during this year`s reporting period and proved to be particularly adept at handling ECM work. Perhaps the most important of the recent activities is the IPO of Fertiglobe. This transaction received the krona as this year`s stock deal of the year, as it was the first free zone company to trade on an onshore stock exchange in the UAE.
She also supported the IPO of Borouge, a subsidiary of ADNOC. This transaction took the Fertiglobe offering as a model, but presented its own unique challenges and required a complex split of certain common assets to define the scope of the IPO. Is there a fee required to submit to the duty prices? The strength of this year`s shortlist is indicative of an exceptional year in Middle East equity capital markets. There have been historic IPOs of ACWA Power and DEWA, while ADC Acquisition Corp launched the UAE`s first SPAC. STC`s secondary offering was a Pathfinder deal and marked Saudi Arabia`s first secondary offering to be marketed both inside and outside the Kingdom. The transaction required the creation of an entirely new legal framework, and the legal teams had to work with the Autorité des marchés des capitaux to develop a model that would allow the transaction to be executed. The agreement is expected to form the basis for similar offers in the future. The ALB Law Awards are the most important legal awards in the Asia-Pacific region, awarded annually in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Philippines and China. The awards consist of months of intensive research and culminate in a black-tie awards ceremony in each of the markets. We cordially invite you to participate in these prestigious awards – and to celebrate legal excellence with us. The list of finalists will be published approximately 4-8 weeks before the award ceremony. Winners will be announced exclusively at the awards ceremony in November 2022.
Now in its 10th year, the Middle East Legal Awards are the region`s premier legal awards and continue to attract the best of the best. The awards are open to all law firms and in-house legal departments present in the region to recognize excellence in the profession. By recognizing excellence and best practices, they underline the crucial role lawyers play in promoting the rule of law. Please visit legalbusinessonline.com for more information. Mubaydeen joined Allen & Overy after leaving Simmons & Simmons in 2007 and is considered a key player in the company`s success in Abu Dhabi. In fact, a source told IFLR that he is “Allen & Overy in Abu Dhabi.” Mubaydeen is highly regarded in the legal community and is described as a “very sensible mind in the room with local regulators” and recognized for his work in regulating and improving market practices. Clifford Chance was one of the evening`s outstanding players and received numerous awards, including the prestigious international law firm of the year. Allen & Overy and Latham & Watkins also showed strong performances with regular appearances on winning and shortlisted contracts. The transaction also involves a complex asset transfer process in which NMC`s assets were transferred to a newly registered special purpose vehicle upon completion and completion.
The transaction will set a number of precedents in the UAE. From a legal point of view, the restructuring tested the use of ADGM administrations and company agreements, as well as onshore recognition systems and interaction with financial free zones such as ADGM. Conceptually, it challenged the way local creditors treat troubled companies and really set a new precedent for restructuring in the region. The ceremony concludes months of research into the Middle East legal market, which is based on written submissions and wide-ranging interviews with clients and lawyers in the region. The awards highlight the most innovative cross-border deals from across the GCC over the past 12 months, as well as the teams and individuals behind the deals. All transactions were expected to reach financial close between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. Hassan Radhi and Associates advised on several new DCM transactions during the period covered by the audit. The work on the Infracorp Sukuk has been particularly impressive. This agreement was Bahrain`s first green sukuk issue and also a rare hybrid corporate issue and interchangeable instrument. It required extensive advice on local legal issues, and observers acknowledged that the group was “an excellent job,” particularly given its strength in meeting regulatory requirements. Standard Chartered has also led and participated in a number of internal and external initiatives aimed at educating its own team and developing and promoting work towards carbon neutrality. This included participation in industry working groups to develop and improve market legal clauses, as well as regular participation in ESG regulatory exposures with DIFC and ADGM covering net-zero issues and supporting further change.
The Middle East legal team also worked with the entire legal group to create templates, governance and guidance from scratch to align with the bank`s internal legal documents. In addition, it supports the execution of transactions documented by LMA in accordance with the bank`s sustainable finance governance framework and helps clients protect themselves from greenwashing. Abou Jaoude & Associés remains one of the largest players in the market and advised a number of notable transactions in various business areas during the audit period. The work includes mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions and attention-grabbing projects, as well as mandates for clients across a wide range of industries. One of the most recent areas of work is advising IBL Bank on a subordinated bond issue. This was a first of its kind for the Lebanese banking market, in line with the new capital requirements of the Lebanese Central Bank. As with all Legal Era Awards, we follow an intensive selection methodology. The team will conduct extensive and thorough research to evaluate leading regional and country law firms in the Middle East and rightly reward those who deserve it. It is then passed on to a jury, an accomplished and independent fleet of veterans from the legal industry and academia.
They will review the information and produce impartial ranks. From there, only the best finalists and winners are filtered through another rigorous study change. I am interested in being an official partner of the ALB Law Awards, as a media and law association. As a finalist and/or winner, the name of your company/team/individual will be published in the ALB Awards materials and in the print magazine.