Firm wins ‘Corporate Team of the Year’ at Inaugural Law Middle East Awards 2025

Our Middle East Team was named “Corporate Team of the Year” at the inaugural Law Middle East Awards 2025, held Nov. 4 at the Palazzo Versace Dubai. This prestigious recognition celebrates our outstanding work and impact across the region’s corporate legal landscape.

Abu Dhabi Counsel Oliver Hallsworth, Dubai Senior Associate Flora Haidar and Dubai Senior Paralegal Zeinab Shakir were recognized for their contributions to a landmark cross-border transaction involving a strategic joint venture between a regional government entity and a global infrastructure firm. The deal marked a first-of-its-kind international collaboration for the regional entity and represented the infrastructure firm’s inaugural greenfield development in the Middle East – a milestone for both parties.

The awards ceremony brought together the Middle East’s most influential legal professionals to honor excellence and innovation across the industry. Our win underscores the strength, dedication and success of our regional team, which continues to set benchmarks for client service and legal skill.

In addition to the headline win, we were proud to be shortlisted in six other categories:

• Litigation Team of the Year – Submission led by Othman Alshmry
• Arbitration Team of the Year – Submission led by Charles Lilley
• Construction Team of the Year – Submission led by Richard Davies and Chris Beaumont-McQuillan
• Energy Team of the Year – Submission led by Richard Dupay
• Technology Team of the Year – Submission led by Oliver Hallsworth
• Rising Star Award – Jack Ticehurst, submission led by Jack

Charles Lilley, Flora Haidar, Hannah Gohar and Jack Ticehurst attended the ceremony to accept the award on behalf of the firm.

Celebrating a string of successes

This latest accolade follows a double win for the Middle East Team at the Legal Era Middle East Law Awards, held just weeks earlier in Dubai. At that event, we were honored with awards for “Real Estate Team of the Year” and “Lawyer of the Year – Construction” (awarded to Richard Davies, UAE Managing Partner, and our Construction Team)

The Middle East Team was also shortlisted in six additional categories by Legal Era Middle East, including Arbitration, Construction, Regulatory & Investigations, and individual awards for Jack Ticehurst, Charles Lilley and David Nunn.

These recognitions reflect the depth and strength of our Middle East Practice. The firm’s momentum in the region was further bolstered by the opening earlier this year of two new offices in Riyadh and Al Khobar, expanding our footprint across Saudi Arabia and enhancing our capabilities in key sectors. Partners Sam Eversman and Othman Alshmry (Office Managing Partner – KSA) head our presence in Saudi Arabia, supported by the KSA Corporate Team of Muhammad Hassan, Abdullah Alharbi, Ahmed Fallatah andHussain Bu Najimah.