Difc Courts Convene Leading In-House Counsel To Promote Legal Excellence

Senior in-house lawyers from some of the worlds leading companies came together recently for the DIFC Courts General Counsel Forum to share experience, examine trends and discuss global dispute resolution best practices.

Created in 2013, the General Counsel Forum has become an important platform for dialogue and liaison between the DIFC Courts and leading in-house counsel. The meeting was chaired by Chief Justice Michael Hwang of the DIFC Courts, and also included The Honourable Loretta Preska, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and Chief Justice Mohammed Al Suboosi from the Commercial Division of the Dubai Courts. Attendees identified key current and emerging legal and judicial developments, and discussed the future plans for both the DIFC Courts and the Dubai Courts.

23 organisations are represented on the General Counsel Forum including Aggreko, ADCB, Baker Hughes, BAE Systems, Carillion, Citigroup, DFSA, the DIFC Governors Office, DMCC, DP World, Emirates Group, Emirates NBD, ETA Ascon Star Group, Fajr Capital, Falcon and Associates, HSBC, Jumeirah Group, LG Electronics, Noga Holding, Smartmatic Limited and Standard Chartered.

Mark Beer, OBE, Chief Executive and Registrar of the DIFC Courts, said: The General Counsel forum is a unique platform for sharing legal excellence among the many multinational companies operating in, with and from the Middle East today. For the DIFC Courts, the event enables us to better understand the needs of in-house lawyers so that we can continue to support the needs of Global commerce to our fullest ability. It is through our engagement with the worlds leading lawyers, both in law firms and in business, that we will continue to be at the forefront of international dispute resolution.

The DIFC Courts organise two General Counsel Forums per year, one in Dubai and the other in prominent cities across the globe.