Jumeirah chief legal officer and general counsel Robert Swade has ruthlessly culled the group’s legal panel from 12 firms to five this year – with Al Tamimi, Mayer Brown JSM, Clyde & Co and Pinsent Masons the only firms out of the original 12 to survive unscathed.
Al Tamimi escaped the fate bestowed on its international counterparts – DLA Piper, Simmons & Simmons and Clifford Chance– and is retained to provide UAE real estate advice to the Dubai-based luxury hospitality group, as it had done so in the previous panel.
Herbert Smith, previously retained for specialist advice only, has been elevated to become a full-fledged member of the new global panel, together with newly appointed US firm Weil Gotshal & Manges. The final panel was handpicked after a competitive bidding process where each firm had to demonstrate competency and experience in all jurisdictions in which Jumeirah operates (28 locations in total, across five continents).
Swade, who has a well established history of building close ties with panel firms, indicated his desire to tighten relationships between his department and the firms he works with.
The appointment of Jumeirah’s first legal panel was spearheaded in 2008 by Swade, who joined the Jumeirah group in 2005 as general counsel. Swade was Jumeirah’s first in-house lawyer. He was subsequently promoted to chief legal officer and company secretary in 2007 and was also made a member of the investment committee.
Founded in 1997, the Jumeirah Group became a member of Dubai Holding in 2004. Jumeirah's portfolio includes hotels and recreational facilities throughout the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Qatar, Maldives, Morocco, UK, Spain, Germany, Argentina, US Virgin Islands, Panama, China, Indonesia and Thailand.
The new panel’s appointment is effective from 11 August 2010 for a period of two years.ALB
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