Legally On the Move: Careers, Tech & Insights from Dubai – Alexandra Lima – E03

You can hear Rob and Alexandra discussing:

You can hear Rob and Alexandra discussing:

– Key Differences and Challenges in transitioning from practicing law in the UK and UAE

– The Need to Consider Jurisdiction and Global Asset Distribution

– Alexandra’s Prior Experience in Dispute Resolution and What She Learned

–  Advice for Aspiring Legal Professionals Looking to Move to Dubai

– The Significance of Networking and Business Development for Junior Lawyers in Dubai

Connect with Raymond here:

https://ae.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-lima-072605a5

Visit Aramas International Lawyers:

https://aramaslawexpat.com/

Transcript

Rob Hanna  0:00  

Welcome to legally on the move, careers, tech and insights from Dubai. In this exclusive mini series of the legally speaking podcast, we’re taking you to the heart of Dubai, a global hub for legal innovation, cutting edge technology and transformative career opportunities. Here’s what you’ll gain, career inspiration, unlock the secrets to thriving in Dubai’s dynamic legal market Tech Trends. Dive into how AI blockchain and legal tech are reshaping the industry diversity and leadership here from Trailblazers driving inclusivity and innovation in the UAE and global perspectives, explore how Dubai’s unique blend of tradition and ambition is creating a thriving legal ecosystem recorded in iconic locations. These episodes bring you the energy and insights of one of the world’s most exciting legal hubs. Don’t just listen. Experience the future of law. Ready to move forward with us. Let’s go. So welcome to the legally speaking podcast. Name, title and firm. 

Alexandra Lima  0:59  

I am Alexandra Lima. I am an Associate Solicitor at Aramas international lawyers.

Rob Hanna  1:05  

You sure are, and we are here today, filming in Dubai, Media City with a lovely backdrop, nice sunny day. But today is all about you. So let’s get into it from a legal careers and global perspective, as a UK qualified solicitor now practicing out here in Dubai. What are the key differences and challenges in terms of transitioning into the UAE legal environment, and how does that particularly change in terms of your area, family law from the UK, and any cultural and legal nuances differences? 

Alexandra Lima  1:33  

Thank you for having me, and good question. So let’s dive into it. I think the biggest difference that I see practicing out here, as opposed to back in London, is given that it’s a really expat, dense population. All of the clients I deal with in terms of the family sector, they tend to have assets that are global. So it’s not that I didn’t deal with that in London. I would often have, for example, clients who might have an investment property in Spain or a bank account somewhere else. But that was not common, not sort of commonplace, whereas here, every single client that I deal with has assets all across the globe, and it makes matters a little bit more complicated. So for example, if they’re coming to me and they say, I want a divorce, I can’t just say, Okay, let’s go ahead and file. There are lots of factors that we need to start thinking about jurisdiction wise. So if you file here versus if you file back home in the UK, if you file in Dubai, versus in Abu Dhabi, so you need to be thinking ahead and being able to advise your clients from the get go in terms of where they should be dealing with their matter. So you never really have to deal with that in London, if you’re dealing with clients who live in the UK and they don’t have assets abroad, or even if they do, usually you’re just filing in the UK. 

Rob Hanna  2:52  

Yeah.

Alexandra Lima  2:53  

So here, you’ve got to think about jurisdiction. You’ve got to think about why you’re filing, and the implications and ramifications of taking that step because you don’t want to file in the wrong place for your clients, obviously. So the asset pool, the global sphere, I mean, I will often be dealing with clients who have such a sort of broad range of assets that are everywhere and connections to different countries that I’m dealing with lawyers as well, for them in Canada and Singapore, in Paris, and the clients sort of expect you to have being like an international lawyer, an overall understanding of family law globally, which is really hard to maintain, obviously, because that’s a lot. And I’m definitely not a specialist on global family law, but it’s really interesting that I’m having these conversations, for example, with lawyers in Paris, because we’re trying to dispute a case and say it needs to be kicked out of the courts in Paris so that we can deal with it in the UAE. Things like that are really new and interesting and exciting for dealing with, I guess, family law out here compared to back in London. So that’s a big one. Yeah. Sounds very complex, very interesting, like you said, probably from you, from a career perspective, getting some really exciting experience very early on into the journey, and just kind of learning something new every day, not two days the same. It’s all very varied and very different. So yeah, I’m I’m learning a lot.

Rob Hanna  4:12  

Yeah. 

Alexandra Lima  4:12  

So it’s good. 

Rob Hanna  4:13  

That’s good. Okay, well, let’s carry on on that sort of thing. Then of career growth and adaptability then, because, you know, your career spans dispute resolution and family law. So how has this diverse experience shaped your approach in handling legal cases in Dubai, particularly very dynamic legal market. I’m definitely sensing that the more conversations I have here.

Alexandra Lima  4:31  

Definitely. So yeah, I think in terms of the dispute resolution exposure that I had back in London, I’m seeking to sort of implement that in my practice out here by just trying to be sort of forward thinking. Think big picture. Think, can we settle this? Be creative problem solving, not necessarily. Let’s rush off to court and see what we can do here, and just take it one step at a time. So you know, there are lots of things that you can take from dispute resolution and apply them to family law disputes. So you really do just want to focus on the issues as well. When you have clients that are dealing with family law matters, they’re often going through quite a bad time, so they’re not happy, and they are very bogged down in details that whilst they might be relevant, they’re not always relevant to the matter at hand. So for example, a UK financial court wouldn’t be concerned with the behavior of your spouse unless it was dissipating assets or something that could affect the finances. And you need to really focus your client on let’s look at what the judge is going to look at here, if this is contested and if this goes to court. And yeah, I think just thinking big picture, trying to focus the issues and being dynamic and sort of being able to adapt, because, for example, when we have these multi jurisdictional cases, it might be that we’re involved in the start, and then another country takes over, and then we have to wait for the outcome of a divorce in Singapore before we then get back involved. And there’s a lot of strategy meetings and conferences where you’ve got to align everyone’s diaries and calendars, which is very difficult when you’re dealing on a global spectrum. But yeah, there’s good skills. I think that you can apply there. 

Rob Hanna  6:07  

It sounds very interesting, very fast moving, very you know, I like your pragmatic approach to sort of lawyering as well, and advice you’re giving to your clients. So I guess going with some sort of wrap up piece of advice for aspiring lead professionals, maybe thinking about their career journey based on your international experience today. You know, what advice would you offer to legal professionals considering a move to Dubai to particularly expand their career from just like the short space of time speaking you today, I can see how it’s expanded  your practice and your journey. But what would you say to those? 

Alexandra Lima  6:37  

So, I think if you’re thinking about it, you should go for it, because it’s really worthwhile doing. And I think the common thing is, what’s the worst that can happen? Like you can go home if it doesn’t work out. But with that, I would also caveat that by saying, just check the practice areas that you either have experience in or looking to work in, because it can be quite different. So for example, construction disputes are massive out here, and that’s not necessarily something that you would do a seat in, in a standard training contract in a London firm. So that’s something that, if you think ahead and you’re a junior lawyer, for example, you want a career out here. A great thing to do would be try and get some construction disputes experience in London before moving over. Because it’s not just about the area. It’s also about how qualified you are. So the younger, less qualified you might be, then fighting with people out here, paralegals or juniors that can also speak Arabic, so they’ve got a one up on you, so it can be quite competitive, but yeah, research the areas, see what you can do in London before moving over. But go for it. 

Rob Hanna  7:39  

Love that. And just a final, final thing, just because we met through the London young lawyers group years ago, we used to some fun events. We did boat parties. Whole host things is networking a key part as well within here. I know you’re off to an event later, so yeah, just quickly on that 100% networking is massive out here. It’s a great way to meet other professionals, but also kind of bring in business for your firm as well. So that’s the big thing I’m seeing. Like the more juniors out here, there’s actually an expectation that you’re bringing in business, and a great way to do that is to network. And again, that’s a skill that you’re learning really early on in your career, whereas you wouldn’t usually do that in London, for example, until you’re more senior. So yeah, it’s a great skill set, and it’s a huge thing out here for sure. 

Alexandra Lima  8:18  

Yeah, it sounds like you get a lot of the tools, a lot of access very early on, so you can rise a lot quicker and a lot more opportunities exciting times. So I just need to say, Alex, thank you so much for being here. If people want to get in touch with you or learn more about you, what’s the best way for them to get in touch? Is it a social media, handle, website? Feel free to shout them out. Yeah. So Aramaic international lawyers, we do have LinkedIn, Instagram or via the website. So whether it’s at UK, UAE, or any other areas, so I’m available to take on more clients. I’m always busy, but yeah. 

Rob Hanna  8:47  

highly recommend getting in touch with Alex. Thank you so much for joining us today, but from Dubai Media City and all of us over and out. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of our legally on the move from Dubai series. If you enjoyed today’s conversation, please take a moment to rate and review the show on your favorite podcast platform. It really helps us out. And if you want to connect with us directly, join our vibrant legally speaking club community on Discord or visit our official website. Legally speaking podcast.com for more updates and ways to get involved. Stay tuned. We’ll see you again soon. Over and out.