Legally On the Move: Careers, Tech & Insights from Dubai – Tamim Momeni – E07

You can hear Rob and Tamim discussing:

You can hear Rob and Tamim discussing:

–  Dubai as a Hub for Legal Innovation 

– The Impact of AI and Legal Tech in the UAE

– Arbitration and its Broad, Cultural Influence

– Challenges and Opportunities to be Found Practising Law in Dubai

– Tamim’s views and Global Perspectives on Arbitration 

Connect with Tamim here – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tmomeni/

Transcript

Welcome to Legally On the Move careers, tech, and insights from Dubai.

00:04

In this exclusive miniseries 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.

00:15

Here’s what you’ll gain Career inspiration, unlock the secrets to thriving, and divide dynamic legal market tech trends.

00:22

Dive into how AI, blockchain, and legal tech are reshaping the industry, diversity and leadership here from Trail Blazers.

00:30

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.

00:40

Recorded in iconic locations, these episodes bring you the energy and insights of one of the world’s most exciting legal hubs.

00:48

Don’t just listen.

00:49

Experience the future of law.

00:50

Ready to move forward with us?

00:52

Let’s go.

00:53

So welcome to the Legally Speaking podcast name, title and firm.

00:58

Thank you for having me, Rob.

01:01

Council at BLK Partners absolutely and it’s a pleasure doing this with you Dubai.

01:06

Let’s get into it.

01:07

Let’s talk about cross-border arbitration, something I know you’re very involved in.

01:10

How do the cultural and legal nuances within the UAE shape arbitration compared to other global hubs?

01:18

Thank you.

01:19

Great question, A very pertinent question.

01:22

This question really gets to the heart of what makes arbitration in the UAE unique.

01:26

It’s a topic I find fascinating because my educational background is not only.

01:30

In law, but also anthropology, yeah, which is the study of culture, including cultural practises in the court.

01:37

As you know, I’ve also worked in Dubai, Doha, London and with lawyers across various jurisdictions including the US on global disputes.

01:45

I’ve had first hand experience and knowledge of matters relating to how legal and cultural nuances impact arbitration proceedings.

01:54

To put things into perspective, one of the fundamental features of international arbitration is the.

02:00

Autonomy so parties have the option to structure the way the arbitrations are conducted.

02:06

That in itself inherently leads to different kinds of arbitrations.

02:11

So arbitrations are often described to be like snowflakes.

02:14

Each arbitration is different.

02:16

There’s no single type of arbitration.

02:18

Just like human beings.

02:19

Yes, every arbitration is different.

02:22

That said, it is said that and argued by some people that the education and legal training of different types of lawyers leads to.

02:30

Different types of objects.

02:31

It compounds these differences.

02:34

It is argued that tribunals from civil law jurisdictions adopt what is called an exitorial approach, whereas commando tribunals adopt A more adversarial approach.

02:46

Different approaches potentially leading to different types of arbitrations.

02:50

But there is some truth that so, for instance, in the inquisitorial approach, the tribunals would generally be a little bit more involved in the process.

03:00

Resolution process, they may interrogate witnesses, whereas in that visceral approach the tribunals may be less involved and essentially deal with the case as is presented to them by the parties.

03:11

Well, there are some differences there.

03:13

There must not be exaggerated.

03:15

Tribunals in international arbitrations generally adopt international procedures in quotation marks.

03:22

Those are procedures that are different from the parochial procedures that are generally adopted in their national courts, essentially adopted to reflect what the parties want for their case.

03:32

So that’s that’s an important factor in international arbitrations.

03:37

So while there are differences by the legal educational background of arbitrators, ultimately I think critically what matters is lawyers and from a private practitioners point of view, we advise clients, you know, to advance their interests.

03:54

So we adopt whatever procedure works best to advance.

03:58

So you wear sort of many hats in some respects in terms of what the procedures look like and that probably.

04:02

Challenges and leads quite nicely onto what I was going to ask you next in terms of, you know, what are some of the unique challenges and indeed opportunities professionals face when managing disputes, particularly within the UAE?

04:13

Absolutely.

04:14

As you know, the UAE has seen considerable development over the last 30 years.

04:18

You will have seen pictures and photographs of what has happened in this country overlooking the Sheikh Zayed Rd.

04:26

As Albert Einstein said, in the middle of every difficulty there are opportunities and that is very true.

04:32

Of the of the UAE as it is with some other jurisdictions, although we could cover this topic that great lengths, I’ll cover 2 challenges, which are also opportunities in this jurisdiction.

04:45

First of all, UAE lawyers must be able to navigate the diverse laws that are at play in different types of disputes in the UAE.

04:54

So you could have a dispute, you could have a dispute involving a case in the onshore courts.

05:01

Such as the Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah course, but you could also have disputes in the AD, GM, the IFC courts, or you could have disputes in all of these courts at the same time.

05:10

Yeah, multiple courts, which presents its own challenges and complexity.

05:15

And you will have to work with different types of lawyers in order to navigate and deal with these complexities.

05:21

The second challenge is that you have to navigate diverse court systems.

05:24

Yeah, So by diverse court system, as we just discussed, you have the AD GM courts, you have the DIFC courts, which generally adopt common law procedures.

05:33

And then you have the civil law courts, such as the UAE onshore courts and courts across various Emirates in the UAE.

05:41

As you know, the UAE is a federal system.

05:44

Yeah, with all of this, I think.

05:46

Comes great opportunity to be able to navigate these diverse legal systems and court systems and be able to advise clients in the best possible way so you have to.

05:54

In some ways, lawyers practising in the UAE must be versatile and be able to navigate those challenges and advise clients strategically to advance their interests.

06:05

And I guess with that, you know, thinking strategically and the way times change, you know, we’re here today in the Westing, you know, we’re at a legal tech event.

06:12

And so, you know, technology is here to help, right?

06:15

So in relation to disputes, how are technologies like AII know you’re curious about that?

06:20

And blockchain transforming arbitration in Dubai, if at all?

06:24

Absolutely.

06:24

Thank you.

06:25

That’s a very pertinent question today.

06:26

Yeah.

06:27

And I know you’re at the forefront of this revolution and Cleo supporting these efforts and the excellent work you’re both doing in that regard.

06:34

As you know, the World Economic Forum caused this era, the fourth industrial revolution.

06:38

Yeah.

06:38

So it’s we’re we’re at at crossroads.

06:41

The legal profession is at a point where it’s fundamentally changing.

06:45

The last five to 10 years we have seen fundamental transformation in the way legal work is being done and the way.

06:51

Clients and others expect work to be done.

06:54

To put things into perspective, just to give you a story, when I was a trainee not long ago using technology in various work streams, but the idea that technology would fundamentally change legal processes, work streams was not something many believed yet.

07:10

Fast forward 10 years or so that the legal profession has changed and it’s changing so fast.

07:15

And I think that’s something that’s acknowledged by everyone across the legal community.

07:20

Into more factual perspective alters cluer recently in a in a survey found that over 70% of lawyers are now using AI.

07:28

Yeah.

07:29

So that’s remarkable.

07:31

Yeah.

07:31

And and what is really interesting is that clients are also now using AI.

07:34

Now that’s a shift from previous practise where AI was was used to some extent, but not to the extent that it is now.

07:41

So clients are using AI review work products and help them to prepare for cases and so on.

07:47

But there are risks there.

07:49

Yeah.

07:49

And to avoid complications, there needs to be a degree of caution with using AII am finding AI generate some false information.

07:58

And potentially wrong legal references, but this is something that will improve as the power and capabilities of AI improves.

08:04

But as things stand, AI is and will fundamentally transform the legal profession.

08:10

And, you know, it’s a tool that’s going to keep getting faster, sharper, better over time.

08:14

And I think it’s being curious and, and, and being aware of that and, you know, using it for, for good.

08:18

OK, let’s talk about some of the lessons from the Afghanistan legal reforms because, you know, how’s your work on the that influenced your approach to law and economic development?

08:28

Particularly within the Middle East.

08:29

So in 2012, Istarted the International Association of Afghan Lawyers, IAL, and we essentially tried to reform the Afghan commercial legal system in its entirety.

08:41

Yeah, we we had some success in that we were influencing relevant members of the government to bring about these reforms, but we faced many challenges and obstacles.

08:53

Just just to give you an example, we sent a proposal to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

08:58

At that time, and to the President, a proposal to create a Law Commission, we faced certain challenges, but this is ultimately an aim and a goal that will gain traction.

09:08

Again, these efforts somewhat stopped given the recent regime change, but again, there’s a lot of opportunity and prospect there.

09:17

Just to give you a bit more information.

09:20

Afghanistan has a mother lode of minerals and this is it.

09:24

It’s fundamentally important that it has the appropriate legal framework.

09:29

In order to enable for that sustainable and economic development.

09:33

So I think a solid and robust legal framework is fundamental to economic development and the same rings true across the whole Middle East, including the UAE.

09:44

Having a robust legal framework creates all kinds of opportunities and and the US is doing a fantastic job in this regard.

09:52

As you can see, we’re all here.

09:54

And the whole legal community is a buzzing legal environment here.

09:57

Yeah, I’m, you know, we’re we’re pro community here on the show.

10:00

And I think the stuff that you’re doing there is is meaningful work.

10:02

And thank you for giving that extra context about Afghanistan in terms of the legal reforms.

10:06

OK, let’s talk about the global arbitration hub of Dubai.

10:09

You know, what steps can the UAE potentially to strengthen its position as a leading arbitration centre as opposed to, you know, always looking at London, New York, et cetera?

10:18

Absolutely.

10:19

So the UAE is already in quite a strong position.

10:22

Yeah.

10:22

So it’s not only developing as an arbitration hub, it is an already established arbitration hub.

10:28

So recently the Queen Mary published a report on the future of International Energy arbitrations and found the UAE to be the 7th most populous seat for international arbitrations.

10:40

It was just below New York and it was ahead of some other jurisdiction such as Hong Kong.

10:45

Yeah.

10:45

So that peaks volume.

10:46

So the UAE is doing a fantastic job in terms of creating the right regime for international arbitrations.

10:53

There are some decisions in courts that have attracted some criticism from practitioners in the legal community, but these are few and far in between.

11:01

And and and by and far, the arbitration regime is pretty solid and robust in this jurisdiction.

11:08

That said, there are a few.

11:09

Potential things that can be done, just just to give you 2 examples.

11:15

Lawyers in the legal community can play as an educational role.

11:20

The fundamentals of international arbitration principles need to be better understood across the entire legal system, between the courts and and also the broader legal community.

11:30

So a broader educational role.

11:32

It’s it’s important that the legal community does that.

11:36

And in this regard, great things are happening and they just need to continue.

11:41

And secondly, there needs to be a greater and symbiotic relationship between.

11:45

And the international arbitration community, including including institutions that manage arbitrations and the courts, because ultimately the the big question is the recognition and enforcement of arbitration arbitral awards.

12:01

That engagement will create a more robust regime overall for everyone.

12:05

So great things are happening here and they will continue to happen here.

12:09

And Dubai will remain as a strong position.

12:11

It’s interesting to see what the future will be for international arbitration in the UAE.

12:15

Yeah, and #7 isnot bad.

12:17

Now you know, who knows?

12:18

Number one, who knows.

12:19

But look, look, before I let you go, just want to ask a quick question because we’re here at this awesome conference at the West Dean.

12:24

Obviously, Cleo, who sponsored the show and support the show, you know, a really, you know, pushing in lots of different spaces right now.

12:30

But how has Cleo helped you streamline your work, particularly when it comes to cross-border arbitration and litigation?

12:35

Absolutely.

12:36

Cleo’s doing an excellent job across various fronts.

12:38

I know they’re doing an excellent job in creating new AI tools to adopt.

12:43

In dispute resolution process and legal work more generally, I’ve used Clio on on general management of files and and that’s been excellent.

12:51

I look forward to seeing what new things Leo will introduce.

12:54

And I know you’re working very closely with them and it’s a great collaboration.

12:57

And thank you for all the excellent work that you’re doing with them in this regard.

13:01

Wow.

13:01

I’d like to thank you for coming on to the leading podcast and making this interview happen.

13:06

So if folks want to know more about you or indeed want to get in touch, what’s the best way for them to get in touch with you?

13:11

Is there a LinkedIn?

13:12

Is there any law firm pages you’d like to shout out?

13:14

Yeah, absolutely.

13:15

They can just search for my name on Google.

13:17

I’m sure they’ll get a lot of content and information details on there.

13:20

And I’m also on LinkedIn and various other platforms.

13:22

Fantastic.

13:23

Well, thank you so much.

13:24

To them from all of us here in Dubai, at the Westin over and out.

13:27

Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of our Legally on the Move from Dubai series.

13:32

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13:38

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13:40

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13:48

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13:51

Stay tuned, we’ll see you again soon, over and out.