Legal Counsel (UAE National)

Job description / Role

On behalf of our client who are a technology provider semi-government organization in Abu Dhabi, we are seeking a Legal Counsel who will provide commercial legal advice to holding company and its subsidiaries.

Major responsibilities:
Organise and supervise the activities and work of Legal Associates & Paralegals to ensure that all work within a specific area of the Legal department activity is carried out in an efficient manner which is consistent with operating procedures and policy.
Monitor the financial performance of a given area of activity versus budgets so that areas of unsatisfactory performance are identified and rectified promptly and potential performance improvement opportunities are capitalised upon.
Assess the risk of entering into contracts in order to ensure that Company is not exposed to uncontrolled risk.
Meet with key personnel involved in the negotiation of relatively smaller contracts with a view to provide legal advice in relation to the drafting of contracts to create awareness of the application of law necessary to protect the corporation in conjunction with allowing for commercial advantages.
Assist in the initiation of litigation or court process where necessary as well as defending Company against any claim or legal action taken against it.
Draft, review, and negotiate contracts and transactional agreements related to the business of Company and its subsidiaries with a view to preventing legal exposure and evaluation of risk.
Administer contracts and advise management on key contractual obligations post contract.
Avoid litigation cases in order to keep legal costs under control.
Mediate with parties to seek an amicable settlement of disputes.
Manage the litigation cases that may arise due to any misunderstanding with various parties.
Administer the corporate governance of Company including establishment, definition and periodically review of the corporate standard operating procedures to ensure that they are legally robust and commercially relevant, effective and efficient but operationally suitable to implement and manage.
Provide legal advice to management, departments and subsidiary entities in order to protect the legal interests of the company against legal liability.
Attend internal & external meetings as required by department heads or their direct reports to discuss the legal aspects of their operations.
Procure within guidelines the services of external legal service providers, supervise their output and ensure the output is produced in a timely & cost effective manner.
Recommend improvements to departmental procedure and direct the implementation of instructions and controls covering a specific area of legal activity so that all relevant procedural/legislative requirements are fulfilled while delivering a quality, cost-effective service.

Requirements

5 years PQE and a university degree in Law
Strong negotiation, planning and organizing skills
Excellent English and Arabic communication skills
Ability to liaise effectively with and coordinate the work of external legal counsel
Firm understanding of Companys corporate governance model, policies and procedures
Competent in commercial and general corporate laws, legal provisions and implications relating to the Companys business

About the Company

Mark Williams is a Dubai recruitment company with a wealth of Search & Selection experience. Mark Williams International is a subsidiary of the Williams Group UK and in December 2009 set up the Middle East business.

Mark Williams is a fully licensed recruitment firm currently focused on fulfilling clients needs in; Emiratisation, Financial Services and Information Technology related position within the United Arab Emirates. The initial focus was looking at Emiratisation into the Financial Services sector across all seven Emirates. With an increased demand for over the subsequent years for Emiratisation we have broadened our scope to place UAE Nationals into Industry & Government with dedicated teams for Emiratisation into Financial Services and Industry. Given our focus is primarily on the local market it gives us a depth of understanding & knowledge that enables us deliver our business partners an unrivaled service in terms of; speed and most importantly, quality.

Founding the Middle East business in adverse market conditions has enabled us to capture market-share and establish ourselves as a house hold name within our specialisms. Within two years we had outgrown our initial office and moved to the prestigious Business Central Towers in Media City. Mark Williams, at the end of 2014 has completed its third upscaling of operations to Bay Square, Business Bay. This was a strategic move to enable continued business growth by servicing clients and candidates with improved infrastructure, access and parking. Mark Williams provides candidates and clients private meeting rooms, testing facilities and board room access to facilitate screening and interviews. With our current capacity and growth ambitions Mark Williams is now one of the fastest growing Recruitment agencies in the region.