Just deserts - In-House Community

United Arab Emirates

Director of legal for the Arabian Real Estate Investment Trust Adam Malouf discusses his career path and the challenges of his current role.

Asian-Counsel: How did your career lead you to your current role as Director – Legal for the Arabian Real Estate Investment Trust (AREIT)?
Adam Malouf: I started out in 1997, working for law firm Clayton Utz in Australia in various fields, ranging from commercial litigation to corporate law to media and telecommunications. It was there that I had my first taste of in-house life, with a brief stint at the Channel Seven television network in Sydney. In 2000, I moved to another Australian law firm, Allens Arthur Robinson, where I worked in the banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets fields. Working in the banking and finance group, I was particularly involved in commercial property finance and property-related matters, and it was at this point that my experience became increasingly focused on this field. Looking to broaden my horizons, I made the move overseas in early 2005 to Dubai, where I worked for British law firm Clyde & Co in both their Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices, working mainly on a variety of property and property finance deals, as well as general corporate and commercial advisory. The combination of domestic and international experience, coupled with a period early on in the in-house sphere, ensured that my skills and experience were diversified to a point where I could display the requisite amount of commercial acumen and legal nous essential for an in-house role.

AC: What is the current composition of the AREIT in-house team?
AM: In all areas of the business, we run a relatively streamlined operation, so accordingly, I am the sole legal counsel at AREIT.

AC: Is there such a thing as a ‘typical day’ for you as the in-house practitioner at AREIT?
AM: In a fast-paced, dynamic and ever-changing business environment, given the events of recent months and also given the region in which we operate, a typical day for any businessperson is seldom achievable (and sometimes, not desirable), and this can be particularly said for in-house legal counsel in the region. Apart from the traditional matters that need to be dealt with on a regular basis, there are a number of other ad hoc matters that arise on a daily basis, both in relation to general advisory and transaction-specific work.

AC: How often does AREIT brief out, and when do you seek the advice of external counsel?
AM: Where possible, we internalise standard advice in relation to general operational matters and transactions. The need to engage external counsel arises on occasions where the sheer volume of work is beyond the capacity of the team (particularly the in-house legal team), where we require specialised advice in relation to a particular area of law (for example, intellectual property or environmental law) or where we require jurisdictional-specific advice that needs the attention of external counsel who are working on a daily basis in those jurisdictions, and can provide timely and relevant advice that allows usto cover off any specific issues and mitigate any risks that may arise.
We have a select number of firms that we utilise according to the needs of the business at a particular point in time. Having said this, our relationships with external counsel, especially in the current economic climate, although very healthy, are not fixed: any selection of external counsel, especially for particularly significant matters, is subject to a competitive and transparent tendering process.

AC: What types of innovations do you see as important in the coming year?
AM: In the foreseeable future, all businesses will be faced with, to differing degrees, a state of flux, uncertainty (mainly due to external forces) and challenges to various paradigms. Appropriate and considered decision-making that has the proper context is essential, and the in-house legal function will play an increasingly significant role in this regard, particularly from the perspective of enhanced risk management processes and protocols, and a repositioning of corporate governance structures to take account of the prevailing circumstances.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are personal and those of the interviewee, and do not represent those of AREIT or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries or associates.

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