The Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department and ACC today announced an innovative, first-of-its-kind certification program for in-house lawyers working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
DUBAI AND WASHINGTON (May 11, 2017) — The Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department, a Dubai Government public body mandated with the regulation of the Advocacy and Legal Consultancy profession in the Emirate of Dubai along with providing various legal services to Government and Government entities in the Emirate of Dubai, and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), a global legal association representing more than 42,000 members in 85 countries, including members throughout the Middle East region, today announced an innovative, first-of-its-kind certification program for in-house lawyers working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman.
The Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department Director General His Excellency Dr. Lowai Mohamed Belhoul and ACC President and CEO Veta T. Richardson entered into an agreement to develop the ACC In-house Counsel Certification at a signing ceremony today at The Legal Affairs Department's purpose built training facility. Drawing on the experience of the Legal Affairs Department's successful Continuing Legal Professional Development (CLPD) program, it will consult ACC on creating the certification, which is the first program of its kind for any legal association. The certification will be encouraged for all 6,000 in-house lawyers working in the GCC and will launch in 2018.
Richardson flew to Dubai from ACC's headquarters in Washington, DC, for the historic signing ceremony and to support the election of new leadership for ACC Middle East, the ACC chapter serving more than 250 in-house counsel in the region. She was joined at the signing ceremony by Iohann Le Frapper, chair of the ACC global board of directors and general counsel at ChetWode, who traveled from his company headquarters in Paris. The executive leading the credentialing program, James Merklinger, ACC vice president and chief legal officer, also attended the signing, traveling from Washington, DC to Dubai in recognition of the importance of the innovative program for the government of Dubai and in-house counsel throughout the GCC.
In-house lawyers employed in Dubai are almost equally divided, with half of them coming from regional civil law jurisdictions, such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan, and with the other half coming from primarily common law jurisdictions, such as the UK and USA. The ACC In-house Counsel Certification will create consistent best practices and standards for all lawyers working for GCC-based businesses.
"As a global business hub, Dubai attracts multinational corporations that hire in-house lawyers trained around the world, and ACC was honored to be selected by the government of Dubai to develop this prestigious new program," said Iohann LeFrapper, general counsel at ChetWode in Paris, and chair of the ACC global board of directors whose prior experience includes a three-year stint in Doha as chief legal officer of Gulf Bridge International. "ACC has the substantive depth, credibility, and global reach to draw on best practices from law departments in 85 countries, fitting the needs of Dubai's diverse legal population working on cross-border matters."
Merklinger will develop the training curriculum with a group of leading general counsel from the region and internationally. These leaders include Sahia Ahmad, president of ACC Middle East and general counsel, Dubai Tourism, and Anneliese Reinhold, member of the ACC global board of directors and general counsel & senior vice president – regulatory affairs, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du). Both Ahmad and Reinhold lead award-winning legal departments and possess noteworthy local as well as international, cross-border experience.
In-house lawyers will undergo an initial training to achieve certification. They may maintain their status by attending ongoing educational programs and completing similar hours of CLPD and/or continuing legal education (CLE) annually.
"Through the ACC partnership with the Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department, this new credentialing program will raise professional standards throughout the region and assure that business needs and challenges receive the highest quality counsel from in-house legal teams," Ahmad said.
Certification will highlight best practices for working in a corporate legal department, including delivery of sound, value-added legal counsel, effective contracts drafting and records management, and other training on how to run a law department. In addition to core competencies, in-house lawyers may select from elective courses on topics related to specific practice areas, such as employment law, anti-corruption, or intellectual property.
For more information about the ACC In-house Counsel Certification program, please contact certification@acc.com.
About ACC: The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is a global legal association that promotes the common professional and business interests of in-house counsel who work for corporations, associations and other organizations through information, education, networking, and advocacy. With more than 42,000 members in 85 countries employed by over 10,000 organizations, ACC connects its members to the people and resources necessary for both personal and professional growth. By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel.® For more information, visit www.acc.com and follow ACC on Twitter: @ACCinhouse.