Job Description

Our Dubai-based Financial Services team provides a wide range of corporate, commercial, and regulatory work focusing on the financial services market in the United Arab Emirates and the wider GCC region. Our team acts for:

• insurance and reinsurance: acting for (re)insurers, brokers, third party administrators and insurance consultants);
• wealth management: acting for investment platforms, asset managers, funds, issuers of financial products, financial advisors and FinTech companies; and
• regulators: advising on the development and implementation of new regulations for the insurance and financial services sectors.

Our team is recognised as the market leader for its work in the insurance and reinsurance sector. As one of the few teams specialising on this rapidly developing sector in the region, we are at the forefront of the developments in the market. We have:

• acted for more insurance sector players establishing in the DIFC than any other firm;
• advised on the largest and most complex M&A transactions for insurers in the region;
• advised on the largest bancassurance transactions in the region.

As an emerging market, the scope and breadth of the work available is vast, fast-moving and provides a wide variety of interesting and challenging work.

Job requirements

The main responsibilities of the role are advising financial services and insurance sector entities on:

• the establishment and licensing of new entities across the GCC (including in the DIFC, ADGM and QFC);
• registration of financial and insurance products for distribution in the UAE;
• M&A transactions, including assisting with obtaining the relevant regulatory permissions for such transactions;
• the establishment and licensing of distribution arrangements, including drafting bancassurance agreements and terms of business agreements with insurance brokers and financial advisors;
• the development of new insurance and wealth management products;
• providing regulatory advice in relation to the day-to-day operations of our clients covering issues such as anti-money laundering, anti-bribery & corruption, conduct of business, change of control, authorisation of individuals to conduct regulated functions etc.
• assisting clients in responding to queries and investigations by regulators and in relation to internal investigations.

Candidate requirements

We are interested in candidates with:

• a strong academic background, including a minimum of a 2:1 at a reputable university;
• legal training and post qualification experience gained at a reputable law firm with a strong reputation in the field of corporate insurance;
• 6 years + post-qualification experience working on a range of financial services and regulatory matters with elements of Corporate and Commercial law with a focus on the insurance and reinsurance sector or the wider financial services sector;
• experience of (or an understanding of) working with the specialist financial free zones - e.g., QFC, DIFC; and ADGM or with similar regulators outside of the region (e.g., the UK FCA and PRA);
• proven and strong drafting skills;
• Arabic language skills (not essential);
• a genuine interest in developing their long-term career with a leading financial services practice in the Middle East;
• drive, enthusiasm, and flexibility;
• the ability to work well as part of a team as well as working well autonomously; and
• broad commercial awareness and an entrepreneurial nature.

Description of the work group

Our team of financial services specialists includes 7 partners and 25 lawyers who cover the entire GCC, and wider MEA region and we have more than 20 years of local industry knowledge and practical experience. The team has been voted Best Insurance Law Firm in the region for three consecutive years.

We offer a full range of advice on all aspects of financial services, insurance and reinsurance business and encompasses work, which is corporate, commercial, and regulatory in nature. We have one of few specialist teams dedicated to non-contentious and regulatory work for the insurance and reinsurance sector with a client base that represents the A to Z of the regional and international insurance market.

We regularly advise on:

• the establishment and licensing of operations (both companies and branches of foreign entities);
• mergers and acquisitions;
• joint ventures;
• outsourcing;
• disposal of non-core businesses, including portfolio and asset transfers;
• registration of financial products and insurance products for distribution in the region;
• the development of new insurance and reinsurance products;
• distribution arrangements for financial products and insurance products;
• regulatory matters, including assisting clients in responding to enquiries from regional regulators and dealing with internal and external regulatory investigations.

We also periodically advise local GCC regulators and governments on regulatory matters, including drafting new laws and regulations for the financial services sector in the region.

The successful applicant will be part of a team that encourages client contact and exposure and will be exposed to a dynamic regulatory framework that is undergoing rapid change. Our team plays a significant part in a number of ongoing developments in the regulatory and corporate framework across the region and is the only recognised specialist team in the region in this area of law.

Clyde & Co

Clyde & Co is a global law firm which has quadrupled in size over the past decade.Revenues from the firm's 50+ offices* worldwide rose to 627million for the last financial year.The firm has over 1800 fee earners, across six continents, with 4000 staff advising corporates, financial institutions, private individuals, and governments.

Clyde & Co in the Middle East and Africa

With over 30 years' experience in the region and the largest presence of any international law firm in the Middle East, we pride ourselves on being able to help clients recognise and overcome the challenges of doing business in the Middle East and Africa.

In the Middle East, our more than 40 partners and 150 legal professionals work from four offices located across the region. Our Dubai office acts as a central hub for our Middle East and Africa regional operations that include, in the Middle East, offices in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Doha in Qatar and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Our large regional presence enables us to support our clients across the full spectrum of their corporate and commercial needs throughout the AGCC (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf) and wider Levant.

Our deep sector knowledge covers insurance, energy, transport, infrastructure, marine and trade as well as aviation, education, defence, finance, healthcare, hospitality, and technology.