Habib Motani

Consultant, Clifford Chance

Habib Motani is a leading international financial markets lawyer, with particular expertise in relation to derivatives, securities lending, repo, netting and collateral and clearing and settlement systems.

He specialises in OTC and securitised derivatives, structured capital markets products including derivative linked retail and wholesale structured products, investment banking sales and trading advisory work, Islamic derivatives, securities lending and repos, netting and collateral and their regulatory capital treatment and in the infrastructure aspects of the financial markets, such as payment and settlement systems, clearing systems, prime brokerage and custody.

Philip Punwar

Partner, Baker Botts LLP

Philip Punwar is a partner in the International Dispute Resolution group at Baker Botts LLP. He has been an Advocate of the DIFC Courts since June 2006.

During the course of his practice, Philip has represented the first Claimant to succeed at trial before the DIFC Court of First Instance, obtained the first Freezing Order issued by the Courts and appeared in the first ever appeal to the DIFC Court of Appeal. In 2014 he was the first Supervising Legal Representative appointed by the Courts and in 2015 he oversaw the execution of the Court of First Instance’s first Search Order.

Philip is author of “The Rules of the DIFC Courts with Commentary and Materials” (Sweet & Maxwell, 2011) and of the DIFC Academy of Law’s Commentaries on the DIFC’s Contract Law, Implied and Unfair Terms Law and Electronic Transactions Law (LexisNexis, 2017). He was a member of the DIFC Courts Users’ Committee from 2006 – 2009 and from 2011 – 2013. From 2009 – 2015, Philip was Chairman of the DIFC Courts Code of Conduct Drafting Sub-Committee, and from 2013 – 2015 he was Chairman of the DIFC Courts Education Sub-Committee. From 2013 – 2015, Philip was Director of the DIFC Courts Advocacy Training Programme. He has been a member of the DIFC Courts Rules Sub-Committee/Committee since 2009.

Joanne Fischlin

Head of Corporate, External and Legal Affairs, Microsoft Gulf FZ LLC

Joanne Fischlin heads the Legal and Government Affairs for Microsoft Gulf, helping companies and governments on their digital transformation journey. Her team and her engage regularly with customers, partners and regulators to raise the awareness of key stakeholders on privacy, security and ethics best practices when adopting new technologies such as the cloud and AI.

Joanne is an attorney and certified compliance and ethics professional and during her career, she held various senior legal management positions in different industries incl. Retail, Manufacturing and Financial Services, advised on a large number of opportunities across EMEA, India and LATAM and has served on several boards.

Joanne was born in Switzerland in a small wine making village. She moved to Dubai eight years ago with her husband Cédric and their cat Freaky and they have since then rescued two dogs, Pepper and Pickles with whom they enjoy mountain trekking and desert camping.

Christina Blacklaws

Managing Director, Blacklaws Consulting – Former President of the Law Society

Christina studied Jurisprudence at Oxford and qualified as a solicitor in 1991.

Christina Blacklaws is a former President of the Law Society of England and Wales, the representative body of over 150,000 solicitors.

She is an innovator in the legal field, having developed and managed one of the first ‘virtual’ law firms and set up the UK’s very first Alternative Business Structure with the Cooperative Group. She was also one of the first Directors of Innovation at a top UK firm.

She now runs her own consultancy business providing strategic advice particularly in the areas of transformational change, technological developments and diversity and inclusion.

Christina is a non-executive director for 3 large law firms and for a lawtech business specialising in resource management and provides bespoke advice to many more.

She holds a range of public appointments including chairing two UK Government bodies in lawtech- The LawTech UK Panel and Innovate UK’s Next Generation Services Advisory Group. She is a member of the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Support Advisory Group.

Christina is a thought leader in the law and technology field. She chaired a Commission which reported on the use of algorithms in the criminal justice system (https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/research/algorithm-use-in-the-criminal-justice-system-report), has had a paper published in the Royal Society’s Philosophical Transactions A (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rsta/376/2128) and lectures internationally on technology, innovation and the future of legal services. Her recent TEDx talk on algorithmic bias can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPfkhfWPIwA&feature=youtu.be

She holds a Visiting Fellowship with the University of Manchester where she supports the Business School Computer Science and Law Faculties to develop structural engagement with the legal services industry.

Christina is passionate about diversity and inclusion and is the representative for the Women Lawyers Division on the Law Society of England and Wales Council and an active member of Thomson Reuters Women in Leadership in Law Advisory Board. She also sits on the editorial board of Women Lawyers.

As President, she spearheaded the largest ever global research on women in law involving thousands of lawyers over 20 countries and resulting in three reports and a UK government backed Pledge.

Christina speaks internationally on a wide range of business, legal and ethical topics and is a multi-award winning (for innovation and diversity and inclusion) published author, lecturer and frequent media commentator.

Mazen Boustany

Practice Focus

Representative Legal Matters

Professional Associations and Memberships

Admissions

• Lebanon (1997)
• Dubai – Registered Legal Consultant

Education

• Mudara-Institute of Directors, UAE (2012)
• Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, UK (2010)
• Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, UK (2007)
• St. Joseph University of Beirut (1996)
• University of Paris II (1994)

Eren Can Ersoy

Senior Associate, Kılınç Law & Consulting 

Eren Can Ersoy is a Senior Associate at Kılınç Law & Consulting and currently heads the firm’s Personal Data Protection and Cyber Crimes Department and works at the firm’s Innovation & Fintech, Competition Law, Administrative Cases and Projects Departments.

Eren Can Ersoy has gained experience in the fields of dispute resolution and litigation, taxation and administrative law, commercial law, data privacy law, IT law throughout his career and is specialized in execution of litigation processes, resolution of taxation and administrative disputes, conducting personal data protection compliance projects, cybercrimes, permission and approval processes on the basis of merger & acquisition projects before Competition Authority, preparation of any commercial contract and execution of negotiation processes.

Education

Bar Admissions

Languages

Sena Arslan

Associate, Kılınç Law & Consulting 

Sena ARSLAN, is an Associate at Kılınç Law & Consulting and currently works at the firm’s Labor Law and Contract Law Departments.

Sena ARSLAN has gained experience in the fields of conducting legal processes and consulting services concerning labor law, contract law consultancy services, conducting private civil cases, proceedings, managing hearings and mediation negotiations as well as litigation throughout her/his career and is specialized in labor law, contract law and private civil cases.

Education

Bar Admissions

Languages

Laçin Özer

Associate, Kılınç Law & Consulting

Laçin Özer is an associate at Kılınç Law & Consulting and currently works at the firm’s Dispute Resolution, Innovation & Fintech  and Maritime Law Departments.

Laçin has gained experience in the fields of contracts law, labour law, finance law and technology law throughout her career and is specialized in the preparation and filing of lawsuits and litigation proceedings in numerous fields including the law of obligations, commercial law and tax law, in addition to her expertise in financial technologies, payment institutions, electronic currencies, venture capital funds, and start-up and scale-up investments.

Education

Bar Admissions

Languages

Krysta Fox

Co-Founder & Principal, changeosity

Krysta Fox is an incredible business leader who has mastered the art of laser-focused commerciality and commitment to results. Her leadership expertise is unrivalled as she transforms corporate life and financial performance by partnering with organizations to build breakthrough strategies, achieve true collaboration, and create a motivating leadership culture.

Following an international career with an oil major, plus CFO roles, Krysta led the transformation of four-time Global Free Zone of the Year.

She holds a Master of Business Administration, Master of Professional Accounting, and Bachelor of Economics, and is a Fellow CPA.

Krysta’s Expertise

• Business transformation
• Business strategy
• Leadership

‘Caring and collaborative leadership is the number one contributor to sustained business performance.‘