Insights / News
Insights / News
Oliver Agha brings extensive experience in Islamic Law and Walid Chiniara in ultra-high net worth (UNHW) Middle Eastern families governance. Shabana Saleem specialises in private wealth. They will work alongside our existing Dubai based members David Russell KC, Philip Punwar and Sean Yates in the International Team, covering international arbitration and commercial matters.
Oliver, Walid and Shabana enhance the strong team of Outer Temple barristers already successfully working in the DIFC and Middle East markets and the wider team of international commercial specialists working from London and globally.
Rebecca Priestley, CEO, said of the news, “The recruitment of these expert lawyers represents a great enhancement of Outer Temple’s profile in the international market. We are the only UK chambers with a registered office in the DIFC and the addition of these exceptional lawyers to our Middle East team strengthens our position as leaders in the region, especially in the HNW private client market. We are delighted to welcome them to Chambers.”
Sam Carter, Practice Director, leading International and Commercial business development, said “Their arrival not only strengthens Chambers’ Middle East presence but also widens our services available to clients in the region.”
Outer Temple has an office in the DIFC and is the only set of chambers to have a physical office presence in the region.
Prior to joining Outer Temple, Shabana worked in-house at leading Legal 500 UK law firms. She recently relocated to Dubai to focus on her Middle East practice specialising in private wealth, particularly UHNW. She has a particular understanding of contentious family matters and English law around Islamic marriages.
She advises trusts, family businesses and UHNW clients on wealth protection issues, including contentious and non-contentious matters.
Oliver has a prestigious legal career, including serving as an equity partner/lawyer partner at top AmLaw 100 firms, including DLA Piper (Dubai), Clifford Chance (Riyadh) and Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright) (USA and Hong Kong). His work has primarily focused on international corporate & finance/projects law including cross border M&A, project finance, Islamic Law, Islamic finance, banking, asset-based securitizations, international restructurings and JVs, across the Asia-Pacific region.
Based in the Middle East, he specialises in the interplay between Common Law, Civil Law and Islamic Law and how the different legal systems intersect. Oliver has been recognized as an authority on Islamic Law/Finance – being the first Western trained lawyer to sit on the board of an Islamic Finance Regulator (Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)) and having established the first Islamically compliant law firm with its own Shari’ah Board in 2008.
Walid S. Chiniara, Esq. is a private client specialist based in the Middle East with over 40 years’ experience practicing law across several jurisdictions. He is a thought leader in the field of governance, its history, and philosophical foundation and serves families in business, looking to preserve and grow their wealth in the hands of future generations. He is credited with the development of the 7-Step Methodology™, a tried and tested innovative and systemic approach to family business succession planning.
Walid is an accredited Mediator and a member of the Quebec Bar, a fellow at the Institute for Corporate Governance, ESCP Business School, Paris, France, and a member of the Family Firm Institute (FFI), the Society of Trust and Estate Planners (STEP), and The International Academy of Trust and Estate Law (TIAETL).
To find out more about Shabana, Oliver and Walid, please contact Sam Carter on +44 (0)203 989 6669.
News 16 May, 2023
Call: 2014
Call: 1989 (Quebec), 2023 (DIFC)
Call: 1994 (Connecticut) 1995 (New York)
