Ince unveils replacements for departing head

Ince unveils replacements for departing head

Stephenson Harwood dips growth after loss of former joint managing partners take charge.

An AIM-listed firm has announced the appointment of new managing partners at its Dubai office following the departure of highly-rated head of the office Rania Tadros to Stephenson Harwood.

Apparently, her departure had adversely affected the performance of her office's first half, Mohamed El Hawawy has been charged with growing the firm's regional business, while Alastair Holland is the corporate lawyer.

Stephenson Harwood announced on October 2021 that Tadros would be joining as the firm's office manager in Dubai on April 2022.

The new leadership team's comprehensive sector knowledge and extensive network in the UAE make them an excellent choice for leading the firm in the Middle East.

A qualified civil law lawyer from Egypt, El Haway assists local and multinational companies with shipping disputes throughout the Middle East. He also handles insurance disputes related to life insurance, property insurance, product liability insurance, marine insurance and political risk insurance. The UAE-based attorney joined Ince in 2013 as a senior associate from Al Tamimi & Company. Two years later, he became a partner.

In contrast, Holland joined Ince for the first time about two years ago from the Dubai office of New York-based firm Curtis Mallet-Provost Colt & Mosle, where he was a partner. Previously, he worked for nearly two decades at Ashurst, where he was the managing partner in Abu Dhabi and head of the Middle East corporate practice for five years.

In addition to advising clients on corporate transactions and mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, equity capital markets and private equity, he also assists them with purchasing, disposing and restructuring assets. Besides, consulting work on corporate governance and commercial contracts, he also advises on day-to-day business affairs.

CEO Adrian Biles said that Ince's appointment for the duo "marks a new phase of our business in the UAE, building our current business legacy and client service and further enhancing growth and expansion plans."

Legal 500 ranks Ince's shipping, insurance and dispute resolution services in Dubai as Tier 1, 3 and 4, respectively. The firm's lawyer El Hawawy is mentioned as a key person in the field.

The firm's 19 Dubai-based lawyers practice in everything from aviation to business and finance to construction, energy to insurance and reinsurance, international trade and shipping. Clients include British logistics company Inchcape Shipping Services and US insurer Global Underwriting.

As Ince mentioned in December 2021 in its interim report on the EMEA business, one of the reasons for a slower start to the 2021/22 financial year is the change of leadership in Dubai. Over the six months ended 30th September, EMEA revenue decreased by 2.5percent from £8.0m to £7.8m, compared to the preceding year. By contrast, the UK arm, which generated revenue of £28.2m in the period, saw its revenue grow by 5.6percent to £13.9m, as did its Asian arm, which increased its revenue by 7.8percent.

Moreover, the company blamed its EMEA results on a slowdown in trade in Germany because of the impact of changes due to Brexit-related structural changes. However, the company expects the effects of these structural changes will be temporary with growth in EMEA returning in the second half of the year.

Tadros will join Stephenson Harwood as the firm builds its Middle East capabilities, help achieve its goal to double turnover within five years. After Rustum Shah, a former partner at Hogan Lovells and head of the Islamic finance practice at the UK firm, joined the Dubai office this week, now has 26 lawyers including 11 partners.

Hogan Lovells has lost its dispute partner in Dubai in March 2022 as well: Nabeel Ikram moved to US rival Vinson & Elkins to boost its commercial litigation team; the move followed the departure of the Houston-based firm's former managing partner for Dubai, Amir Ghaffari and his five-strong team, which includes three lawyers, to establish a new disputes department.