Hawkamah

Lubna Qassim

Executive Director, Legal and Regulatory Affairs Department, Dubai Economic Council

Lubna Qassim was recently called back to the UAE to accept an appointment as Executive Director of the Legal and Regulatory Affairs department at the Dubai Economic Council, with responsibility to establish and head the legal and regulatory affairs department and monitor and handle the legal and regulatory matters affecting the Emirate of Dubai’s economy.

She at present is working on the legislative reforms, she has advised both the local and federal government on numerous local and federal legislations such as UAE Labor Law, UAE Commercial Agencies Law, UAE Industry Law, UAE Competition Law and laws and regulations regulating the real estate sector. She actively participates in the development of legal policies and strategies by advising the Government of Dubai and Federal institutions on legal policies and legal and institutional reforms.

Most recently she worked with the World Bank and advised  on  legal issues concerning UAE on World Bank’s Doing Business Report concerning UAE specific only.

Early in the year, she was elected to be a member of the UAE Company Law Reform Committee and sat on the Legal Committee of the Ministry of Economy and Dubai Ruler’s Court.

Before her current appointment she worked for the largest global law firm in the world, Clifford Chance, to gain more exposure to international transactions. She worked both in Dubai office and London office of Clifford Chance.

She has extensive experience in advising on UAE, GCC and English law. She has particular experience in commercial law, corporate legal structures, employment law, arbitration and local litigation. She has written many articles for various publications and is a member of the Law Society of England and Wales. She also actively speaks at international, regional and local conferences.

Lubna, a UAE national, spent most of her academic life and professional life in the UK. She graduated from Brunel University, England with an Honours Degree in Law and gained a Distinction Postgraduate Degree in Law from Leeds University, England. 

Lubna is a pioneer in her field and the first UAE national to have read law in England and to obtain a LLB with Honours from England and also the first to have successfully completed the Legal Practice Course, the English solicitor’s exams, with a distinction. Lubna is also an advocate with the rights of audience before the UAE courts. She is also the first UAE national to have worked at the House of Lords, Parliament of the UK. She has a comprehensive experience of almost 10 years.

Her interest areas are legal reform, rule of law, governance and development of the legal system.

She is a valued asset being a multi-linguist; she speaks fluently in five languages and at present learning Mandarin.