Interview with Group Managing Partner, Dr Tariq Hammouri
1. What do you see as the main points that differentiate Hammouri & Partners from your competitors? We differentiate ourselves through a genuinely client-focused and commercially pragmatic approach. We address the business realities underlying each mandate rather than providing purely technical legal answers. By investing time in understanding each client’s industry, business model and strategic objectives, we provide advice that is relevant, implementable and decision-ready. A key differentiator is the scale and depth of our platform. With approximately 50 professionals in Amman and a dedicated on-the-ground Iraq team of nine legal experts across Baghdad and Erbil, and offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE and in Damascus, Syria, we can resource complex, high-value and time-sensitive mandates efficiently while maintaining partner oversight, continuity and clear matter ownership. Our delivery model assigns a responsible attorney for day-to-day management, supported by an overall mandate manager who provides supervision, strategic direction and an effective escalation channel. We have also evolved from a leading Jordanian firm into a regional practice with a presence across Jordan, Iraq, the UAE and Syria. Our offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE and in Damascus, Syria, further strengthen our regional capabilities and enable us to support clients through local insight and coordinated cross-border execution. Our Arabic and English capabilities are fully embedded in our drafting, negotiations and client communications. We also hold ourselves to the highest standards of professional ethics and focus on delivering practical value rather than merely identifying legal issues. Our standing is reinforced by recognition in leading international legal directories, including Chambers Global, The Legal 500 and IFLR1000. 2. Which practice areas do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that growth? I anticipate accelerated growth in banking and finance and financial regulatory work, corporate governance and compliance, and technology-led mandates, including telecommunications and digital transformation projects. The principal drivers are continuing regulatory and market developments, increased compliance expectations, and clients’ need for structured risk management and clear, decision-ready advice. We also expect continued growth in international and cross-border work. Clients increasingly require coordinated multi-jurisdictional advice, consistent risk allocation across transactions, and bilingual, transaction-ready documentation. In particular, we see increasing demand for integrated regional expertise across Jordan, Iraq, the UAE and Syria, combining local market knowledge with coordinated cross-border execution. We also expect sustained demand for commercial, corporate and M&A support, alongside dispute resolution and arbitration, as counterparties become more risk-sensitive and enforcement considerations play a greater role in commercial decision-making. 3. What is the main change you have made in the firm that will benefit clients? The main change has been the formalisation of a more structured and client-responsive delivery model. We have introduced clearer matter ownership, supervision and reporting arrangements. Each significant mandate is assigned to a responsible attorney for day-to-day management, supported by a mandate manager who provides overall supervision, strategic direction and an effective escalation channel. We have also adopted a more structured approach to obtaining and acting on client feedback. By seeking feedback at appropriate stages of major mandates and following completion, we can identify concerns early and translate client input into concrete improvements in responsiveness, reporting, staffing and overall service delivery. In parallel, we have strengthened coordination across our regional platform in Jordan, Iraq, the UAE and Syria, enabling us to manage multi-jurisdictional matters more effectively and deliver aligned documentation, consistent risk allocation and streamlined cross-border execution. Internally, we have enhanced our career path and talent development framework to support specialisation, consistent quality and continuity of service. This ensures that clients benefit from stable teams, clear responsibilities and appropriate access to senior lawyers when strategic decisions are required. 4. Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients and the services you can provide them? Yes. Technology is improving the speed, transparency and coordination of our client interactions, particularly on complex and time-sensitive matters. We use secure and structured collaboration workflows to manage documentation cycles, accelerate review and negotiation, maintain version control and coordinate multiple stakeholders, while safeguarding confidentiality and professional responsibility. Our document management and archiving systems also support efficient information retrieval, clear audit trails and structured reporting, improving transparency and continuity across long-running mandates. We are also finalising the firm’s AI policy to ensure that any use of AI-enabled tools is governed by appropriate confidentiality controls, verification requirements and professional responsibility standards. Our focus is on quality, accountability and risk management rather than automation for its own sake. In parallel, the continued expansion of government e-services and digital regulatory interfaces in Jordan enables faster filings, more transparent status tracking and more efficient coordination with the relevant authorities. The objective is not technology for technology’s sake, but better service delivery through timely updates, responsiveness and practical advice anchored in the commercial context. 5. Can you give a practical example of how you have helped a client add value to its business? A concrete example is our role in advising Umniah on Jordan’s first 5G project, a high-profile, multi-hundred-million-dollar transaction with broad strategic implications. We supported negotiations with the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and advised throughout the transaction lifecycle, including on transaction documentation, contract drafting, licensing and related regulatory matters. This helped the client progress a strategically important project efficiently while identifying and managing its legal and regulatory risks. The project was led by me as Group Managing Partner, reflecting our partner-led approach to matters of strategic importance. 6. Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms? Where do you see the firm in three years’ time? Clients are increasingly seeking stability, practical judgement and strategic partnership, particularly in environments characterised by regulatory change and commercial volatility. They expect their legal advisers not only to respond to legal questions, but also to anticipate risks, present clear options and support informed commercial decisions. Our approach is long-term. We take pride in our strategic partnerships with longstanding clients and work closely with them to manage legal matters proactively, preserve commercial flexibility and prevent issues from developing into disputes or operational crises. In three years, I see Hammouri & Partners operating as a more integrated regional firm, anchored by our strong Jordanian platform and supported by deeper capabilities across Iraq, the UAE and Syria. We will continue to strengthen coordination among our offices, deepen our cross-border execution capability and support clients on multi-jurisdictional mandates through consistent risk management and transaction discipline. We will also continue developing specialist capabilities in response to client demand, particularly in financial regulation and compliance, technology and digital transformation, regional and cross-border transactions, and projects and infrastructure, alongside our core corporate, banking and finance, and dispute resolution practices. We will continue to invest in our team and maintain our recognition for excellence in our core practice areas. 21 October 2026 Tariq M. Hammouri, Ph.D. Group Managing Partner