Stephenson Harwood Middle East LLP

Corporate, Commercial and M&A, Technology

Partner

Melissa is a corporate and commercial Partner based in Dubai with extensive experience in corporate and commercial advisory matters across the Middle East region.

Having been based in Dubai for over 15 years, Melissa is a trusted advisor and key point of contact to many multinational and regional clients for their legal needs across the Middle East region.

Melissa has a reputation for providing legal advice that is commercially relevant, on-point, adds value and is strategic to the needs of the client. Her standing as a leading corporate lawyer in the Middle East region is evident from the various awards and accolades that she has received.

Melissa’s practice focuses primarily on M&A, joint ventures, restructuring and insolvency, FDI (foreign direct investment), corporate and shareholder disputes, and private equity / venture capital.

She also has expertise in commercial, outsourcing and technology mandates such as distribution and agency arrangements, franchising and licensing, regulatory issues (particularly licensing, competition law and corporate governance issues), hotel management agreements, supply and service agreements, and commercial disputes.

Melissa has a particularly strong reputation for her expertise in the technology sector, having worked on various matters relating to data centres, cybersecurity, defence technology, healthcare technology, technology product manufacturing and distribution, software licensing and development, fintech, e-commerce, online advertising and media, internet of things (IOT), blockchain / cryptocurrency and cleantech.

Melissa also has clients that span across a broad range of other sectors, including financial services, insurance, life sciences, healthcare, industrials and manufacturing, consumer, real estate and construction, professional services (particularly education), and hotels and leisure.