Ms Melissa Murray > Bird & Bird > Dubai, United Arab Emirates > Lawyer Profile
Bird & Bird Offices
LEVEL 14, BURJ DAMAN
DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE
PO BOX 507110
United Arab Emirates
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Ms Melissa Murray
Work Department
Intellectual Property
Position
Melissa is the head of the Intellectual Property Group for the Middle East, global co-head of the Franchise Group and a partner in the International Commercial Group.
Career
Melissa has practised in the UAE since 2006 and has been recognised and ranked in many of the legal directories for her commercial and intellectual property experience.
She advises our clients on intellectual property, commercial, corporate and general litigation matters relating to their operations in the UAE and the wider Middle East region. This covers matters such as IT, IP, trademark protection, franchising, and commercial licensing of intellectual property, media, healthcare, consumer protection and regulatory issues. She particularly specialises in franchising, distribution and supply agreements having acted for some of the world largest brands when licensing their intellectual property in the Middle East.
I also regularly write chapters for legal text books such as the Franchise Law Review, the Life Sciences Reviews, the Franchise Law Journal, the IBA’s newsletters and Middle East journals and I’m regularly invited to speak at events throughout the GCC.
Languages
English
Memberships
Melissa is a member of Chartered Secretaries Australia (Australian Division of ICSA), is the Middle East representative for the Leisure Industries section of the IBA Legal Practice Division and is a member of a number of UAE, UK, USA and Australian business associations.
Her professional memberships also include INTA, the American Bar Association and she is a member the Franchising Committee of the International Bar Association.
Education
Melissa is admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland and holds an LLB from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance.
Lawyer Rankings
United Arab Emirates > Intellectual property
(Leading partners)Often advising international hotel chains on franchising agreements, Bird & Bird is geared to handle copyright, patent, and trademark matters. Melissa Murray leads the team and is well-versed in intellectual property licensing, protection, and regulatory issues. Sau Lin Wan is vastly experienced in intellectual property enforcement, Eddie Chiu is active in the life sciences sector, while Richard Guageler and Sahar Tarhini are knowledgeable of patent protection.
United Arab Emirates > Commercial, corporate and M&A
Bird & Bird continues to expand its UAE corporate and commercial practice, bolstered by the relocation of seasoned practitioner Simon Shooter from its London office in 2024 and the addition of Raya AlKhatib from an in-house role at American Express in 2023. Alongside a steady flow of complex M&A mandates, the firm is recognised for its comprehensive commercial expertise, advising marquee public and private sector clients across the Gulf on a wide range of commercial contracts. Leading the practice alongside Shooter is Anders Nilsson, who focuses on domestic and cross-border M&A, and Melissa Murray, whose far-reaching commercial practice is particularly specialised in franchising, distribution and supply agreements. Surabhi Singhi provides additional support on Gulf-wide M&A and joint venture transactions.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading partners United Arab Emirates > Intellectual property
- Intellectual property United Arab Emirates
- Commercial, corporate and M&A United Arab Emirates