Team size : 12

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past 12 months?

Over the past year, Core42 has been on an aggressive mission to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and sovereign cloud enablement, in the UAE and internationally. There have therefore been several key projects requiring legal expertise. A few examples are below In March, the Department of Government Enablement – Abu Dhabi, on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Government, announced a landmark agreement with Microsoft and Core42 to implement a sovereign cloud system capable of processing more than eleven million daily digital interactions. This represented a foundational step in Abu Dhabi’s ambition to become the world’s first fully AI-native government by 2027.

Core42 also expanded its international footprint through strategic collaborations across Europe. In France, we worked on the partnership with AMD and other keys players to establish a state-of-the-art AI data centre in Grenoble. In Italy, we partnered with iGenius to deploy Europe’s largest AI compute cluster marking a major milestone in advancing sovereign AI infrastructure for European markets. Other notable projects include the strategic partnership with Northern Data Group to provide access to large-scale European sovereign AI Cloud capacity.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

A modern in-house counsel must combine legal expertise with strategic leadership. First and foremost, it is about having confidence in your expertise. The pace of change in high-growth sectors like technology requires not only technical knowledge, but also the conviction to bring legal insights to the strategic table.

Equally important is building strong networks and mentorship. Success is rarely achieved in isolation, and I have personally benefited from mentors and sponsors who have supported my journey. I believe in paying this forward by helping the next generation of women in law.

Finally, continuous learning is critical. With rapid advancements in AI, data governance, and digital transformation, legal professionals need to expand beyond traditional skills and develop fluency in technology, regulatory frameworks, and business strategy.

Ultimately, the modern in-house counsel is not just a legal advisor providing reactive advice, but also a trusted strategic partner who proactively helps shape and enable business strategy from the outset.

What strategies do you employ to ensure the successful digital transformation of a legal department while maintaining compliance with your country’s data protection laws?

We are fortunate as a legal department to be working within an environment of continuous digital transformation, with a large part of our role focusing on ensuring compliance is built into technology from the outset. We therefore are intuitively conscious of data protection requirements when considering technology solutions for the legal department itself. We have robust checkpoints covering a variety of considerations including privacy and risk assessments run on any technology being introduced into the company.

Based on your experiences in the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on, of which you think other in-house lawyers should be mindful?

In the UAE, there has been a notable shift in how legal and regulatory teams engage with advanced technologies such as AI. Increasingly, the emphasis is on enabling responsible and compliant innovation from day one, rather than focusing only on risk mitigation after deployment.

This reflects a broader cultural and operational transformation, where legal professionals are co-designing solutions alongside technologists to ensure compliance and ethical safeguards are embedded early. Navigating an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment whilst staying in step with the pace of innovation requires in-house lawyers to develop cross-functional fluency whilst being immersed in the dynamism of the environment in which the world is operating. Ultimately, legal and compliance teams will thrive when they are deeply embedded in the business, becoming part of the fabric of innovation rather than a checkpoint at the end.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I believe in AI for good – using technology to expand access, reduce barriers including access to education and empower communities. At Core42, where our mission is to deliver impactful, scalable AI solutions, I am able to contribute to innovation that serves this cause, helping ensure AI isn’t a privilege but a public good for all.