Baker McKenzie LLP’s broad caseload encompasses employee transfers, executive terminations, and employee investigations. The practice is led by Joanna Matthews-Taylor, who is highly proficient in recruitment contracts, workplace benefits, and compliance matters. Aqsa Khan-Sadiq handles workplace investigations, while Mark Tedeschi and Sami Nasr are other key team members.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Joanna Matthews-Taylor is our go-to lawyer for complex employment matters in the GCC region. She is an excellent lawyer who takes the time to understand our business, making her advice particularly valuable.’
- ‘Joanna Matthews-Taylor strives to provide all relevant information, helping us make properly informed decisions rather than simply answering the immediate question.’
- ‘Joanna Matthews-Taylor and her team stand out for their technical excellence, commercial insight, and exceptional client service. What differentiates them is not only their depth of legal knowledge but also their ability to anticipate challenges, provide pragmatic solutions, and communicate with clarity and confidence.'
- 'Their professionalism, commercial awareness, and collaborative approach make them highly valued by clients and distinguish them from peer firms.’
- ‘The employment team are quite exceptional. They handle high-profile, complex cases not only in the UAE, but also across the wider GCC region, and their coordination with other offices and external counsel is seamless.’
- ‘They are a diverse team who utilise their global resources effectively to provide clients with accurate and commercially relevant legal advice.’
Key clients
- AbbVie
- Brookfield Capital Partners LLC ("Brookfield")
- Gulf Data Hub
Work highlights
Partnered with AbbVie on the development and roll-out of the Young Lawyers Mentoring Program to support the career development of young lawyers from disadvantaged background across MEA, APAC and LATAM.
Acting for Gulf Data Hub, a Dubai-based leading colocation operator providing carrier-neutral, purpose-built data centres across the MENA region, on the sale of a sizeable stake to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (“KKR”) through an auction process.
Assisted Brookfield Capital Partners LLC ("Brookfield") on the USD 1.6 billion acquisition of nVent Electric plc’s Thermal Management business with regards to the employment aspects of the deal from a UAE perspective.
Lawyers
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Aqsa Khan-Sadiq
Practice head
Joanna Matthews Taylor
Other key lawyers
Aqsa Khan-Sadiq; Mark Tedeschi; Sami Nasr