Law Middle East has announced the first speakers for its inaugural event, Women in Law Forum 2025, taking place in just under two weeks on the morning of June 24. Secure your place.
Clifford Chance corporate partner Lynn Ammar will join Linklaters partner and Middle East construction head Sarah Hudson; Baker McKenzie dispute resolution partner Sally Kotb; and Gibson Dunn banking and project finance partner Laleh Shahabi for a panel discussion hosted by Law Middle East editor Aishah Hussain.
The partners will share how they made it, any challenges they faced, and the lessons they learnt along the way, offering advice to the more than 200 delegates registered for the event. They each specialise in different areas, and will also draw on key trends within their respective fields.
Date: Tuesday June 24, 2025
Venue: VOCO Dubai by IHG, Origami Ballroom
Based across Clifford Chance’s Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices, Ammar has advised on some of the region’s most significant deals. She is currently playing a leading role in bringing Disney’s magic to the Middle East, advising on the company’s first theme park resort in Abu Dhabi. Beyond this, she advises on transactions across various industries, with a particular focus on energy and renewables, healthcare, technology, and consumer products.
Ammar has focused on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for more than a decade. Prior to joining Clifford Chance, she was a partner at Cleary Gottlieb, where she spent 12 years in the firm’s Abu Dhabi and Paris offices.
Hudson will share details on her path to partnership having recently been promoted to partner at Linklaters, based in the firm’s Abu Dhabi office. As one of a growing number of female lawyers making significant inroads into the traditionally male-dominated field of construction law, she will also share how she came to lead the firm’s Middle East construction practice and discuss recent experiences including secondments at major companies like ADNOC and NEOM.
“I have often been the only woman at the negotiation table,” she previously stated in the March issue of Law Middle East. “Over the years, and on several occasions, my more junior, male colleagues have been mistaken as my superiors, and I have been asked to prepare the tea or print the agendas.”
Kotb will bring perspectives on the contentious side of legal practice to the discussion. A specialist in dispute resolution and international arbitration, based in the Dubai office of Baker McKenzie, she focuses on both local and international commercial arbitration disputes, with experience in sectors including construction, real estate, and energy.
Kotb joined Baker McKenzie in September 2024 from Habib Al Mulla and Partners, where she led the firm’s arbitration practice. Consistently ranked as a leading arbitration lawyer, her experience with regional centres including DIAC and arbitrateAD positions her to discuss the Middle East’s growing prominence in resolving high-stakes disputes.
Shahabi brings over a decade of experience to the panel, advising on complex and high-value financing transactions both regionally and internationally. Based in Gibson Dunn’s Abu Dhabi office, Shahabi focuses on transitional energy, renewables, and the oil & gas sectors, acting for major companies including ADNOC, Masdar, NEOM, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). She will share insights on the evolving financial landscape in the UAE and wider GCC, particularly in Abu Dhabi, where sovereign wealth funds manage approximately $1.7 trillion.
Before joining Gibson Dunn over two years ago, Shahabi, a Cambridge University graduate, worked at White & Case and Shearman & Sterling (now A&O Shearman).
Law Middle East’s inaugural event will gather the most influential women in the legal industry to discuss their growing role in shaping the future of law across the region. This high-impact morning for a select group of professionals will prioritise real conversations, fostering connection and collaboration.
Further speakers, including a panel featuring top female general counsel, will be announced in the coming days. There will also be fireside chats featuring successful female lawyers with interesting career stories.
Places are limited and subject to confirmation; register your interest now.
Women in Law Forum 2025 is headline sponsored by Al Tamimi & Company, the largest law firm in the Middle East, with support from international law firms.
