Following attacks on Iran by the US and Israel, and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes against targets in neighbouring Gulf states, law firms in the Middle East have been plunged into survival mode. Since the beginning of what America has termed ‘Operation Epic Fury’, several prominent sites, including Dubai airport and the city’s financial centre, as well as key infrastructure in the UAE, Kuwait, and other countries across the region, have been hit either directly or by falling missile and drone debris. ‘Our office in Dubai is in a very prominent high-rise building and if the Iranians are looking for inviting targets that would be one of them,’ says Charles Laubach, a partner at Afridi & Angell in Dubai.

The environment is one of uncertainty, with no clarity regarding how long the conflict will last or its ultimate impact. In a move reminiscent of company practices during the Covid-19 pandemic, lawyers are working from home. ‘We’ve been working remotely since day one of the conflict,’ says Sara Koleilat-Aranjo, a Member of the IBA Arab Regional Forum Advisory Board. ‘We’ve had instances where people have got stuck abroad; we’ve told these individuals to stay put. For the most part everyone has been working remotely, and we’re just monitoring the situation on a day-by-day basis.’

Laubach says all of the systems his firm put in place during the pandemic still function well, enabling ’95 per cent’ of work to continue as normal. Much of Dubai’s corporate infrastructure, including legal filings and the court system, moved online due to Covid-19.

The current staff-related concern for law firms in the Middle East is whether employees and partners who have travelled overseas for the school holidays and the end of Ramadan will be able to return to the region. Flights to the UAE have resumed but remain disrupted.

While firms have implemented remote working policies, business is still flowing, although with a shift towards crisis management. ‘A lot of deals that were being looked at have now been paused. I don’t think anyone expects the UAE to wind up in a disastrous position as a result of this, but the prolonged nature of the crisis affects oil prices, it affects movement of goods,’ Laubach says. ‘Some deals are well underway and are moving forward, but the ones that haven’t begun yet are on pause.’

‘When I speak to multinational companies, everyone is trying to move along with what’s happening,’ adds Koleilat-Aranjo. ‘Not a lot of them have evacuated, the majority are trying to operate business as usual.’

Naila Ramsay, the Middle East Liaison Officer for the IBA Law Firm Management Committee, is based in Cairo and provides a view from further afield. ‘From a law firm perspective we are not seeing any changes, we’re not seeing projects [becoming] stalled or delayed at the moment,’ Ramsay says. ‘We expect more work. Clients need lawyers and they need somewhere safe to work from.’

The impact of the conflict on jurisdictions such as Egypt, which are a little more geographically removed, is predominantly economic. ‘We’re seeing quite a serious drop in the value of the Egyptian pound,’ says Ramsay, who’s a partner at Sharkawy & Sarhan. ‘We’re seeing tourists panicking, although we’re very far from the conflict. We’re seeing hard money – foreign investors investing in Treasury bills – pulling their money out because they’re worried.’

Looking to the longer-term, lawyers in the Middle East are hopeful their businesses will weather the crisis. If the conflict ends soon – as many hope – offices will reopen while clients will regain confidence. If the war drags on, there will probably be plenty of work advising on how to use force majeure clauses in contracts and disputes relating to interrupted deals or construction, for example. ‘If this continues businesses will have to find alternatives. They will need lawyers to do it, and they will need lawyers that they know and they trust, and where you manage that relationship from in the short term doesn’t matter,’ says Ramsay.

Koleilat-Aranjo believes that, so far, law firms have passed the tests set by the conflict, continuing to advise clients effectively despite the uncertainty and disruption. Firms in the Middle East and their clients are constantly monitoring the situation, which changes by the day – if not the hour. ‘There is a lot of wait and see for the time being. I don’t like the word “resilient”, I just want us to live a normal life, but it’s the survival of the fittest again,’ she says.

Header image: Dubai, United Arab Emirates. tampatra/Adobe Stock