Covid-19, Global Impact on Young Lawyers – Career & Practice, Challenges and Opportunities

Robert Bernstein

Robert S. Bernstein is a partner in Holland & Knight's New York office and a member of the firm's Construction Industry Practice Group. Mr. Bernstein focuses his practice on heavy construction, infrastructure and significant real estate development projects in both domestic and international markets.

Recent projects include:

• the $1.5 billion expansion of a commuter rail line in New York
• a design, build, finance and maintain (DBFM) toll road project in Aruba
• the $230 million acquisition of the Baccarat Hotel in New York City at a time when the hotel was under construction
• arbitration arising from the construction of a 70-megawatt photovoltaic power plant in Santiago, Chile
• acting as underwriter's construction adviser in connection with a $115 million bond offering to finance the construction of a new hotel
• serving as construction counsel to two New York City museums in connection with major expansions
• the construction of numerous hotels and luxury mixed-use developments in the New York City metropolitan area

As a highly experienced attorney, Mr. Bernstein regularly represents clients in construction transactions, complex construction and real estate development litigation, and provides project advice in connection with ongoing development projects.

While attending law school, Mr. Bernstein worked at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. He is a regular speaker on construction issues.

Masha Ooijevaar

Masha is a commercial lawyer based in the Dubai office of Clyde & Co's Middle East commercial, intellectual property and technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) group. She has been based in the region since 2019, having joined from London where she first trained in-house at Warner Bros. and later worked as a solicitor in the commercial practices of KPMG and Allen & Overy.

Masha advises on a range of transactional and advisory commercial and TMT matters, including general commercial agreements, distribution and franchising arrangements and data privacy projects. Her clients include both public and private sector entities in the healthcare, automotive, financial, education, media and entertainment sectors, as well as some of the world's biggest internet and cloud computing companies.

Masha is dual-qualified as an English solicitor and an attorney in the State of California. Masha currently acts as the Co Vice-Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee of the International Bar Association.

Mark Gilligan

Mark Gilligan focuses his practice on corporate and commercial law. He advises private and institutional clients on a variety of commercial transactions and arrangements, including corporate structuring, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions. Having worked in both local and international law firms over the course of several years in the UAE, Mark has the technical ability and practical understanding of the legal landscape in the UAE to provide efficient and practical legal advice.

Mark utilizes his common law background to counsel clients with respect to the legislative framework and structuring options offered by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC). Mark has represented many institutional and sovereign investment clients with respect to structuring of their international transactional platforms through the ADGM. Mark also advises on the legislative and regulatory considerations and alternatives applicable when operating in the UAE marketplace, including the corporate formation process both in the UAE and its Free Zones

Hin Han Shum

Hin Han Shum has experience in mergers and acquisitions, setting up company start-ups, and company restructuring. Keeping abreast of technological developments, she has given practical solutions to clients in relation to cybersecurity, data collection and data breach matters, and has advised clients on legal compliance relating to new technological tools contemplated by clients in their bid to build their businesses.

Colin Carroll

Colin Carroll is head of legal recruitment at EMPOWERMENT, a boutique search firm based in Dublin. Colin matches lawyers to suitable roles in London, Dublin, the Middle East and Australia. He has lived and worked in London, Dublin and the United States. Previously, Colin worked as a lawyer in two of Ireland’s leading law firms (Arthur Cox and McCann FitzGerald). Colin also worked as a lawyer in London. He has a law degree from Trinity College Dublin. In 2011, he established the international Lawyers’ BD Club (a series of TED-style talks, GC summits and GC private-dining events). To date more than 100 talks and GC summits have been held in London, Dublin, Paris, Dubai, Boston, New York and San Francisco. As part of the Lawyers’ BD Club, Colin runs an annual international photography competition for lawyers. The winners of this year’s competition – The 5th Annual International Lawyers’ Photography Competition - were announced in September 2020. The winner was based in London.

Arush Khanna

Arush Khanna (MCIArb, MMIArb) is an Advocate & Legal Consultant enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi. He started his practice in 2012 after graduating from the Symbiosis Law School, Pune and has also done his Masters (Business Laws) from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. He is the fifth generation lawyer in a family of highly respected lawyers.