Two Days Designed for Cross-Border Legal Excellence
Expert-led sessions, structured networking, and practical market intelligence—all in a single focused day.
Welcome Reception
16:30 - 19:30
Conference
09:00 - 17:00
A Single-Track Experience
Unlike fragmented multi-track conferences, every attendee shares the same experience. No choosing between sessions, no FOMO, and maximum opportunity to connect with everyone in the room.
Welcome Reception
Begin your summit experience with meaningful first connections. The welcome reception sets the tone for two days of collaboration.
Welcome Remarks
Setting the Stage for EU-Arab Legal Dialogue
Opening address introducing the summit's vision, themes, and what attendees can expect over the next two days.
Welcome Drinks Reception
Structured Conversations, Lasting Connections
A seated dinner designed for meaningful interaction. Strategic table assignments ensure you meet peers from diverse backgrounds and practice areas.
- Curated seating for cross-regional connections
- Facilitated table introductions
- Relaxed atmosphere to build rapport
Conference Day
Morning Sessions | 09:00 - 12:40
Opening Ceremony & Welcome Address
Setting the Agenda for the EU-Arab Legal Corridor
Official opening of the second EU-Arab Legal Summit with remarks from the organisers and distinguished guests, framing the themes of the day and where the EU-Arab legal corridor stands in 2027.
The EU-Arab Legal Corridor in 2027
Chambers of Commerce, Arbitration Institutes & the Institutions That Move Trade
An opening panel bringing together bilateral chambers of commerce, arbitral institutions and trade promotion bodies from both regions. Where does EU-Arab commercial activity actually sit today, which institutions do deals and disputes run through, and how should practitioners on each side plug into them?
- The institutional map: bilateral chambers, business councils and trade promotion bodies
- Arbitral institutions on both sides and the referral routes between them
- Where European clients get stuck in the region — and who can unblock them
- Building durable institutional relationships rather than one-off referrals
Litigation & Arbitration Across the Corridor
Where EU-Arab Disputes Are Seated, and How Awards Travel
Cross-border disputes between European and Arab parties are increasingly resolved in the region rather than only in London or Paris. This panel looks at seat selection, institutional choice, enforcement and the practical realities of litigating and arbitrating across the corridor.
- Seat selection: Riyadh (SCCA), Dubai (DIFC), Abu Dhabi (ADGM), Cairo (CRCICA), Paris, London, Geneva
- Enforcement of awards and judgments across Arab and European jurisdictions
- Sharia, public policy and choice of governing law
- Mediation, expert determination and settling before the hearing
Discussion Points
- Institutional choice: ICC, LCIA, DIAC, SCCA, CRCICA and the newer regional centres
- Emergency arbitrators, interim relief and enforcement against assets in the region
- Investment treaty protection and bilateral investment treaties across the corridor
- Litigating in local courts: language, procedure, evidence and timelines
- Cultural and practical considerations in cross-border dispute management
Coffee Break & Networking
Refreshments and open networking. Continue conversations from the morning sessions.
Sanctions, Export Controls & Trade Compliance
Staying Compliant While the Rules Keep Moving
Sanctions regimes, dual-use export controls and secondary-sanctions exposure now shape almost every EU-Arab transaction. A practical session on screening, licensing, contractual protection, and what to do when a counterparty, a route or a product moves onto a list mid-deal.
- Mapping EU, UK and US regimes onto a single MENA transaction
- Dual-use and re-export controls: classification, licensing and end-user diligence
- Contractual protection: sanctions clauses, conditions precedent and termination rights
- Screening, ongoing monitoring and building a programme that survives an audit
Discussion Points:
- Building a screening workflow that covers EU, UK, US and UN lists
- Dual-use classification and when a licence is genuinely required
- Third-country diversion risk and end-use certificates
- Voluntary disclosure and remediation when something goes wrong
- Board reporting and evidencing compliance to counterparties and banks
Free Zones, Market Entry & Expanding into the Middle East
Choosing a Structure, a Jurisdiction and a Base
For a European business or law firm going into the region, the entry decision comes first: mainland or free zone, which country or emirate, what licence, and what each choice means for ownership, tax, employment and dispute resolution. Practitioners compare the main options and the traps.
- Mainland vs. free zone: ownership, licensing, tax and substance requirements
- Comparing DIFC, ADGM, DMCC, QFC, Kuwait and the Saudi regional-HQ regime
- Employment, visas and localisation requirements in practice
- Structuring for exit: repatriation, restructuring and winding down
Discussion Points:
- Choosing between mainland, free zone and offshore structures
- Licence categories, activity restrictions and what they mean in practice
- Substance, economic-substance rules and tax residency
- Employment contracts, end-of-service benefits and localisation quotas
- Banking, payments and getting an account open
Networking Lunch & Roundtable Discussions
More than a meal — join a themed roundtable for focused discussion with peers in your practice area.
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M&A
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Arbitration
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Compliance
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In-House
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Legal Tech
Afternoon Sessions | 13:40 - 17:00
Saudi Arabia's Legal Transformation
Codification, the Civil Transactions Law & Investor Certainty
Vision 2030 has moved from ambition to codified law: the Civil Transactions Law, the new Companies Law, 100% foreign ownership and a simplified investment-registration regime are reshaping how deals are done in the Kingdom. Practitioners assess what has actually changed on the ground for European firms.
- The Civil Transactions Law: contract certainty in a codified system
- Company formation, 100% foreign ownership and the end of mandatory licensing
- Regional HQ requirements and doing business with the Saudi public sector
- Working with Saudi counsel: licensing rules and practical entry strategies
Discussion Points:
- The Civil Transactions Law in practice: what has actually changed in contracting
- Companies Law reform, foreign ownership and licensing
- The regional headquarters programme and government procurement
- Foreign law firms in the Kingdom: licensing, joint ventures and local partners
- Enforcement, the commercial courts and the SCCA
The In-House Counsel Forum
Running Legal Across the EMEA Corridor
General counsel and heads of legal from businesses operating across Europe, the Middle East and Africa on how they actually run the function: panel selection, budgets, managing local counsel, regional risk, and the questions they wish outside counsel would ask before pitching.
- Building and managing a legal panel across EMEA jurisdictions
- What in-house teams want from external counsel — and what loses them the work
- Budgeting, billing and demonstrating value on cross-border matters
- Managing regulatory, compliance and reputational risk across the region
Discussion Points:
- How regional panels are actually built, reviewed and cut
- Rate cards, fixed fees and alternative arrangements for cross-border work
- Instructing local counsel: quality control, supervision and language
- Compliance, ESG and regulatory reporting across multiple jurisdictions
- What a good pitch looks like from the other side of the table
Afternoon Break & Networking
Refreshments and open networking before the final sessions of the day.
Beyond the Gulf: Egypt, Iraq & the Wider MENA Region
The Corridor's Fast-Rising Markets
Egypt as Africa's gateway and an energy hub, Iraq's reconstruction and energy sector, and the wider Levant and North Africa. A practical look at where the work is, what the legal infrastructure really supports, and how to advise clients moving into markets outside the Gulf.
- Egypt: investment framework, currency, and dispute resolution in practice
- Iraq: reconstruction, energy and contracting in a rebuilding jurisdiction
- The Levant and North Africa: where legal infrastructure is maturing fastest
- Diligence, payment risk and structuring for frontier-market work
Discussion Points:
- Egypt: the investment law, currency and repatriation, and dispute resolution in practice
- Iraq: contracting, security of payment and the energy and reconstruction pipeline
- Jordan, Lebanon and the wider Levant: where the practical opportunities sit
- North Africa: Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria as European-facing markets
- Getting paid: escrow, guarantees, credit insurance and structuring for risk
Choosing Your Middle East Partner Firm
How International and Regional Firms Find, Vet and Work With Each Other
The closing session of the day: how European firms select a partner firm in the region, and what firms in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Egypt and Iraq look for in return. Referral models, best-friends arrangements, joint pitches, conflicts, quality control, and what makes a relationship last beyond the first instruction.
- Referral, best-friends and formal association models — what fits which practice
- Due diligence on a partner firm: capability, conflicts, regulation and reputation
- Making joint pitches work: pricing, credit, client ownership and conflicts
- What regional firms want from European partners — and keeping the relationship two-way
Discussion Points:
- Referral vs. best friends vs. formal association: the practical differences
- What due diligence on a regional partner should actually cover
- Conflicts, client ownership and credit on joint mandates
- Fee sharing, secondments and training as relationship glue
- How Middle Eastern firms evaluate an international partner — and what makes them commit
Practical Information
Business attire throughout the conference day. Traditional Gulf and Arab attire is equally welcome.
All dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, allergies) can be specified during registration. We ensure all meals accommodate diverse needs.
All keynotes and panels are recorded. Full Access Pass holders receive access within two weeks of the event.
All materials, presentations, and speaker slides will be provided digitally via our attendee portal. Printed materials will be minimal in line with our sustainability commitment.
Sessions are conducted in English and Arabic, with simultaneous interpretation available in both languages.