Charting Change: Highlights from the Abu Dhabi In-House Community Congress 2025
From AI in legal to deep dives into ESG, tax and competition reform, the 2025 Abu Dhabi In-House Community Congress gathered over hundred counsel and business leaders to exchange hard-won insight and preview the forces that will shape Abu Dhabi legal landscape in 2026.
Abu Dhabi welcomed more than hundred in-house counsel and compliance leaders on 29 April for the 2025 Abu Dhabi In House Community Congress at the Rosewood on Al Maryah Island.
IHC publisher, Rahul Prakash opened the day with a reflection on the growth of the Community in the Gulf. The first substantive session, AI and the In House Legal Team, paired legal engineer Ali Chaudhry of Simmons & Simmons with Ali Haidar of Microsoft UAE, Bilal Syed of Thomson Reuters and Core42 general counsel Roopal Jobanputra. Moderator Sadiq Jafar, Managing Partner of Hadef & Partners steered debate on contract analytics, vendor selection and the emerging federal framework for artificial intelligence.
Elio Nassar from Thomson Reuters then delivered a concise spotlight on new metrics for demonstrating departmental value before delegates broke for coffee. Updates on dispute resolution followed. Partners Mohamed Eissa and Omar Al Heloo of Hadef & Partners analysed recent amendments to the Civil Procedure Code and shared practical tips for early case assessment. Attention then turned to tax – an important topic for legal counsel in UAE. Patryk Karczewski of AMERELLER outlined gaps in corporate tax and VAT interpretation and explained current practice inside the Federal Tax Authority. Vishal Gandhi, managing partner of Gandhi & Associates, closed the morning with a brisk review of Indian legal reforms affecting Gulf investors.
Lunch provided a welcome pause and networking opportunity before an afternoon centred on sustainability. Fadi Hassoun, Rodrigo Carè and Khaled Mehdi from Galadari Advocates and Legal Consultants joined Crescent Petroleum’s Faris Nasrallah to map the regulatory drivers behind corporate governance and ESG reporting in the Emirates. Case studies of green bond issuances in both ADGM and DIFC underlined the commercial appetite for sustainable finance.
Essential considerations for doing business in the UAE kept the room engaged. Hadef & Partners executive partner Yasser Omar and senior counsel Diana Froyland compared the three coexisting data privacy regimes unpacked the January 2025 Cabinet Decision on competition, and supplied a checklist for agency agreements in digital retail.
Christopher Gunson of AMERELLER then traced the typical sale and exit milestones as Gulf companies move from startup to scale up, stressing the need for early housekeeping to avoid valuation discounts. The final plenary addressed United States trade tools. Sheila Shadmand and Heather Martin of Jones Day joined Mubadala counsel Martin Thorne to explore the evolution of tariffs and sanctions and to consider how a change in Washington might influence Middle East commerce.
A brief prize draw brought the formal agenda to a close, yet many delegates lingered to continue discussions sparked by the day’s sessions. The Congress delivered practical insight on technology, regulation and sustainability while reinforcing the value of collaboration across the regional in-house community. Plans are already under way for the Abu Dhabi edition to return in 2026, promising another opportunity to share experiences and shape best practice for the year ahead.
