Navigating Non-Competes
A client of mine, a senior executive at an international logistics company based in Dubai, had a Cheshire Cat grin when we met for lunch. “I’ve decided the time has come,” he said as we sat down. “Fortune favours the brave.” We hadn’t set an agenda for our meeting, so I was intrigued. “I’ve decided […]
Closing Down, Opening Up – a year of unprecedented change in the legal landscape of the UAE
From forced shuttering of businesses necessitated by COVID-19 to the opening of its borders to Israel following the Abraham Accords, 2020 has been a year of unprecedented change in the legal and commercial landscape of the UAE. As the staggering scale of the pandemic began to become clear towards the end of the first quarter, […]
Profit and Purpose
– shareholder primacy and the promise of tomorrow
In 1919, Henry Ford’s attempt to lower car prices and increase wages of factory workers did not go down well with the company’s shareholders. The move would have an adverse impact on short-term profits and dividends. The Dodge brothers, minority shareholders and competitors, were particularly incensed and took legal action. In the case that ensued […]
A Note on Derivatives
Warren Buffet, the iconic American investor has referred to derivatives as “financial weapons of mass destruction,” while Joseph Stiglitz, the recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for economics has called for outright outlawing of their use by banks. Derivatives have been derided and impugned as the source of the recent financial crisis they continue […]
In the Womb of Time
“There are many events in the womb of time which will be deliver’d.”Iago, Othello, Act I, Scene III. 369, William Shakespeare The first few years of a person’s life often have a far-reaching impact on the course of the individual’s existence. The experience of nations can be similar. Dangerous precedents were set early on in the […]