Role overview
This is a great opportunity for an experienced M&A lawyer to join a busy team handling a broad remit of corporate and commercial matters across transactional and day-to-day commercial work. The role runs joint venture formation and governance, acquisitions and divestments, and the legal workstream behind an active tendering and procurement programme. It suits a corporate lawyer who is comfortable moving between a live SPA negotiation and a high-volume commercial contracting workload, and who can operate with limited supervision from day one on a defined six-month term.
Key responsibilities
- Structure, draft and negotiate joint venture agreements, shareholders agreements and associated constitutional documents, including governance, reserved matters, deadlock and exit provisions
- Run acquisitions, disposals and investments end to end, including share purchase and sale and purchase agreements, due diligence coordination, disclosure and completion mechanics
- Advise on corporate reorganisations, group restructuring and new entity establishment across UAE mainland and free zone jurisdictions
- Lead the legal workstream on tenders and RFT / RFP processes, including tender documentation, terms and conditions, evaluation support, clarifications and contract award
- Draft and negotiate the general commercial contract suite: services agreements, supply and framework agreements, NDAs, MOUs, agency and distribution arrangements
- Advise on shareholder and partner relationship management, board and committee governance, and corporate approvals
- Provide clear, commercial advice to senior stakeholders, translating legal risk into practical recommendations at pace
Candidate profile
- Around 8 or more years' post-qualification experience with a substantial corporate, M&A and commercial focus
- Common law qualified, trained or with significant experience at a respected international or regional practice, or in a comparable in-house corporate role
- Demonstrable ownership of joint ventures and SPAs end to end, with named transactions and deal values
- Practical experience of tendering and procurement processes, ideally in an owner or operator environment
- Energy, oil and gas or drilling sector background strongly preferred but not essential
- GCC experience preferred, Abu Dhabi experience an advantage
- Available to start at short notice. UAE residency or a transferable visa is a significant advantage given the six-month term
About Meyssa Legal
Meyssa Legal places lawyers across private practice and in-house roles in the UAE, with deep experience in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We work consultatively with leading firms, in-house teams, and senior counsel across banking and finance, disputes, corporate, regulatory, and TMT.
Our approach prioritises judgment over targets and discretion over volume. We brief every role in confidence, submit only candidates we genuinely believe fit, and treat every conversation as the start of a long-term relationship.
