Middle East—Dentons' Middle East team won the following two categories at the Legal Week Middle East Awards held in Dubai last week, in addition to being highly commended in the Diversity Initiative of the Year category.

• Construction Team of the Year – Dentons acted as lead counsel for a major global contractor where one of the issues was in relation to a bilateral investment dispute. The team proposed an innovative solution that was commercially and strategically sound. The Dentons team included Andrew Jones, Sarah Sage and Natalie Mackay, who are all based in Doha.
• CSR Initiative of the Year: The Syrian Refugee Advocacy Project – For the third year in a row the team was recognised for its on-going support to Syrian refugees. Leveraging the Firm's presence in Istanbul, Beirut and Amman, Dentons advised Syrian refugees living in the three countries hit hardest by the crisis –Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Through partners including the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and the European Lawyers in Lesvos (ELL), Dentons engaged on all fronts of the refugee crisis, from providing legal aid to refugees to preparing UNHCR resettlement applications, from donating to NGOs to providing humanitarian assistance to refugees. John Balouziyeh is dedicating royalties from his book, Hope and a Future: The Story of Syrian Refugees (2016), to NRC and other refugee organisations.
• Diversity Initiative of the Year: Sayyidaat Dentons was highly commended – Sayyidaat Dentons, سيدات , meaning "women" in Arabic, is our professional women’s network for the Middle East region. The implementation of Sayyidaat Dentons' projects has been a tremendous success with the team having built up a strong community of professional women. The projects led or partnered by Sayyidaat Dentons include Women You Should Meet, 30% Club, Courageous Counsel, Reach and Sayyidaat Dentons' Series. The founding partners of Sayyidaat Dentons are Catherine Beckett, Corporate and Commercial partner in Dubai, and Sadaf Buchanan, Co-head of Banking and Finance in the Middle East, based in Muscat. They are supported by Dubai-based Kelly Tymburski, Head of TMT, Kerry Schultz, Senior Marketing and Business Development Executive, and Suzannah Fairbairn, Commercial Dispute Resolution associate, together with the other members of Sayyidaat Dentons throughout the region.

Commenting on the awards, Dentons' Middle East Managing Partner Paul Jarvis said, "To receive not one but two prestigious awards is a great honour. These awards are recognition of our legal excellence and game-changing projects for both clients and our local communities."

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