The firm’s managing partner, Mr Samir Salloum, spearheads a multilingual and multicultural legal team of over 39 people - a unique blend of dedicated attorneys and legal consultants with expertise across a wide range of sectors and jurisdictions.
Many bring with them a wealth of experience from the other countries in which they have practised, including Egypt, France, India, Lebanon, and Syria, being equally comfortable conducting business in a range of languages including Arabic, English, French and Italian.
Our lawyers are, in turn, supported by a dynamic team of paralegal and administrative staff.
Salloum & Partners LLC was founded in 1980 as Samir A. Salloum Law Firm by Mr Samir Salloum, who remains our managing partner. A highly distinguished lawyer, Mr Salloum has over 42 years of experience operating in the UAE as a legal adviser and advocate. Mr. Salloum’s mastery of the law is multinational; holding Master's Degrees in French Law, Lebanese Law and Political Science, and operating in English, Arabic and French with equal ease.
First called to the Beirut Bar in 1969, he was subsequently admitted to the French Bar, also practicing as an advocate before both the Federal Courts in the UAE and Courts in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi until 2013. Mr Salloum is a Part II registered practitioner at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), with rights of audience before the DIFC courts. He also sits on the list of arbitrators of both the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC) and the Ras Al Khaimah Commercial Arbitration Centre (RAKCAC). A longstanding member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, he is a Door Tenant and Associate of the Outer Temple Chambers, London.
Mr Salloum has been a member of various National Committees entrusted with legislative responsibilities for both the Federation of the UAE and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. He was also in-house counsel for the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) for over 15 years, where he has served as acting general manager on numerous occasions.
During his tenure with the ADCCAC, Mr. Salloum was appointed by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) to provide legal expertise to the government of Dubai, with specific responsibility for reorganizing the commercial section of the Dubai Municipality.
Among many prominent positions, Mr Samir Salloum holds the office of Foreign Trade Counsellor to the French government, a role he has performed since 2000. In the same year, he was appointed to the board of the Future Centre for Special Needs Children. He also served two consecutive terms as President of the French Business Group in Abu Dhabi, a post he was first elected to in January 2013. Mr. Salloum was in 2017 appointed as the Director of the Continuing Education Center of the Paris Sorbonne University – Abu Dhabi (PSUAD). In February 2017 he was elected President of the Conseil des Membres de la Légion d'Honneur et de l'Ordre National du Mérite (CMLHM).
In recognition of his exceptional service and achievements, Mr Salloum has been honoured with numerous international, governmental and other awards.
An acclaimed lecturer, he regularly gives presentations on inheritance, corporate, commercial and banking law and environment in the UAE. Notably, he has lectured at the PSUAD on the law relating to tenders in the UAE in a course forming part of their masters’ programme. Mr Salloum is also a well-respected author, having published a range of books on the Emirati legal system.
His philanthropic work and services have recently been recognised by The Vatican, with his investiture in 2017 of a knighthood with the Pontifical Order of St Gregory the Major.
Ziad Salloum is a partner with Salloum & Partners LLC. Since joining his father’s firm in 2006, Ziad has advised hundreds of businesses in every sector, providing specialist support in: commercial contracts; employment law, secured/unsecured lending and other modes of finance; strategic and structural planning; restructuring; mergers and acquisitions; dispute resolution; family business succession planning; and the setup of family offices.
He also works extensively with: government entities and embassies, both inside and outside the UAE; leading multinationals and local companies; educational institutions; banks and other financial entities; entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses, in fields as diverse as oil & gas, construction, real estate, design, and manufacturing. He has also provided counsel to the Paris-Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi, and was part of the team that advised the Tourism and Development Investment Company (TDIC) on the Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi projects.
A member of the Board of Directors of the International Lawyers Network (ILN) where he is currently serving a second consecutive term, and of two groups of schools in the UAE, Ziad is also a Door Tenant and Associate with Outer Temple Chambers in London. He served two terms on the Board of the French Business Group, and four consecutive terms on the Board of the Union of French Expatriates’ (UFE) Abu Dhabi chapter, where he also held the post of Vice-President. Other roles he has performed have included working as a member of the Advisory Board of the Emirati-Swiss Friendship Forum, a joint initiative of the governments of the UAE and Switzerland.
He is also a recognised arbitration practitioner. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and is on the roster of arbitrators of the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation & Arbitration Center (ADCCAC).
Ziad holds a University of London LLM from the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), a PgDL from the University of East Anglia, an LLB from the Lebanese University and a BBA from the American University of Beirut. He is admitted to the Beirut Bar.
Before pursuing a career in law, Ziad was a banker for four years at Bank Saradar (prior to its merger with Banque Audi), then one of the leading banks in Lebanon, operating firstly in Treasury and Capital Markets, and subsequently in Private Banking. This experience has provided him with astute commercial focus and an invaluable knowledge of the complex financial markets and environment in which a lot of his clients operate.
Away from the office, he is a loving husband and father, and an avid hiker. He is also a keen photographer. He has been invited to exhibit his art at a number of high-profile venues in the Middle East. His photography has also been featured and auctioned at a number of charity fundraisers and environmental awareness initiatives.
In recognition of his community work and services to the Catholic Church, in 2017 The Vatican awarded him a knighthood with the Pontifical Equestrial Order of St. Sylvester.
