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The cream of the Middle East legal community gathered in Dubai last month for the second annual Corporate Counsel Middle East Awards. Three hundred guests attended the event on 16 May at The Western Dubai Mina Seyahi hotel to celebrate the achievements of lawyers, law firms and in-house legal departments working across the Middle East.

Allen and Overy (A&O), Al Tamimi & Company and The Emirates Group were among the big winners at the awards – which were jointly held by Legal Week and the Corporate Counsel Middle East Group (CCME) – scooping International Law Firm of the Year, Middle East Law Firm of the Year and Legal Department of the Year (Large Team) respectively.

The top individual award – General Counsel of the Year – was won by Aluminium Bahrain's Afshan Akhtar. Commenting on the award, chief executive Tim Murray said it highlighted "the priority the company gives to upholding the principles of corporate governance and transparency across the organisation".

The awards presentation, hosted by the entertainer and magician John Simonett, culminated in a special achievement award, which was given to Angel Wesley, general counsel and corporate secretary of Al Dhabi Investment, who founded Abu Dhabi charity Labor of Love UAE, which aims to improve the quality of life for labourers.

CCME group president and chairman of the judges Elias Hayek, who is also Starwood Hotels & Resorts vice president, legal, for EMEA, said the in-house awards winners displayed a "deep concern for the public interest".

He added: "The private practice law firms that we recognise were trusted advisers and counsellors to their in-house clients, and were indispensable to the achievement of their corporate objectives." 

On the night, a cheque for $10,000 (£6,500), which was raised by the awards participants, was presented to Oxfam's Syria Crisis Appeal.

Click on the links below to find out about the winners

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Full list of winners

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