<p>This month, it gives me great pleasure to announce the promotion of seven  lawyers to the Al Tamimi partnership. The appointments (which you can read about  on page 27) further reinforce our significant capability in Corporate  Commercial, Employment, Maritime, Aviation &amp; Insurance, Litigation,  Intellectual Property, Construction and Insurance and underscore our market  leading position in the Middle East.<br /><br />We also present to you our Maritime,  Aviation and Insurance team through our monthly &lsquo;In Focus&rsquo; section. Please take  some time to read more about the team and their offerings as well finding out  more about cargo customs law in the UAE on page 37.<br /><br />We have some  interesting information for you from our regional offices with articles from  Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq. <br /><br />I&rsquo;d also like to draw your attention to a  contribution this month by the IBA on page 31 where you can read more about the  evolution of the IBA. For those wishing to attend the conference here in Dubai  later this year, I encourage you to register before the 29th July to take  advantage of the early registration discount. We are very excited that Dubai has  been chosen as the destination for the annual IBA conference and look forward to  welcoming many of our international clients here in  October/November.<br /><br />Thank you for taking such an interest in our magazine  and I do trust you find the information presented useful. If you have any  comments or feedback, please get in touch.<br /><br />Husam Hourani<br />Managing  Partner</p>