With 13 years’ combined regional and international experience, Haroun is a highly regarded technology lawyer specializing in disruptive and emerging technologies, with a particular focus on FinTech and Artificial Intelligence. He is a thought leader in this space, having produced a number of publications and spoken at various global conferences and panels.
Haroun’s practice covers the full spectrum of technology law development, procurement and support. He is sought after for his experience in advising senior executives and high profile government entities on complex and high value technology projects, including digital transformation and large-scale projects of corporate and national significance. He is valued by clients for his ability to combine his in-depth understanding of regional regulatory frameworks and local market nuances, his grasp of their business drivers and challenges, and his pragmatic negotiation style to secure optimal outcomes.
Haroun is also a core member of the firms Innovation & Efficiency group and is actively involved in proposing, assessing and implementing various innovation projects at the firm.
Prior to moving back to the Middle East, Haroun worked in a pre-eminent TMT practice of a leading Australian law firm and completed a number of secondments including at Telstra (Australia’s leading telecommunications and media company), and as Senior Legal Counsel at Hewlett-Packard.
- Advising on a number of information technology outsourcing deals (valued in excess of USD200m per annum) for leading banks.
- Advising on the operation and upgrade of a federal e-payment platform (collecting billions of dirhams in revenue annually).
- Providing regulatory advice to various payment service providers.
- Advising a government entity on a PPP project concerning the development of a Smart City.
- Advising on various aspects of the rollout of a national broadband network valued in excess of USD40bn, including regulatory matters, commercial contracting, information security issues and disputes.
- Regularly advising foreign vendors on the importation of technology products and software into the Middle East.
- Regularly advising technology vendors and customers on technology outsourcing and licensing disputes.
- Advising foreign law firms and numerous businesses on regulations affecting personal data, privacy and cyber security.
- Regularly advising technology vendors and customers on technology development, licensing and maintenance contracts.
Speaking Engagements
Panelist, “AI and the Law”, 20th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Society 2019, Dubai, UAE, 1 May 2019
Speaker, “AI Regulations and Ethics”, Ai Everything Summit (under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President & Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and hosted by the UAE’s National Program for Artificial Intelligence), Dubai, UAE, 1 May 2019
Speaker, “Technology Contracting and Government Procurement in the UAE”, Victorian Government Trade and Investment EdTech Mission, Dubai, UAE, 24 February 2019
Publication
Cloud First for a Thriving Digital Economy, Cloud Competitiveness Index 2019 (MENA Cloud Alliance), 27 March 2019
Managing software risk in Saudi Arabia, ITP.net (August 2018) (co-authored with Alex McCulloch)
Proposed Changes to DIFC’s Data Protection Law, Lexis Middle East Law Alert magazine, July 2019
- Dari
- English
2006 – LLB, University of New South Wales
2005 – B Com, University of New South Wales
2006 – Supreme Court of New South Wales