Patrick Earl - Member of the WLG Member Firm Leaders Forum

Al Tamimi & Company Dubai, UAE Patrick Earl Member, WLG Member Firm Leaders Forum

1. Briefly describe your role at Al Tamimi and how your firm is finding success despite the pandemic.
As Chief Operating Officer, my role is twofold. Firstly, I am responsible for the firm’s Business Services teams (circa 400 people). Secondly, I support the Chairman and Managing Partner on developing and executing the firm’s strategy. We are doing relatively well despite the pandemic. At firm-level, financial performance is tracking at a similar levels to 2019, which we consider to be a good result under the present circumstances. How are we achieving this success? On the client side, we are staying as close as possible to key clients, many of whom still have significant projects despite the current situation. As for the management side of things, our watchword is "efficiency” – both in terms of cost control and the way we deliver our services.

2. Tell us something valuable you've gained from the Member Firm Leaders Forum.
I recall one of the first sessions after the beginning of our lockdown. The members shared information about how they were dealing with the crisis. It was very helpful to hear that most firms were doing similar things to us and that we were all experiencing the same challenges. It was comforting to know that our firm wasn’t adopting a completely different approach.

3. Have you had any recent client, marketing or other collaboration with a WLG member firm?
We are fortunate to work with other WLG members on client matters relatively frequently. I won’t name names to save the blushes but we have found these interactions to be very positive and we are grateful when our fellow WLG members think of us for their clients’ matters.

4. Tell us how you've spent your free time during the pandemic
In Dubai, we have been quite lucky in that most social activities have been available and accessible since lockdown ended in May. In my free time, I play golf – badly but enthusiastically. There are some great courses here in Dubai. My wife, on the other hand, is a keen tennis player so the remainder of my free time can be described as ‘target practice’, with my wife firing tennis balls at me with increasingly velocity as her technique has improved!