Dentons Middle East welcomes experienced senior banking talent in Muscat, Doha and Dubai

Dubai-Dentons Middle East is strategically leveraging its region-wide Banking & Finance bench with the appointment and relocation of three experienced Banking & Finance Counsels in response to growing local client demand for financial services expertise.

Justine Harding rejoined Dentons' Muscat office in January, having previously worked in its banking practice from 2008 to 2024.

Justine is a New Zealand qualified barrister and solicitor specialising in banking and finance, both retail and corporate, and debt capital markets.

Having formerly worked in-house for major banks in New Zealand and London, her practice in Oman extends to general corporate and commercial advice and real estate, further cementing her deep knowledge of Oman's legal market.

Riza Ismail relocated from Dentons' Muscat office in Oman to its Doha office in Qatar in February.

Riza has more than 20 years' experience working on a range of banking and finance matters, with particular emphasis on Islamic finance, capital markets - including local and international bonds and Sukuk issuances - project finance, corporate banking (bilateral and syndicated loans) and investment funds.

Katharina Schaub, a restructuring and insolvency specialist, joined the Firm's Dubai office in February.

Katharina is an experienced, German-qualified restructuring and insolvency lawyer, with significant previous restructuring experience in Germany, Australia, the UK and the UAE.

She joined Dentons from UAE-headquartered private healthcare group NMC Healthcare, where she was a senior member of the legal team, to enhance Dentons' offering to clients in respect of restructuring and insolvency mandates and provide complementary restructuring and insolvency expertise to its increasingly broad Banking & Finance and Commercial Disputes practices.

These three key senior appointments follow the relocation of Debt Capital Markets Partner Victoria Wyer who joined the Dubai office from London in September, and the appointment of Capital Markets Partner Peter Cullen in Dubai in January 2026.

Stephen Knight, partner and head of Dentons' Middle East Banking and Finance practice, said: "The wealth of Banking & Finance talent Dentons has attracted in the Middle East means we are able to strategically distribute this expertise across the region according to client needs. We are one of very few firms in the region able to offer such comprehensive coverage for financial services clients and we will continue to build on this advantage."

Dentons has seven offices in the Middle East, based in Amman, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat and Riyadh.

The Firm has had a presence in the region for more than 50 years and an established network of offices that allows it to provide local support to clients backed by international capability and reach.

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