Our
global locations and reach are a huge resource into which our
lawyers and professionals are actively and successfully
tapping. We have been reaching across regional and country
boundaries to share client leads and build new client
offerings. And our colleagues are in motion to meet one
another and take up secondments to generate even more
opportunities.
One
of these is partner Orlando Vidal, who, earlier this year,
relocated from Washington, DC, to our Dubai office. We caught
up with Orlando recently and found our colleagues in Dubai had
gained a motivated, talented and very funny lawyer.
What
is your home town?
That's
a hard one to answer. For the past 12 years, I worked and
lived in Washington, DC, a city I love. Before that, I worked
in Philadelphia, first in a large law firm, then as a US
federal prosecutor and also, for a time—while also an
assistant US attorney—as the Foreign Resident Legal Advisor
for the US Department of Justice in Bogota, Colombia. Before
that, I studied law in Boston, and, before that, I was a
paralegal in New York. I'm originally from Puerto Rico.
Family?
Have they accompanied you and, if so, how have they found the
transition?
I
have my wife, Jennifer, who's a physician (obstetrics and
gynecology) and is now also working in Dubai. We have two
children: Isabela (Izzy, turning 13 this month) and Javier
(Javi, 9).
And,
of course, a very important member of our family is Leo, our
dog.
All
have made the transition wonderfully, with great help from
people like Steve and Susie McGlennan, Neil and Susie
Cuthbert, Michael Kerr and Paul Stothard. Even Amgad Husein,
though in Saudi, has gone out of his way to help us.
How
did you end up in your chosen field?
I'm
a disputes lawyer by training, and working with Michael Kerr
and team here in Dubai am in short order expanding into
international arbitration. (In my free time—ha!) I'm
also pursuing a post-graduate diploma in international
commercial arbitration from the University of London, which I
can do mostly through distance learning.
In
DC, most of my litigation work was in the energy area, working
with Clint Vince and our outstanding multidisciplinary team.
As a former federal prosecutor, I also get asked often to
conduct internal investigations and advise clients on
compliance, corporate governance and anti-corruption
matters.
It's
a great time to be a disputes lawyer doing international
arbitration work in the Middle East, especially in Dubai.
There's plenty of work here, and I'm told that it's
particularly good to have a partner-level, American litigator
who could take cases all the way, if need be, rather than
having to hand them off, as sometimes happens, to barristers.
There's also not many (I actually don't know of any) former
federal prosecutors in the region, and with the increase in
multijurisdictional investigations and prosecutions,
particularly under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the
UK Bribery Act, which is about to go into full effect on July
1st, the timing is perfect. In fact, clients have told me they
appreciate having this expertise on the ground, and it
integrates seamlessly with the worldwide expertise that we
offer clients in this important area of increasing profile for
client concerns.
But
really, how did I end up in my chosen field, you ask? Bad
luck, I guess.
If
you weren't a lawyer, you'd be a…?
I'm
a frustrated pianist, so maybe a concert pianist? Or a
teacher, perhaps (but unfortunately, I'm not that bright nor
very patient).
Maybe
an ambassador—all those ribbon cuttings, and lunches and
dinners. Now, there's a job I could be really good at!
If
you could go back in time, what lessons would you share with
your younger self about working in the law and dealing with
clients?
The
single lesson I would teach myself is that to be a successful
lawyer in a law practice it takes not only good legal skills
but also good relationships. Every person you meet has the
potential of becoming a client, maybe not at that moment but
possibly in the future. Cultivate relationships!
We
often use the expression "elevator speech," meaning a very
short but very effective "sell." If you had the opportunity to
stand in an elevator with a key person from any potential
client, who would it be and what would you say about SNR
Denton and yourself?
Carlos
Slim, from Mexico, the richest man in the world. "Carlos, soy
socio de SNR Denton y si no nos contratas, no llegarás al
primer piso."
(For
those unfortunate souls unable to understand the language of
Cervantes: "Carlos, I'm a partner with SNR Denton. If you
don't hire us, you won't make it to the lobby.")
In
all seriousness, I would tell him that I'm a lawyer who helps
clients prevail in disputes, mostly now in international
arbitration. I would also tell him that as a former prosecutor
I help clients stay out of trouble by meeting their compliance
obligations and investigating, protecting and defending them
against allegations of fraud, corruption, or abuse. And I'd
tell him that I'm with one of the best law firms in the world,
that we work in every area of the law and industry, and that
we're really in the business of fixing problems and creating
opportunities. And if we're still not in the lobby, or he
hasn't called security on me, I would ask him if his lawyers
ever made or saved him money? If not, I'd tell him he should
really check our firm out: SNR Denton. That's our mission—and
the mantra we live by—and our personal commitment to each and
every one of our clients:
quality and efficient legal
services.
How
did your secondment come about? How long will it
last?
I've
been dreaming of working in Dubai since…, well…since Elliott
first told me I was going to be seconded here.
"A
minimum three-year sentence," he said. Little did he know,
it's been great!
Seriously
now, there are many opportunities for us to grow as a firm
here in the Middle East. It's very exciting to be a small part
of it.
And
thus far so good. Thanks to Paul Tvetenstrand's great
contacts, and initially the client's FCPA needs in the region,
we were recently able to land Johnson & Johnson, whom
we're now advising on numerous matters throughout the Middle
East. I was also recently able to expand our relationship with
another medical-device company, C.R. Bard, and Michael Lacey
and Amgad Husein are now advising them in North Africa and
Saudi Arabia. With David Pfeiffer in Kuwait, I participated in
a pitch that landed us the US Department of Justice as a
client in a huge investigation stemming from actions in Kuwait
and Jordan. Recently, I've spoken in Muscat to a group of
Omani investors interested in doing business in the US. By the
way, they were all wearing their traditional daggers, called
"the khanjar." Now, I don't want to blow my own horn too much,
but it did take some courage to speak to a room full of men
with daggers. (But now that I think about it, it wasn't so
different from a crowd in Washington. At least in Oman you can
see the daggers.)
I've
also had several recent meetings with Weatherford, AT&T
and ENOC (the Emirates National Oil Company, which luck would
have it has as its assistant general counsel in charge of
litigation a fellow Puerto Rican woman who has now become a
good friend). I've been pulled to advise two US health
companies doing business in the region on anti-corruption
matters. Just last week, I met with the legal counsel in the
region for Estée Lauder, which in Dubai alone has over 100
employees, to represent the company throughout the Middle
East. (My wife is very excited about this one!) And next week,
I'm meeting in Buenos Aires with the CEO of Tenaris, the big
oil-and-gas steel tube manufacturer and the largest private
company in Argentina, actively doing business in the Middle
East with a full-time office here in Dubai. This month alone,
I'm speaking in London on corruption before the Middle East
Association, moderating a panel at an international
medical-device industry compliance conference also in London,
and later speaking on anti-corruption in Kuwait before the
British Business Forum. It's all really very exciting.
And
for all of us in the firm, the opportunities have just begun.
As the countries of the region continue to grow, I have no
doubt we'll grow along with them. Huge infrastructure projects
are being planned in the region (in power, waste, water, and
transportation—airports and rail). Very significant resources
are being targeted to improve basic services such as health
and education. And especially in light of recent events, I
have every confidence that we'll even be able to sell in the
region our government-relations and public-policy expertise.
What
really excites you about working in the Middle
East?
The
food. And the weather, summers especially.
Of
course, the truth is the people we've got here working in our
offices. All brilliant and to a person very nice.
What
do you want to achieve while you're in
Dubai?
That's
easy: I want us as a firm to make as much money as possible. I
want to help with that.
Three
reasons everyone should jump at the chance to work with our
Dubai team?
Number
three: We can all benefit from learning a foreign language,
even if that foreign language is British English.
Number
two: They really are very discerning, despite the fact that
they agreed to take me on.
Number
one: Interesting work with interesting people for interesting
(and, thankfully, good-paying) clients.
It's
a long flight from the US to Dubai. Who would you most like to
have sitting next to you on the plane (could be anyone living
or dead)?
Penelope
Cruz, of course, preferably living (although Michael Kerr
tells me my chances would be better if dead). Need I say
more?
If
stuck on a deserted island, what book, DVD and CD would you
take with you?
The
book is easy—it would have to be One Hundred Years of
Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The title would also
fit my circumstances quite nicely.
A
CD and a DVD? What good would a CD and a DVD do me, if I can't
also take a player and a TV? And even if I had them, where
would I plug them in?
What's
one thing you will never do
again?
Today,
it's eat French fries. You know, here in Dubai, I have to
watch my weight. They told me something about the "Dubai
stone." I will forget by tonight.
My
idea of a relaxing weekend is to…
Be
by the pool, with a good book, when the children aren't
fighting.
Who
am I kidding? The children are always
fighting!
