The global law firm Jones Day has announced that Heather Martin has joined the Firm as of counsel in its Global Disputes Practice, based in the Firm’s Dubai Office.
Ms. Martin was most recently the Head of Litigation & Regulatory Affairs for Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company PJSC. In this role, she was responsible for overseeing criminal and enforcement matters, commercial disputes, and regulatory affairs. Prior to her role in Litigation & Regulatory Affairs, she was Senior Compliance Counsel at Mubadala, where she oversaw corporate investigations across Mubadala’s corporate headquarters and global portfolio companies.
At Jones Day, Ms. Martin will join a growing Global Disputes team of more than 200 lawyers worldwide, advising clients on how to successfully resolve high-value business disputes wherever they arise around the globe. She will counsel Jones Day clients involved in litigation, arbitration, and regulatory enforcement proceedings, including in the area of white collar defense.
“Our Dubai Office has served Jones Day clients in the Middle East and Africa for more than 25 years, and our Global Disputes and Investigations & White Collar Defense practices have been an important contributor to our growth here in recent years,” said Sheila L. Shadmand, Partner-in-Charge for Jones Day’s Middle East/Africa Region and its Dubai and Saudi Arabia offices. “Heather is a talented lawyer with a distinctive perspective as both an in-house attorney and outside counsel. We are thrilled that she has chosen to join Jones Day and I look forward to her contributions to our team in the Middle East and around the world.”
Ms. Martin is the most recent in a series of new international arrivals to join Jones Day’s Global Disputes Practice. Earlier this year, leading lawyers Michelle Bradfield, Amy Kläsener, and Michael Lundberg joined in London, Frankfurt, and Perth respectively. In July, an additional team of four lawyers joined Mr. Lundberg in Perth, and the Firm just announced that Thomas Weimann will join in Düsseldorf in September.
“Heather has robust experience with global litigation and regulatory enforcement matters, especially disputes involving white-collar criminal allegations and other bet-the-company legal scenarios,” said Greg Shumaker, Practice Leader of Jones Day’s Global Disputes Practice. “In addition to several years as an in-house counsel, she has roughly a decade of experience working in AmLaw 50 firms and extensive U.S. federal court experience. Heather is an excellent addition to our team and I’m delighted to welcome her to Jones Day.”
Ms. Martin earned her law degree from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., and her undergraduate degree from Utah State University. She served as Law Clerk to Hon. Marian Blank Horn, judge in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and was an associate in the Washington, D.C. offices of three large U.S. law firms before relocating to the United Arab Emirates in 2014.
Jones Day’s Global Disputes Practice has generated significant industry attention in recent months. The Firm’s International Arbitration team received the elite “Band 1” ranking in the 2021 edition of Chambers USA, which praised the group as a “well-established team with expertise in commercial and investment arbitration that offers notable strength in handling disputes arising from the construction, energy and mining sectors.” Jones Day was also recognized as one of the world’s leading firms for international arbitration in the 2020 edition of the Global Arbitration Review 30, the fifth consecutive year in which the Firm was included in the prestigious list. Ms. Martin’s joining the Dubai Office will also buttress the Firm’s Band 1 recognition by Chambers Global in the UAE for Corporate Investigations.