Life in the think tank

Posted on June 17, 2011
United Arab Emirates
Roberta Calarese Julfar, director of policy and legal services for the Dubai Financial Services Authority discusses the expertise of the institution’s in-house team.

Asian-Counsel: What do you think the public’s biggest misconceptions are about the functions of the in-house team at DFSA?
Roberta Calarese Julfar: The biggest misconception is that we provide legal advice to the financial services and legal community of the DIFC. We do assist in providing clarification and guidance where required, however our role is to provide legal advice solely to the DFSA.

AC: What qualities does DFSA look for in candidates for in-house roles?
RCJ: Prior experience in financial services regulation or relevant industry experience. Drafting experience is also an important skill to have as we do a lot of legal drafting.

AC: What would a new legal recruit to the DFSA find most surprising in terms of his role and function in the institution?
RCJ: The fact that our work is quite theoretical. We do a lot of policy thinking that then translates into drafting laws, rules and regulations. We are the think tank of the DFSA.

AC: What is the current composition of the DFSA in-house team?
RCJ: All our lawyers have previously worked with financial services regulators. We have people who have extensive experience in enforcement, financial markets, legal drafting, regulatory, commercial matters, and policy to name a few. We advise the various departments of the DFSA on a number of matters and within the team we have the full expertise to cover all areas.

AC: How does the role of DFSA in-house practitioners differ from the role of practitioners in private corporations?
RCJ: I don’t think it differs much with the exception that we do not do a lot of transactional work. Our client is our firm and we provide legal advice on all fronts including HR, IT and finance matters. However, our main focus is regulatory work.

AC: Is there such a thing as a ‘typical day’ for an in-house practitioner at DFSA?
RCJ: Yes. There will be some advice given to any of our regulatory departments. Most likely we will have a committee meeting on either a project or for the authoristion of new firms. During the course of the day we would be spending some time on progressing project work which could relate to policy work or drafting work.

AC: How often does the DFSA brief out?
RCJ: We do not brief out very often because we have a lot of internal expertise. A lot of us have been here for many years and are very familiar with the DIFC’s legal and regulatory framework and the issues surrounding it. We do however engage outside legal counsel for advice on UAE and GCC laws or when we need an independent legal opinion for the DFSA.

AC: What tools or techniques does DFSA use to build, motivate and position the in-house team to have effective relationships with external counsel?
RCJ: Every three months we carry out external outreach sessions in which we invite lawyers to attend a presentation at the DFSA in which we present latest developments on regulatory matters. We take this opportunity to discuss with outside legal counsel issues they have encountered and whether the DFSA can provide any guidance.

AC: What will be the main challenges for the DFSA in the coming year, and how will the in-house team play a central role in addressing these issues?
RCJ: I think the main issue will be to follow the international discussions on regulatory failures and future trends in order to establish where, if any, changes are required to our regime.

AC: What types of innovations (legal or otherwise) does the in-house team see as important for DFSA in the coming year?
RCJ: We are creating a precedents database, improving our research facilities and stream lining our process. AC
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