Ross Barfoot

Partner at Dentons

Speaker

Ross is a corporate partner in the Middle East with more than 21 years' experience – first in the UK and since 2008 in the Middle East region.

Ross regularly advises investors and international operators on education investments, M&A, market entry, international expansion, corporate and regulatory matters. He is based in the UAE but operates on a global level, supporting clients on their international expansion. Ross is generally regarded as the "go-to" lawyer for the education sector and has been involved in a significant number of school and university projects in the Middle East region, as well as some of the largest education M&A deals globally.

In addition, he advises both international corporations and local companies on a mix of M&A and private equity, joint ventures and corporate advisory work and he regularly advises his clients on business licensing, corporate reorganisations, commercial contracts and corporate governance mandates. He has advised on some of the largest M&A and joint venture transactions in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE.

He is ranked as a "Leading Individual" in the UAE for Commercial, Corporate and M&A in the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions of Legal 500.