Faculty Feature: Teresa Farah

This spring, International Transactional Attorney and University of Arkansas School of Law Adjunct Professor Teresa Farah, returned to teach the Law of International Contracting. Having taught courses in International Finance, International Business Transactions, and International Contracting since the spring of 2010, her students have consistently benefited from Farah's twenty-plus years' experience in international business. Accomplishments that were recognized by the American Bar Association selecting her as one of ten Legal Rebels, an award which in 2010 recognized solo practicioners with innovative and interesting practices.

In May, Farah will travel to Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania to speak at the International Scientific Conference presenting a lecture on Ethical Issues for the Lawyer in International Negotiations. She will also teach two courses and will be blogging about her experience here.

 Professor Farah's remarkable biography is below.

 Teresa Farah is an international transactional attorney who has worked in international business for over twenty years. She currently runs her own international legal practice, TM Farah Law Firm, Inc., out of NW Arkansas. In her practice, she advises clients who are interested in growing their business globally or who already have a global presence. She renders services to clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to governments as well as small to medium size enterprises.

Prior to establishing her own practice, Teresa worked in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for seven years, both in private practice as well as for the government of Dubai.

While in Dubai, she was the Founder and General Counsel of The Executive Office, which is the private office of the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. In her capacity as General Counsel, Teresa managed the legal requirements of all entities under the authority of The Executive Office of the government of Dubai, which included but was not limited to: Dubai Development and Investment Authority (the investment authority for the government of Dubai); the Dubai Mercantile Exchange; Dubai International Capital, LLC (private equity and investment firm); Dubai Energy Limited; Dubai Healthcare City (a 4.1 million square foot healthcare free zone); Dubai Industrial City; Dubailand, LLC (a multi-billion dollar, 3 billion square foot development with over 200 real estate, leisure and theme projects); Jumeirah, LLC (a luxury hotel and hospitality group, which owns/manages Burj Al Arab in Dubai, Essex House in New York and Carlton Tower in London); Dubai School of Government; and Dubai Humanitarian City.

During her tenure with the Dubai government, she was the lead counsel representing the government of Dubai in numerous joint ventures between the government and multinationals as well as Fortune 500 companies, inclusive of the following transactions: joint venture between the government of Dubai and New York Mercantile Exchange, creating the Dubai Mercantile Exchange; joint venture between Dubai Healthcare City and Harvard Medical International; and collaboration between the government of Dubai and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government to create the Dubai School of Government.

She served on the Board of Directors for the Dubai Mercantile Exchange and for the Dubai Healthcare City.

Prior to working in Dubai, Teresa worked as an international trade consultant for Xenel Industries, Ltd., a multi-billion dollar Saudi corporation involved in global trade, transportation, petrochemicals, infrastructure development, healthcare and investments.

Teresa started working in international business in Washington, D.C. as the Trade Dispute Director for the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce. In this position, Teresa developed, implemented and managed a trade dispute reconciliation service in which she mediated commercial disputes between U.S. companies and Arab companies, recovering millions of dollars for clients. She advised U.S. clients on foreign investment regulations in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait; Islamic halal certification; international shipping; and industrial regulatory requirements for Arab countries. She also developed an arbitration service in conjunction with outside legal counsel.