Our People
我们的团队

Our people — the Neo Legal UAE boutique law firm team.

团队成员 — Neo Legal 阿联酋精品律师事务所

Neo Legal comprises a team of highly experienced lawyers, regulatory specialists, and legal professionals — each selected for their depth of expertise, commercial acuity, and dedication to client outcomes. Qualified across multiple jurisdictions and practising at the intersection of law, technology, and business.

Neo Legal由一支经验丰富的律师、监管专家和法律专业人员组成,每位成员均因其专业深度、商业敏锐度和对客户成果的奉献精神而被选入。持有多个司法管辖区的执业资格,在法律、技术和商业的交汇点执业。

Partners & Leadership
Harly Zappino
Harly Zappino
Founder & Managing Partner
Harly is the Founder and Managing Partner of Neo Legal, leading the firm's family office, ultra-high-net-worth, corporate and M&A practices. He advises principals, families and institutional clients on UAE establishment, multi-jurisdiction wealth structuring, and complex cross-border transactions exceeding USD 1.4 billion in aggregate value across the UAE, China, Australia and common-law markets. Harly brings substantive virtual asset and financial services regulatory expertise — having personally advised over 1,000 clients across the digital asset, VARA, DFSA, FSRA and broader financial services space since 2015 — and applies this within Neo Legal's wider corporate, structuring and private-wealth practice.
Family Office & UHNWCorporate & M&AInternational StructuringUAE establishmentFinancial ServicesVirtual Assets & VARA
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Levent Shevki
Levent Shevki
Founding Partner
Levent brings extensive Australian and international legal and business experience representing public and private clients in corporate and commercial matters. He specialises in mergers and acquisitions, financial services law, and capital raisings, with more than 17 years of experience. He has led M&A transactions and fundraisings from A$20M to over A$150M. Levent is also Founder and Board Director of Twenty3 Sport and Entertainment, and oversees a portfolio of over 10 companies across technology, funds management, energy, and property.
M&AFinancial Services LawCapital RaisingsSports & EntertainmentCorporate
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Shihab Al Hashimi
Shihab Al Hashimi
Founder
Shihab Al Hashimi is a Founder of Neo Legal. As a UAE national with deep roots across Emirati business, government and family-office networks, he provides the firm's clients with regional access, cultural fluency and the senior commercial judgement that distinguishes successful UAE strategies from those that stall. His value is measured in access and judgement — who to speak to, when to escalate, and how to position a foreign principal with credibility in the Emirates from day one.
UAE business environmentRegional networksStrategic advisoryMarket access
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Khalil Abdulla
Khalil Abdulla
Founder
Khalil Abdulla is a Founder of Neo Legal. He brings UAE commercial perspective and an established regional network — the kind of relationships and Emirati business judgement that take a decade to build and cannot be substituted by external advisors. He works alongside the firm's legal team on UAE establishment, regulator engagement, joint-venture positioning and senior introductions across the Emirates, with particular focus on knowing how to time a market entry and how to navigate the relationships that quietly determine whether a transaction moves forward or stalls.
UAE business environmentRegional networksStrategic advisory
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Feras Al Sadek
Feras Al Sadek
Founder
Feras Al Sadek is a Founder of Neo Legal. He brings the senior regional perspective that comes from sustained UAE business engagement — an understanding of how the Emirati commercial environment actually operates, where the relationships sit, and how to navigate the introductions and counter-party assessments that quietly drive transactions forward. He works alongside the firm's legal team on UAE market entry, joint-venture positioning, and the cultural fluency that distinguishes a credible regional strategy from a generic one.
UAE business environmentRegional networksStrategic advisory
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Ralph Kalsi
Ralph Kalsi
Founding Partner
Ralph excels in the firm's business development and operations, particularly in technology and innovation. He is the CEO of Blockchain Australia and brings over 6 years of blockchain technology consulting experience. Prior to entering the blockchain space, Ralph had extensive experience in digital marketing, successfully building and exiting multiple businesses including a web2 marketing agency. His entrepreneurial background gives him a uniquely practical understanding of client commercial realities.
Blockchain ConsultingBusiness DevelopmentTechnologyEntrepreneurship
Specialist Lawyers & Counsel
May Wong
May Wong
Special Counsel · China Desk Lead
May Wong is Special Counsel at Neo Legal and leads the firm's China Desk and Creator & Influencer practices. A native Mandarin speaker, May provides fully bilingual EN/中文 counsel to Chinese capital, corporates and family groups entering the UAE — covering market entry, joint ventures, family office establishment in DIFC and ADGM, and the full bilingual contract lifecycle. Her Creator & Influencer practice advises 8-figure-following content creators, athletes and digital-economy founders on NMC/MRO licensing, brand-deal negotiation, content protection and tax residency. May also brings substantive virtual asset and Web3 experience — having founded and operated her own Web3 venture as principal since 2021, and advising blockchain founders, exchanges and tokenisation projects on corporate structuring, VARA licensing pathways and bilingual deal execution.
China DeskCreator & InfluencerCorporate & CommercialBilingual EN/中文Virtual Assets & Web3Start-ups
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Manpreet Kaur
Manpreet Kaur
Director of Licensing & Regulatory Compliance
Manpreet brings extensive regulatory insight across virtual asset compliance, licensing, and corporate structuring. She previously served as Managing Director of Licensing and Compliance at Cander Consulting, and before that held a pivotal role at VARA itself — directly involved in developing the UAE regulatory framework for virtual assets. She has also worked at KPMG UK and PwC Middle East. Manpreet has guided clients through VARA, ADGM, and DIFC licensing. Fluent in English, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu.
VARA LicensingADGM & DIFCRegulatory ComplianceDigital AssetsMultilingual
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David Kreltszheim
David Kreltszheim
Legal Banking & Finance Consultant
David is a highly experienced banking and finance lawyer serving as a specialist consultant to Neo Legal. He brings deep expertise in financial services regulation, banking law, structured finance, and capital markets transactions across Australian and international jurisdictions. His advisory contribution spans financial institution licensing, financial services agreements, and complex cross-border finance matters requiring specialist banking law input.
Banking LawFinancial ServicesStructured FinanceCapital Markets
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Michael Kohn
Michael Kohn
Legal Tax Consultant
Michael serves as Neo Legal's specialist tax consultant, bringing extensive expertise in international tax structuring, cross-border tax planning, and tax-efficient business architecture. He advises on the tax implications of UAE establishment for international clients, home country tax residency matters, and structuring of complex wealth and business arrangements to minimise global tax exposure in a compliant manner. His input is integral to Neo Legal's wealth structuring and creator economy advisory.
International TaxTax StructuringCross-Border PlanningWealth Tax
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Legal Operations & Support
Ying Sim
Ying Sim
Paralegal
Ying is completing a double degree in Law and Information Technology at Monash University. She joined Neo Legal in June 2023 and brings bilingual capability — facilitating direct communication with Chinese-speaking clients — alongside a focus on corporate structuring and litigation support. Her dual degree positions her uniquely on matters involving technology, digital assets, and the legal frameworks governing them. Outside the firm, Ying teaches dance across Melbourne.
Bilingual EN/ZHCorporate StructuringTech LawLitigation Support
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Nykhi Arines
Nykhi Arines
Social Media Manager
Nykhi leads Neo Legal's social media presence and digital communications strategy across Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and other platforms. She develops content that translates complex legal topics into accessible, engaging formats for Neo Legal's diverse international audience — spanning creators, athletes, investors, and entrepreneurs across the UAE and globally. Her creative approach and understanding of the digital landscape are essential to how Neo Legal presents its expertise to the world.
Social Media StrategyContent CreationDigital CommunicationsBrand
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What Sets Our Team Apart
我们团队的与众不同

Commercial lawyers
who understand your business.

理解您业务的
商业律师

Neo Legal's team is selected for depth across the specific areas where our clients operate — digital assets, financial services, sports, wealth structuring, corporate law, and the creator economy — with genuine dual-jurisdiction capability across UAE and common law systems.

Neo Legal的团队根据其在客户运营特定领域的深度而选择——数字资产、金融服务、体育、财富架构、企业法律和创作者经济——并具有跨阿联酋和普通法体系的真正双重司法管辖区能力。

Legal Professional Privilege
法律专业保密特权

As a law firm — not an advisory consultancy — every Neo Legal engagement is protected by solicitor-client legal professional privilege. This protection cannot be compelled by regulators, courts, or third parties, and is not available from agents, managers, accountants, or compliance consultants.

作为律师事务所,每次Neo Legal委托均受律师-客户法律专业特权保护。这种保护不能被监管机构、法院或第三方强制要求,代理人、经纪人、会计师或合规顾问无法提供此保护。

Join the Team
加入团队

Neo Legal is always looking for exceptional lawyers and specialists with expertise in our core practice areas. All applications are treated with complete confidentiality. Contact us at admin@neolegal.ae

Neo Legal始终寻找在核心业务领域具有专业知识的卓越律师和专家。所有申请均以完全保密方式处理。请联系 admin@neolegal.ae

Work with the
Neo Legal team.

Neo Legal团队合作

All engagements are conducted under strict legal professional privilege and confidentiality. admin@neolegal.ae · +971585786357

所有委托均在严格的法律专业特权和保密义务下进行。admin@neolegal.ae · +971585786357

Get in Touch联系我们