Harly Zappino.
Harly is the Founder and Managing Partner of Neo Legal. He leads the firm's family office, ultra-high-net-worth, corporate and M&A practices — advising principals, families and institutional clients on UAE establishment, multi-jurisdiction wealth structuring, and complex cross-border transactions.
About Harly.
Harly's corporate and M&A practice covers entity establishment across UAE free zones, mainland, DIFC and ADGM; shareholder and joint-venture documentation; capital raisings; and the full M&A transaction lifecycle from term sheet to integration. He has advised on transactions exceeding USD 1.4 billion in aggregate value and is a regular point of senior counsel for principals structuring across the UAE, China, Australia and common-law markets.
On the family office and private wealth side, he advises ultra-high-net-worth principals and family groups on DIFC and ADGM family office establishment, foundations and trusts, succession planning, integration of UAE Corporate Tax with wealth structuring, and UAE Golden Visa coordination. His engagements regularly span multi-generational family groups whose assets and operations cross five or more jurisdictions.
Virtual assets, blockchain & financial services.
Harly is one of the most experienced virtual asset and blockchain lawyers in the UAE. He has practised in the digital asset space continuously since 2015, has personally advised over 1,000 clients across cryptocurrency, exchanges, tokenisation, NFTs, DeFi, custody, payment services and broader financial-services licensing, and is a recognised practitioner across UAE, Australian and common-law jurisdictions.
His track record in the sector includes:
- Led the world's first cryptocurrency IPO — Harly led the offering for West Coast Aquaculture, the first IPO globally to accept digital currency (USDT) as consideration; approximately 89% of the AUD 5 million raise was settled in cryptocurrency, with the transaction covered by SSX as a global capital-markets first.
- Industry recognition — Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards 2022 — Finalist, Technology Partner of the Year; Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards 2023 — Finalist, Sports & Entertainment.
- Industry & education roles — Course Advisory Committee, La Trobe Business School; senior commercial and legal advisory engagements across multiple international Web3 and token projects.
- UAE practice today — Harly leads Neo Legal's virtual asset advisory across VARA (Dubai), FSRA / ADGM, RAK DAO and CBUAE matters — covering full-lifecycle licensing (advisory, exchange, custody, broker-dealer, lending, payment, proprietary trading, asset management, fund and market-maker categories), token structuring, ongoing regulatory supervision, and the corporate / M&A architecture around virtual-asset businesses.
At Neo Legal, Harly sets the firm's strategic direction and personally leads its most consequential corporate, M&A, private-wealth and virtual-asset mandates.
Work directly with Harly.
Neo Legal engagements are partner- and counsel-led from day one. Tell us about your matter and Harly will respond directly.
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