Alastair Young
Principal Consultant
Alastair is the former Managing Partner of the Dentons’ Middle East business. He was also a member of the Dentons’ Executive Committee and Board. He focuses on all aspects of business activity, and specifically leadership, profitability and the creation and management of high-performing teams. He has extensive leadership experience in multicultural and multi-geographical locations. Alastair is also a Meyler Campbell qualified executive coach.
AboutÜber Alastair
Alastair started his career in the British Army in 1987, where he served for nine years as an infantry officer, including tours in Norway and Northern Ireland. On leaving the army in 1995, he qualified as a barrister where he practised as a member of the Independent Bar for eleven years specialising initially in criminal law and latterly commercial law.
Alastair has held a number of senior management positions including as a member of the Dentons’ Executive Committee and Board, Managing Partner of the Dentons’ Milton Keynes and Dubai offices as well as Head of the Dentons’ Middle East dispute resolution team.
His most recent role was as Regional Managing Partner of the Dentons’ Middle East business. In this role, Alastair was responsible for the leadership and management of the Middle East business across nine offices and seven countries whilst interacting with the firm’s leadership at LLP and global levels. He handled both the design and delivery of the Middle East business strategy and the delivery of both the annual budgeted revenue and profit, in addition to the management and leadership of all the legal and business support professionals employed across the nine offices.
Alastair is aware of, and adept at navigating, cultural perspectives. In international companies he finds solutions and prepares the groundwork to allow cultural differences to be understood and built into any solution. He has considerable experience in building and nurturing high-performing teams and in particular bringing talent through to leadership roles.
ExperienceBerufserfahrung
- Undertook a project to restructure and lead the Dentons’ Dubai Office, which, at that time was significantly underperforming and had done so for several years. By focusing on the office’s key practice areas and integrating the office more fully and effectively into the wider Middle East and global network, the Dubai office delivered markedly improved financial results within 18 months and was the highest performing office in the region within three years.
- Designed and implemented the strategy to steer the Dentons’ Middle East business through the COVID-19 pandemic. This strategy, which was different from the wider firm strategy, involved a remote working and voluntary risk sharing arrangement with employees across all nine offices. Over 95% of the employees elected to participate, and it was highly successful in terms of employee engagement, consequent engagement with clients and, ultimately the financial performance of the business, which was significantly above the average for the firm during the pandemic.
Education and qualifications
- Meyler Campbell Mastered programme - 2024
- Member of the Dentons’ Audit Committee - 2018 to 2020
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators - 2019
- Member of the Board at Apperio - 2015
- Qualification as a Solicitor - 2007
- Member of the Board at St Philips Chambers - 2000
- Called to Bar of England and Wales - 1996
- Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst - 1987