Law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has raised Shahrzad Askarpour, a corporate attorney with extensive regional expertise spanning more than ten years, to partner status in Dubai. Her expertise encompasses guiding sovereign wealth funds through mergers and acquisitions while also assisting regional and international businesses with corporate deals, including joint ventures, financing strategies, private equity investments, and full advisory services.
Askarpour joins 51 attorneys being advanced to partner roles across the firm’s worldwide operations, with the changes taking effect on January 1, 2026. These newly minted partners represent 12 distinct practice areas, including 14 in dispute resolution, 13 in corporate law, 8 in banking and finance, and 4 in intellectual property. Additional promotions were made in competition, cybersecurity, data privacy, projects, government affairs, employment law, financial regulation, healthcare, and risk advisory. The appointments are spread across 22 of the firm’s 53 locations, with the largest concentrations in the US (18), Canada (12), and UK (10).
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Jeff Cody, the firm’s global and US managing partner, emphasized that expanding the partnership remains a key priority.
Separately, Farmida Bi, Norton Rose Fulbright’s EMEA chair, has been named to the UK’s House of Lords by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, among 25 new appointees. Bi has led the EMEA division since 2018 and was re-elected for another three-year term in 2024, reflecting her enduring leadership in the region.