Lawyer Kris Scicluna’s rise at AE Legal has been characterised by a solid work ethic and confident self-assurance which has enabled him to contribute towards the consolidation of the law firm’s position, both locally and overseas.
Starting out in 2010, at a local accountancy firm as their first legal hire, Kris soon moved to AE Legal (known as Aequitas Legal, at the time) in order to work in litigation – a branch of law he felt passionate about. He joined AE’s team in 2011, distinguishing himself as a reliable associate on several briefs until being admitted to the partnership in 2018.
Kris now takes on the role of lead partner at AE Legal. He will also be heading the business development efforts of the firm and will be travelling internationally to further cultivate ties with law firms around the world. This is an expansion of the role he has already been undertaking through his status as the firm’s contact partner for Multilaw, one of the largest three legal networks in the world.
Kris first made his mark in the Multilaw circles in 2015, when Malta hosted the Multilaw Academy annual conference for young lawyers; his outgoing personality and ability to connect with people from different parts of the world in a convivial manner has helped him build a network of legal colleagues around the globe. Indeed, as a result of his approach and expertise, Kris now enjoys regular referrals from overseas and is engaged to advise large international corporations.
With his industry experience growing continuously and the firm’s heritage grounding it as one of the island’s best, Kris remains driven by what the future holds. “Our firm has 25 years experience in litigation, having established our litigation department in 1998, and stand ready to offer strong and strategic representation in the courts of Malta to those who want a timely, professional and competitively priced service,” Kris asserts.
Kris feels that the coming year will offer rich pickings to law firms that have a strong litigation team. This is because he predicts that the gaming industry in Malta will have to contend with an unprecedented volume of enforcement claims being made judicially by punters and players outside of Malta. These cases have already gone through the legal system of the players’ own country whose Supreme Courts have ruled that the players are eligible to recoup the money they have lost on wagers placed with Maltese gaming companies. The court’s rationale is that the federal gambling monopoly should prevail over other fundamental rights that the operators believe they enjoy, such as the freedom to provide services. The plaintiffs are now pursuing the enforcement of these judgements in Malta, where such operators are headquartered, and are almost certain to flood the courts and draw upon human resources of the legal profession, especially in the form of experienced litigation lawyers.
“When I started out clients were mostly drawn to individual lawyers on the basis of their personal record and reputation. The capillarity of that word-of-mouth process has been completely disrupted by the digital era. Today, professional service providers are selected on the strength of their achievements. And they are also chosen based on the manner in which they have organised the provision of their services; the effectiveness of their human resources backing them up; and their digital presence. These qualities would attest to the excellence of their organisation as developed over the years,” he concludes, expressing his determination to ensure AE Legal continues to live up to these standards.
