Dozens of U.K founders and senior professionals escaped the weather by travelling to Dubai for the launch of Courtside Conversations earlier this month. The event is a new padel-based networking experience designed to reintroduce meaningful, face-to-face connection in an increasingly digital world.
Founders, legal professionals, PR leaders, compliance experts and business decision-makers enjoyed a day of sport and conversation where the focus was just the sports and conversations; no PowerPoint, no stage, no schedule, and no speeches.
Held on the 9th of January at Padel Pro One Central, and organised by Robert Hanna of the Legally Speaking Podcast in partnership with Whitney Williams and her team at PR by Whitney, alongside venue partner Padel Pro. Hanna said: “There’s real networking fatigue out there. Too many events feel the same, and people struggle to justify the time.
“Dubai is time-zone friendly, international, and we’re seeing an incredible appetite for new ways of connecting.”
Williams added: “This is about fun. Business is stressful enough. We wanted to give people permission to enjoy networking again.
“We saw so many connections being made mid-serve, people laughing together about their time on court and actually wanting to stay and talk after the event.
“The best feedback I’ve had is people are already asking where the next one will be held!”
Alongside a competitive padel tournament, Courtside Conversations featured informal networking sessions and live content creation, with international DJ Adam Guy who has previously worked with David Guetta, Calvin Harris and the Swedish House Mafia, providing a laid back atmosphere throughout the day.
Attendance was capped at 50 to ensure both a diverse yet intimate mix of talent and to prioritise quality of interaction over quantity. Sponsors for the event included HiveRisk, Aries Legal, Yungo Law and Legal AI; the sponsors were approached to highlight the growing crossover between legal innovation, technology and relationship-led business development.
Williams said: “A.I has now become so embedded in how we work, I think that means the value of real-world connection is increasing, not decreasing. We designed Courtside Conversations to strip networking back to its fundamentals. Get people talking again.”
The response from attendees of the event have been extremely positive, with Buddy Eastwood, Regional Director at Consilio LLC saying: “A truly unforgettable and exhilarating event – mixing padel with networking in the legal space is such a great idea and Dubai was the perfect location.”
Ayaz Saboor, Director of the Commercial Law pathway added: “Great people, great energy, competitive padel, and conversations that felt real – great to get a podium finish in the competition, too.”
