Pier is a corporate and commercial lawyer with 20 years’ experience. He has practiced law in the UAE for the last 14 years, previously as partner in the Dubai office of the international law firm Taylor Wessing, and prior to joining Banks Legal he served as General Counsel & Company Secretary, GEMS Global at GEMS Education.

In his native South Africa he worked as in-house counsel for listed mining giants Anglo American and AngloGold, before relocating to Dubai in 2002 to take up the position of group legal advisor at Emirates National Oil Company.

Pier holds BLC and LLB degrees from the University of Pretoria, qualified to be admitted as an attorney in South Africa in 1998, and was subsequently admitted as an advocate of the High Court of South Africa. He holds a graduate diploma in compliance from the Manchester Business School, and is a professional member of the International Compliance Association.