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Overview
As the world comes to terms with the financial crisis, it has become apparent that the UAE is not immune to it. Worries over the amount of debt that Dubai has accrued is well documented, and a number of its most highly esteemed corporations have announced redundancies and cost-cutting measures. Dubai’s position on the global stage is not under threat, with oil-rich Abu Dhabi expected to step in with funding should the need arise. Indeed, Abu Dhabi’s status within the global economy and the legal market became much more evident in 2008. A series of major law firms opened new offices in the UAE’s administrative capital during the year, including Clifford Chance, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Ashurst LLP, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP. It has become evident that the Abu Dhabi ruling family and the wealthy corporations that are either state-controlled or state-linked favour law firms that have an office in the Emirate; an office in Dubai is not sufficient. Evidently this has increased the number of firms seeking to open offices in Abu Dhabi. Further reports, however questionable, suggest that the Abu Dhabi authorities will restrict the number of office licenses awarded to firms in the future. This would mean the steady influx of firms would come to an abrupt end, and only those that have already demonstrated a physical commitment to the Emirate would be able to expand their operations.
Though the UAE legal market is rapidly maturing, levels of specialisation are not that of London or New York, and as such firms and their lawyers are required to be multi-skilled and more general in focus. Our coverage reflects that, with the banking and finance section listing practices that cover a broad range of matters including bank loans, Islamic finance, debt capital markets, project finance and bank regulatory issues; and the corporate and commercial section listing firms that deal with a variety of corporate, corporate finance and commercial matters.
The UAE also has a rapidly developing disputes culture. The Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) is handling an ever greater volume of cases, as is the new DIFC Court. In 2008, the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) established an arbitration centre in the DIFC and this is expected to have a significant impact on dispute resolution in the region.
As with many other jurisdictions, foreign law firms do not on the whole practice local law in the UAE. Many have therefore created fruitful relationships with domestic law firms. Al Tamimi & Company is widely regarded as the leading local firm, having successfully combined leading domestic lawyers with European and Australian practitioners. Some international law firms, such as Allen & Overy LLP, Clifford Chance and Denton Wilde Sapte operate integrated offices of locally-qualified and foreign international lawyers.