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DLA Piper Middle East LLP

PO BOX 121662, LEVEL 6, BUILDING 6, EMAAR SQUARE, BURJ DUBAI, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Tel:
Work +971 4 438 6100
Fax:
Fax +971 4 438 6101
Web:
www.dlapiper.com
Email:
Zagreb, Washington DC, Warsaw, Vienna, Tokyo, Tbilisi and 78 more

TOP tier recommendations

United Arab Emirates: TMT > TMT

Recommendations

United Arab Emirates: Banking and finance > Banking and finance
United Arab Emirates: Construction > Construction
United Arab Emirates: Corporate and M&A > Corporate and M&A
United Arab Emirates: Dispute resolution > Dispute resolution
United Arab Emirates: Intellectual property > Intellectual property
United Arab Emirates: Real estate > Real estate

United Arab Emirates: Banking and finance

Within Banking and finance, tier 4

DLA Piper Middle East LLP’s team of ‘excellent lawyers’ has ‘the breadth and scope to tackle all issues in a technically proficient manner’. It recruited new head of project finance Sean Angle from Reed Smith. Debbie Barbour heads the banking practice and the ‘technically excellent’ Peter Somekh leads the debt restructuring practice. Legal directors Paul McViety and Aryan Schoorl joined from Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, respectively.

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United Arab Emirates: Construction

Within Construction, DLA Piper Middle East LLP is a third tier firm,

DLA Piper Middle East LLP recruited arbitration specialist Henry Quinlan from Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP, and also relocated contentious construction expert Daniel Jude from the firm’s Liverpool office, to handle the recent growth in construction disputes. Head of litigation Jim Delkousis, head of projects Sean Angle and Anthony Ellis are the practice’s other key figures. Ellis represented the EPC contractor in the Shams 1 solar power plant project.

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United Arab Emirates: Corporate and M&A

Within Corporate and M&A, tier 5

DLA Piper Middle East LLP made a bid to strengthen its corporate offering in the UAE with several key lateral hires, including Diwakar Agarwal and Tim Watkins from Reed Smith as well as Mohammad El-Qudah and Wafa Al-Zghaibi, who joined from DAMA Ventures and Hadef & Partners, respectively. Iraq continues to be a key focus for the team, and Salem Chalabi acted on a number of transactions there.

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United Arab Emirates: Dispute resolution

Within Dispute resolution, DLA Piper Middle East LLP is a second tier firm,

DLA Piper Middle East LLP’s contentious practice handled a number of firsts in 2012, including the first QFC Appeal Court case and the first jurisdictional case in the DIFC Court of Appeal. Practice head Jim Delkousis acted in the aforementioned QFC case. Daniel Jude recently relocated from the firm’s Liverpool office, and Henry Quinlan joined from Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP.

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United Arab Emirates: Intellectual property

Within Intellectual property, DLA Piper Middle East LLP is a second tier firm,

DLA Piper Middle East LLP’s Ken Dearsley and Paul Allen handle a growing number of IP licensing and franchising matters for international companies in the hospitality, retail and TMT sectors. It continues to advise Averda International on its brand protection strategy, reflecting the firm’s expertise in this type of work.

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United Arab Emirates: Real estate

Within Real estate, DLA Piper Middle East LLP is a second tier firm,

DLA Piper Middle East LLP’s real estate practice has a notable focus on the hospitality and leisure sectors; in 2012, practice head Tom O’Grady represented Paramount Hotels & Resorts in drafting a suite of hotel management agreements for its new sites. The team’s retail work has also grown, driven in large part by increased consumer spending, which has prompted an influx of international and local retailers, including fashion houses.

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United Arab Emirates: TMT

Within TMT, DLA Piper Middle East LLP is a first tier firm,

DLA Piper Middle East LLP’s TMT practice is praised for its ‘responsive, commercial approach’. Ken Dearsley and Paul Allen have extensive TMT expertise, and were joined by senior legal consultant Katie Withers, a licensing expert who relocated from the firm’s Liverpool office, and legal consultant Robert Flaws, who has prior experience at a major film and entertainment production company. Clients include Paramount Pictures, Etihad Airways and Vodafone Qatar.

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Search News and Articles

Legal Developments by:
DLA Piper

  • Sentencing guidelines for corporate manslaughter

    In February 2010 the Sentencing Guidelines Council (the SGC) issued definitive guidelines to courts on imposing appropriate sentences for corporate manslaughter and health and safety offences causing death. The SGC states that fines imposed on companies found guilty of corporate manslaughter should not fall below £500,000, while fines in respect of health and safety offences that are a significant cause of death should be at least £100,000. Crucially, the SGC declined to provide for a fixed link between the imposed fine and the turnover or profitability of the offending company.

    - DLA Piper UK LLP

Legal Developments in United Arab Emirates

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to

  • The Banking Regulation Review - UAE Chapter

    The past year has seen a substantial improvement in the performance of banks and financial institutions in the UAE. Adequate provisions have been made for most nonperforming loans, banks are once again aggressively competing for good assets and 2012 bank results show substantial improvement in profits.
    - Afridi & Angell

  • Legal Aspects of Medical Practice in UAE - Reportable Events, Crimes and Civil Wrongs

    1. According to recently published statistics, the UAE’s medical tourism market was worth $1.58 billion in 2012 and this is expected to grow a further 6.5 per cent to $1.69 billion in 2013. The UAE- with its predominately expatriate population of around 8 million- and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are- it seems- the two jurisdictions in the GCC where the demand for medical services- and the appetite to cater to this demand- is booming. The two "senior" Emirates in the seven member federation- Dubai and Abu Dhabi- have broadly similar demographics, hospital beds and medical practitioners although in Dubai the private sector is substantially larger than the public sector whilst the reverse is the case in Abu Dhabi.
    - Galadari & Associates

  • Construction Law & Practice, as published in The European Lawyer (Thomson Reuters)

    1. Construction industry overview for the jurisdiction
    - Galadari & Associates

  • Arbitration in Dubai, March 2013 by Daniel Brawn, Galadari

    The Emirate of Dubai has long been a centre for trade and commercial activity and such activity will inevitably generate disputes. In Arabic culture, traders endeavour to settle their disputes by negotiation, either between themselves or under the guidance of a leading citizen. The growth of international trade and investment has brought a wider range of disputes and Dubai has sought recently to place itself as a centre for commercial dispute resolution. Parties to international contracts are generally unwilling to submit their disputes to the Dubai Courts, with proceedings conducted in Arabic, and therefore international contracts generally include provisions for disputes to be resolved by arbitration. The law is developing rapidly in Dubai and the purpose of this article is to provide an insight into current arbitration practice at this exciting stage of its development.
    - Galadari & Associates

  • Getting it off the ground: the Jointly Owned Property Law in Dubai

    The original version of this article was published in Practical Law, Multi-Jurisdictional Guide to Corporate Real Estate, 2012/2013
    - Afridi & Angell

  • DIFC EMPLOYMENT LAW: WHY 2013 WON’T BE LIKE 2005

    "On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like "1984""
    - Hadef & Partners

  • MLC 2006-WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE SHIPOWNER AND THE COMMON SEAFARER?

    On 7 February 2006, the ILO, a United Nations agency, established the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006). According to the convention, all commercial ships over 500 GT trading internationally will require a Maritime Labour Certificate and a Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance. The convention will also apply to ships below 500 GT or those operating on domestic trades (within the flag’s territorial waters) but will not require certification, only inspection.
    - Fichte & Co

  • MLC 2006 - Update

    This article on the MLC 2006 is to provide you with an update and developments regarding the convention. An estimated 90% of world trade is carried on ships and seafarers are essential and integral part of international trade and the international economic and trade system in general.
    - Fichte & Co

  • The Reluctant Poacher - Focusing on the fundamentals

    Foreign labour migration in the UAE (and, indeed, the AGCC in general) is characteristically transient, a trait which is further exacerbated by the increasing liberalisation of local sponsorship transfer rules. The departure of the original employer's talent pool to a competitor will inevitably impact upon its business, especially if the departures lead to loss of key customers or clients, damage to the company’s competitive edge and other critical elements of profitability. Mandeep Kalsi reports
    - Hadef & Partners

  • Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards against UAE counterparties

    The merits and de-merits for seating arbitration in the DIFC using the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Rules for contracts with UAE counterparties are explored by Reema Ashraf, Jonathan Brown and Valeria Lysenko.
    - Hadef & Partners
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