OGH Legal > Dubai, United Arab Emirates > Firm Profile
OGH Legal Offices
12TH FLOOR, PRIME TOWER, BURJ KHALIFA BOULEVARD
DUBAI
United Arab Emirates
OGH Legal > The Legal 500 Rankings
United Arab Emirates > Dispute resolution: local litigation Tier 2
OGH Legal is a 'standout' firm for construction, banking and general commercial disputes. The firm's client base consists of European government entities, sovereign wealth funds and state-owned enterprises. Mohamed Elghatit is praised for his 'creative thinking' and 'bespoke service'; his expertise ranges from real estate and construction, to oil and gas. Sherif Hikal is a litigation expert and has in-depth knowledge of banking and insolvency. Omar Al Omar and Mohamed Al Sabah have caseloads that include criminal law disputes and investigations.Practice head(s):
Sherif Hikal; Mohamed ElGhatit
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The practice is flexible in billing and pays attention to where the value add of its service is not commensurate with the billed time and adjustments are made.’
‘Mohamed ElGhatit is very collaborative and communicative. He tailors his service to the requirements of the client and circumstances of the case with a very bespoke service.’
‘OGH has a small but responsive and nimble team, well versed in local litigation but also sensitive to the standards and needs of international clients.’
‘Mohamed ElGhatit understands the needs of international firms and clients.’
‘OGH is a standout firm for complex dispute resolution strategies entailing actions in the onshore Courts. The firm’s partners collaborate effectively to move seamlessly between civil and criminal strategies, providing top levels of client service.’
‘Mohamed ElGhatit is a standout lawyer, a creative thinker with a track record of delivering innovative solutions and with a deserved reputation for giving everything to his client’s cases to achieve optimum results. Mohamed’s commitment to client service is second to none.’
‘Mohamed Al Sabah is a leading lawyer with proficiency in negotiating difficult situations for his clients before Courts across the UAE, with real commitment to delivering excellence in client service.’
Key clients
SKAT Danish Tax Authority
ALEC
Davidson Kempner
McLaren
Al Habtoor
Hilton
Nakheel
Libyan Sovereign Wealth Funds – Libya Africa Investment Portfolio and Libyan Investment Authority
Shapoorji Pallonji
Dubai Holding
HSBC
Dutco Holding
MAF (Majid Al Futtaim)
WSP Contracting
Work highlights
- Advising SKAT, the Danish Tax Authority before the UAE courts; there are currently five primary cases and 12 ancillary actions and related cases.
- Acting on behalf of ALEC in defending a $1.7bn claim relating to a major fire at the Address Hotel in 2015.
- Advising Port Link, a US investor fund in respect of its recovery of $500m held by a local UAE Bank (Noor Bank).
OGH Legal > Firm Profile
OGH Legal is a UAE-based boutique dispute resolution firm, delivering UAE law expertise with international service standards. Founded by expert UAE litigation practitioners, it provides legal services across a diverse range of sectors, with a focus on high quality client service.
Lawyers at OGH Legal are local court practitioners who provide unique local expertise alongside a true understanding of working with regional and international corporates, as well as international law firms.
The firm’s experience spans a number of sectors, with special expertise in construction, real estate, hospitality, commercial and banking. Lawyers have considerable experience in TMT, distributor/agent and principle relations as well as aviation, shipping and oil & gas. Further, the firm has an investigation (and white collar) practice and is growing its sports and IP disputes practices.
OGH Legal prides itself on providing clients with a personal service, never compromising on quality. With a wealth of expertise and proven commercial awareness, OGH Legal is able to offer innovative solutions to complex business issues, tailor made for the local legal and procedural regime.
Working with international firms: The firm works and has excellent relationships with many of the global firms based in the UAE, as well as firms who do not have a regional or local presence. It acts both as local counsel on UAE Court litigations as well as local law co-counsel in arbitration.
This year, OGH Legal was involved in more than a dozen high value cases in local courts led by international law firms. Three of these are amongst in excess of AED1bn. Our work showcases how we work efficiently alongside international firms as local counsel and also ‘behind the scenes’ as local law experts.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founder & Managing Partner | Mohamed ElGhatit | mohamed.elghatit@oghlegal.com | +971 4 380 8838 |
| Founder & Managing Partner | Sherif Hikal | sherif.hikal@oghlegal.com | +971 4 380 8838 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Mohamed ElGhatit | Founder and Managing Partner | View Profile |
 | Sherif Hikal | Founder and Managing Partner | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Partner : 4 Fee-earner : 16Languages
Arabic English French Dutch FarsiMemberships
International Bar AssociationDiversity
OGH supports and sponsors both undergraduate and fresh graduates in their pursuit of their academic as well as their professional careers.
OGH is currently sponsoring three LL.M candidates who had obtained their undergraduate degrees from Arab universities, and are now pursuing LL.M degrees in three different jurisdictions (Cairo University, Egypt; Sorbonne University, France; and Shanghai University, China)
OGH hosts one summer and one winter break internship programme for 3rd year law students
Spotlights
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
OGH Legal is a boutique dispute resolution firm, delivering local law expertise with international service standards. Founded by expert UAE litigation practitioners, we provide legal services across a diverse range of sectors, with a focus on high quality client service.
Our team are local court practitioners providing unique expertise alongside a true understanding of working with international law firms. Our founding partners are well-known dispute resolution practitioners with extensive experience in the UAE and the wider MENA region.
Our experience spans several sectors, with special expertise in construction, general commercial, corporate fraud investigations, energy, infrastructure, real estate, hospitality and finance. We also have considerable experience in TMT, distributor/agent & principle relations as well as aviation and shipping.
We can offer on-the-ground, true local expertise across the full spectrum of dispute resolution needs. Our team has decades of experience in the region and are recognised as local experts in the field, with a wealth of expertise and proven commercial awareness we can offer innovative legal solutions to complex business issues.
Litigation
Our team has an exceptional record in litigation, handling disputes in a variety of sectors including construction, banking, general commercial, real estate, oil & gas, IP and TMT. Members of our team have worked in both civil and common law systems. We have rights of audience before all the UAE Courts and Union Supreme Court. Members of the team are also Part II registered with the DIFC Court.
Arbitration
Our lawyers have acted as counsel, co-counsel and experts in international and local arbitral proceedings. Several members have also acted as arbitrators. We have conducted arbitration cases subject to many of the regional and international arbitration rules, including DIFC-LCIA, DIAC, ADCCAC, ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL and CRCICA as well as adhoc. Several members of our team sit as arbitrators and have a unique understanding of the workings of arbitral proceedings.
Employment Disputes
Our team has a wealth of experience in employment disputes including assisting clients with employee dismissals, terminating employment contracts and defending/pursuing employment contract claims. We often work with clients’ HR departments to assist in developing internal policies and ensuring they are up to date with evolving regulations. We have experience in both onshore and offshore issues, including the various free zones in the UAE.
Corporate & Commercial
Members of our team have experience in a wide variety of corporate, commercial and regulatory matters. This includes corporate governance matters, corporate, commercial contracts and competition law issues across a broad range of sectors.
- Dispute resolution: local litigation