Interview with: Sadiq Jafar, Managing Partner

Managing Partner Sadiq Jafar on why experience, local depth, and an independent UAE focus remain the firm’s defining strengths.

 

What do you see as the main points that differentiate Hadef & Partners from your competitors?

46 years of uninterrupted practice in the UAE gives us a unique foundation – genuine, deep-rooted expertise in this market built through longevity, as well as deep presence. Our partners have helped shape the legal landscape, advising government entities and regulators on legislation and policy that helps define the workings of the jurisdiction.

We are completely independent. As a UAE-founded and UAE-focused firm, our primary objective is to deliver the best outcome for our clients. Our teams are present, accessible and invested in long-term relationships.

Our local court expertise is unmatched. Navigating the UAE’s court system, across the onshore Arabic language courts, the DIFC courts and the ADGM courts, requires both scale and a high level of practical, hands-on experience. Our litigators have dedicated their careers to this jurisdiction, and their depth of knowledge is a clear differentiator.

 

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

 Private wealth and estate planning continue to grow. The UAE is a global wealth hub that attracts high-net-worth individuals and family offices from the region and beyond. Demand for sophisticated structuring, succession planning, and cross-border estate planning continues to accelerate as the community develops.

Tax is increasingly part of that conversation. The introduction of corporate tax in the UAE has been a significant development, and we are seeing growing demand from both domestic and international clients for advice on tax structuring, compliance, and planning. As the UAE’s fiscal framework continues to evolve, the need for sophisticated tax counsel will only increase.

Dispute resolution and arbitration remain a strong growth area. The UAE’s continued investment in the court and arbitration infrastructure means more parties elect to determine their disputes here. Businesses focus on protecting their positions and enforcing their rights, and that translates into meaningful caseloads.

Corporate and M&A activity is accelerating as the UAE continues to attract regional and international investment, driven by ongoing economic diversification and the expanding role of free zones in facilitating cross-border transactions. Employment law is another area of sustained growth, reflecting the increasing sophistication of the UAE workforce and a more active regulatory environment around employee rights and obligations. We are also seeing meaningful growth in restructuring and insolvency work – a natural consequence of a maturing economy in which businesses face increasingly complex financial pressures. Taken together, these practice areas reflect a legal market that is deepening in sophistication, and a client base that demands advisers with genuine breadth as well as specialist depth.

 

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

 We have invested in artificial intelligence, via a partnership with Lucio AI. This is in line with our strategy to continually enhance the quality and effectiveness of our legal analysis and advice. By integrating AI into our workflows, our lawyers will work faster and more efficiently.

We were highly intentional in how we approached this. Our AI Task Force considered many available options before deciding on a platform built with the specific needs of a market-leading UAE law firm in mind. Accordingly, our firm has added cutting-edge technology to 46 years of UAE experience. This produces the level of service outcome that the market now expects.

 

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

 Undoubtedly, and we see this as an opportunity. Our investment in AI has enhanced our working practices, enabling our lawyers to analyse complex materials faster and precisely identify issues, while focusing their time on the high-value strategic advice that clients require.

From a client interaction perspective, the expectations are rapidly shifting. Clients want even faster turnaround, greater transparency, and legal advice that is commercially focused. Technology helps us meet these demands while maintaining the quality of our work product.

We are mindful that technology is an enabler, not a replacement. The relationships, wise judgment, and UAE-specific expertise that define our firm cannot be automated. The use of technology frees our people to deploy those qualities, because they spend less time on process and more time on the conversations, analysis and decisions that achieve our clients’ objectives.

The firms that will thrive will be those that integrate technology intelligently, with a clear view of its utility. We are doing that.

 

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

 Our engagement with the client (a Dubai government-backed, UAE-born and based, diversified investment firm that manages a portfolio of investments, assets, and experiences across real estate, hospitality, leisure, and technology) arose from a group-wide data mapping exercise with all business units in January 2024. The project required a comprehensive review and implementation exercise across multiple entities within the group, including entities established in various jurisdictions across the UAE, as well as within its financial free zones. Given the breadth of the client’s operations and the number of internal stakeholders involved, the project required not only technical data protection expertise but also careful coordination across a wide range of business functions.

Rather than treating the project as a purely legal exercise, our work focused on developing processes and documentation that could be embedded into the client’s day-to-day business activities. This included reviewing existing practices, identifying areas where processes could be strengthened, and developing policies, procedures, and contractual provisions that reflected both the regulatory requirements and the operational realities of the client’s business.

Drawing on our broader commercial experience, we were also able to identify potential areas of risk that could arise as the client’s operations continued to grow across multiple jurisdictions. Addressing these issues proactively allowed the client to strengthen its internal governance around personal data management and reduce the likelihood of regulatory or operational challenges arising in the future.

The project also benefited from our experience advising on data protection and commercial matters across a range of industries and regulatory environments within the UAE. This broader perspective allowed us to draw on established market practices and emerging regulatory expectations when developing the client’s compliance framework, ensuring that the approach adopted was both robust and commercially realistic.

Taken together, our involvement supported not only the implementation of a comprehensive data protection compliance framework across the client’s operations but also the development of internal processes that can continue to support the organisation as it grows. By combining legal expertise with a detailed understanding of the client’s operational environment, we were able to deliver a solution that met regulatory requirements while remaining aligned with the commercial realities of the client’s business.

 

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

Yes, and Hadef & Partners is uniquely placed to deliver both stability and strategic direction. Our independence, our longevity in the market, and our strong relationships with government entities and regulators allow us to be trusted advisors to our clients. This experience and support is highly valued in a rapidly changing environment and enables us to support clients in the assessment of risk and the achievement of strategic objectives. We also have the depth and scale to assist on the routine requirements that every business has.

Looking three years ahead, Hadef & Partners will continue to deepen and expand its capabilities. We will remain focused on being the preeminent UAE law firm for clients who seek high quality local expertise, whether based in the UAE or instructing us from overseas.

I expect our private wealth, dispute resolution, corporate, employment, tax and R&I practices to continue to grow, reflecting the UAE’s economic ambitions together with the increasingly sophisticated expectations of our client base. Our investment in technology will compound, making us more effective without losing the qualities that have defined us since the beginning.

In three years, Hadef & Partners will have almost 50 years’ experience in the market. We will remain independent and UAE-focused, and serving the clients who expect genuine expertise from their trusted long-term advisor.