Al Tamimi & Company
Established in 1989, Al Tamimi & Company is the largest local, non-affiliated law firm in the UAE with offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Further offices in Baghdad and Doha, and a combined staff of nearly 150 attorneys, make it one of the giants of the Middle East.
The 13 inclusions in eight of the following chapters prove the firm’s competitive quality in a rapidly diversifying marketplace.
The firm’s reputation as “among the very best in the region” for dispute resolution is justified by the appearance of the “highly regarded” Essam al Tamimi in both the commercial litigation and arbitration chapters. Founder and senior partner of the firm, al Tamimi has argued before the London Court of International Arbitration, the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration and the World Intellectual Property Organization as well as courts within the UAE and Bahrain, and he was the most nominated lawyer in our arbitration research. Phillip Punwar also “knows his stuff” in this sector and joins al Tamimi to give the firm one of the best practices in the region. Hassan Arab appears alongside al Tamimi in the commercial litigation chapter. Described as “outstanding” by respondents, Arab focuses his litigation practice on banking and intellectual property rights disputes.
Banking is another specialism at the firm, with two lawyers appearing in this chapter. Lynette Brown advises lenders and borrowers on insolvency and debt restructurings, bilateral, syndicated, asset and trade finance transactions and places highly here. Husam Hourani also places highly. Head of the firm’s banking and finance department, he also achieved a significant number of nominations in the capital markets section.
The firm also performs well in the real estate chapter, with two lawyers making the cut. Mohammed Kamal’s practice focuses on real estate financing including Islamic finance, as well as development, structuring and transactions, with one source commenting, “of them all, he is the one that impressed me most”. He is joined by the head of the firm’s property department Lisa Dale, who recently advised Union Properties in connection with the development of the Dubai Autodrome.
Yazan al Saoudi represents the firm in both the shipping & maritime and aviation chapters, and his clients range from P&I clubs, charterers, cargo owners and shipyards to insurance companies and domestic and international airlines. Intellectual property is another of the firm’s strengths, and it provides two nominees for that chapter. Described by one respondent as having “one of the best IP practices” in the country, the firm fields Omar Obeidat, who recently advised Jordan’s government on accession to the World Trade Organization, and Hoda Taysir Barakat, managing partner and head of the intellectual property and information technology department, in this section.