With over a decade of experience in the UAE’s construction and infrastructure sector, our firm has acted for employers, contractors, consultants, and state-linked entities in complex disputes governed by FIDIC and bespoke construction contracts. Our expertise spans dispute avoidance and risk allocation in the drafting phase, early-stage advisory and pre-arbitration strategy, all the way through to arbitration, court applications, and enforcement. We bring technical fluency, cross-border coordination, and regulatory insight to each matter—enabling us to navigate multi-contractor environments, critical path delays, performance testing disputes, and challenges under Estidama and LEED green building frameworks. Our lawyers are frequently engaged in high-value arbitrations under ICC, LCIA, DIAC, and SIAC rules, with a track record of successfully defending and pursuing claims arising from mega civil and mixed-use projects and also energy-linked EPC contracts.
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For developers and consultants working under Estidama or LEED obligations, disputes often emerge over certification delays, failure to achieve energy-efficiency benchmarks, or misalignment between design promises and operational results. These are technically demanding disputes requiring knowledge of regulatory context and the underlying performance standards. We advise on contracts and disputes where green certification was central to the project’s legal and commercial structure. Our team's experience includes representing a government body in ICC arbitration in AED 99million claim and counterclaims, relating to a public building project where the consultant failed to procure the agreed Estidama Pearl Rating and the owner reduced the scope of work.
Clients facing wrongful calls on bonds, threatened asset transfers, or urgent suspensions often need immediate relief—whether to stop a performance guarantee call or preserve project continuity pending resolution. Our team is well-versed in applying for interim injunctions and attachments, both as stand-alone relief and in support of arbitration proceedings. We have succeeded in obtaining and resisted court orders in relation to performance bond calls and contractor demobilization threats. This includes matters where urgent ex parte relief was necessary to prevent irreparable harm during project disputes or in anticipation of termination.
EPC and turnkey disputes often involve complex project scopes, unforgiving timelines, and pressure points at the interface between design, procurement, and commissioning. Clients typically face claims for delay, disruption, and cost overruns, or find themselves defending against inflated variation claims and performance-related disputes. We assist at all stages—advising on early claim strategies, coordinating technical experts, and preparing for arbitration or court measures such as calls on performance guarantees. Our lawyers’ past work includes advising the joint venture of a UAE state-owned oil company and international partners on over USD 500 million in claims under a lump-sum EPC contract for infrastructure, accommodations, and permanent utilities built on artificial islands in the Upper Zakum oil field. In another matter, they secured the annulment of an AED 68 million arbitral award concerning a water and waste treatment facility by successfully challenging the award on grounds of serious procedural irregularity.
Managing Partner
