- Committees
- Court Users’ Committee
- Rules Committee
- In-House Counsel Committee
- Pro Bono Committee
We have introduced changes to our Court Committees in 2019. We will maintain three main committees, which we rely on for feedback and consultation in terms of proposed improvements within the Courts (from a procedures and rules perspective) to assist in providing an efficient, accessible, transparent and professional service to all users.
The Court Users’ Committee is an independent liaison body between the DIFC Courts and Court users, with the brief of supporting cost effective and professional service provision.
Amna Al Owais Chief Registrar
Ayesha Bin Kalban Registrar
Jacques Visser General Counsel
Muna Dandan General Counsel
Dr. Mahmoud Hussain Founding Partner
Ahmed Juma AlRaeesi Founder and Director General
Mr Mohamed ElGhatit Partner
Nicholas Braganza Partner
Seema Bono Partner
Shane Jury Partner
DK Singh Managing Partner
Ludmila Yamalova Managing Partner
Sarah Malik CEO and International Disputes Counsel
Colin Seow Arbitrator | Advocate | Mediator
Tom Montagu-Smith KC Barrister
Philip Punwar Barrister
The Rules Committee meets quarterly to discuss changes and improvements to the Rules of the DIFC Courts. It comprises a wide range of legal practitioners who engage with the DIFC Courts and have significant practical experience of the Rules.
H.E. Justice Ali Al Madhani Senior Judge of Court of Appeal and Head of International Relations of Judicial Affairs
Ayesha Bin Kalban Registrar
Adrian Chadwick Partner
Rita Jaballah Partner
Philip Punwar Barrister
Alessandro Tricoli Partner
Sheila Shadmand Partner
Deirdre Walker Partner
Rebecca Copley, Partner & Head of Litigation
David Russell QC Barrister
Damian Crosse Partner
Sara Sheffield Partner
Nick Braganza Partner
James Abbott Partner
Shane Jury Partner
Graham Lovett Partner
Formerly the General Counsel Forum, the In-House Counsel Committee was launched in 2019 and continued with the mandate of dialogue and liaison between the DIFC Courts and senior in-house counsel, with the inaugural refreshed committee held in December 2019. Each event brings together participants to share experience, examine trends and discuss global dispute resolution best practices.
Amna Al Owais Chief Registrar
Muna Dandan General Counsel
Robert Lewsley Senior Group Counsel
Malek Al Khashashneh Senior Legal Director
Dr Abobakr Dafalla Regional Legal Counsel
Ziad Issa General Counsel
Gabriel Falda Assistant General Counsel
Ayman El Naagar General Counsel
Dominic Varley Executive Director - Legal
Heba Hamdy Regional Counsel
Jenny Grainger Group Legal, C&IB
Sahia Ahmad CEO, Regulatory & Governance
Majd Nemeh Head of Legal, Middle East
CEO Regulatory & Governance Dubai Department of Economy & Tourism
Sahia Ahmad is the CEO of Regulatory & Governance at Dubai’s Department of Economy & Tourism. She has over 25 years of experience in the Private Sector having worked at Allen & Overy and Reed Smith, where she was a partner and in the Public Sector with Dubai World and Emirates Investment Authority, in Abu Dhabi. She is an experienced General Counsel and policymaker who has led significant international transactions and projects such as the construction of Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis, the issue of the first Dubai Offshore Companies legislation and Freehold law and the creation and IPO of DP World. Sahia holds a number of board positions including the Executive Board of the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and the Global Board of the Association of Corporate Counsel. Sahia is the first Emirati to be a member of the UK Bar. She joined the Management team of Dubai Tourism in 2014.
Senior Legal Counsel Regional Head, Disputes & Government Investigations Legal, AME Standard Charter Bank
Robert is the Regional Head of Disputes and Government Investigations (Africa & Middle East) at Standard Chartered Bank. Robert studied law at the London School of Economics (2003, LLB Hons first class), was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2004 and practised in London before moving to Dubai in 2009. He spent seven years in the arbitration team at Al Tamimi & Co. handling complex commercial disputes and appeared regularly before the DIFC Courts and arbitral tribunals as an advocate. He joined Standard Chartered Bank in 2017. Robert has published widely, contributing articles to Global Arbitration Review, the International Arbitration Law Review, and chapters on the DIFC as a seat for arbitration.
General Counsel & Secretary to the Board & Head of Legal Affairs Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)
Ms Dandan joined the DFSA in September 2015 as General Counsel and Secretary to the Board as well as Head of Legal Affairs.
She is responsible for advising the DFSA’s Board of Directors and its various committees on all legal issues touching upon their functions and responsibilities, as well as governance matters. She also oversees the Board Secretarial function, ensuring the effective management of the affairs of the Board and its committees.
Ms Dandan also heads the DFSA’s Legal Division, which is responsible for managing the DFSA’s legal risk and providing legal advice and support for all aspects of the DFSA’s functions, as well as drafting the administrative laws and rules forming the DFSA’s regulatory framework.
Prior to joining the DFSA, Ms Dandan spent five years as Head of Legal for the corporate and retail banking businesses of Barclays Bank PLC across the Middle East. Before that she served for several years as Senior Legal Advisor for HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, advising on all aspects of HSBC’s operations across the Middle East and North Africa, including their corporate, commercial, private wealth, retail and investment banking business lines.
Ms Dandan obtained her law degree in the United Kingdom and is qualified to practice law in England and Wales, as well as in Hong Kong. Prior to returning to her Middle Eastern roots, Ms Dandan spent over ten years working for international law firms in both London and Hong Kong with a focus on advising large financial institutions and global corporates.
Head of Legal Zurich International Life Limited Middle East
Majd Nemeh is the Head of Legal and Member of the Middle East Executive Team at Zurich International Life Limited Middle East (Zurich), part of Zurich Insurance Group. Majd joined Zurich in 2017 as Senior Legal Counsel before being appointed as the Head of Legal.
Majd is an attorney at law. His diverse practice includes legislative drafting, drafting, and reviewing of a wide range of insurance and re-insurance contracts, corporate law, M&A deals, and data security. He also has extensive experience in litigation.
With thirteen years of experience in the legal sector, and eight years of experience in the insurance industry, Majd has extensive experience in delivering strategic initiatives like setting up entities, leading licensing discussions, structuring legal aspects in newer business models and propositions, setting up and formalizing distribution arrangements and bancassurance partnerships.
At Zurich, alongside the day-to-day management of the legal team in the Middle East, Majd also plays a crucial role in thought leadership in regulatory reforms, while maintaining strong relationships with relevant regulators in the region.
Majd started his career as an Associate at the IBLAW Firm, based in Jordan and prior to joining Zurich, he was Senior Legal Counsel at Gulf Film and Novo Cinemas. He has previously worked for Dubai Properties Group and held the role of Legal Manager.
Majd holds a Bachelor of Law and an LLM in International Business Law.
General Counsel Emaar
Ayman is a well-rounded corporate/commercial senior legal executive with over 20 years of global experience in the Retail, Real Estate, Consumer Finance, Leisure & Entertainment, Sustainability and Healthcare industries, with primary focus on the MENA, East Africa, and Levant regions with extensive expertise in corporate/commercial law, corporate governance and restructuring, risk management, joint ventures, M&As and international franchising. He graduated from the faculty of law (Anglo-American Section) at Cairo University in 2000 and was admitted to the Egyptian Bar Association the same year.
Ayman started his in-house career with Majid Al Futtaim in Egypt in 2001 where he has developed extensive experience in real estate development, shopping malls, leisure & entertainment, and consumer retail. During his 17 years’ tenure with Majid Al Futtaim, Ayman had various roles across the Group and was part of several committees which looked into new market entries & business initiatives, leasing & strategic transactions, and ethics & compliance.
In his last leadership roles, Ayman was responsible for transforming legal functions in the way they operate by creating digitally enabled and customer centric teams, which helped increasing efficiencies and creating greater value to the organisation.
The Pro Bono Committee is comprised of seven members and includes: a. The Pro Bono Programme Leader; and b. Six lawyers who are registered with the DIFC Courts’ Register of Legal Practitioners.
Hayley Norton Pro Bono Programme Leader
Adam Bradshaw Legal Director
Peter Smith Senior Associate
Rebecca Kelly Partner
Zara Merali Senior Associate
Dr. Maryam-Krystyna Nechaieva Legal Counsel
Janine Mallis Senior Associate