- Guidelines for Registration of Legal Practitioners
- Part I. Law firms
- Part II. Individuals with rights of audience before the DIFC Courts
- Renewals
- Addition or removal of lawyer(s) under part I
- Important notes
The DIFC Courts' Register of Legal Practitioners is made up of two Parts: Part I - for Law firms to issue and conduct proceedings before the DIFC Courts, and Part II - for individual legal practitioners to obtain Rights of Audience before the DIFC Courts.
Once an application is submitted online, it is reviewed by the DIFC Courts, and if successful after the interview that we conduct with the applicants (Part II), the registration is then approved. Registrations are valid for one year, and are renewed upon proving the required documents and payment of the associated renewal fees.
Entry in Part I shall be in the name of a firm. The firm shall provide a list of practitioners employed by the firm (the branch which is being registered) and the names of those lawyers authorised to issue and conduct proceedings on behalf of the firm. Issuing and conducting proceedings involve practical steps which progress a case. On this basis, only a practitioner who is authorised by his/her firm (and listed as such under Part I) can issue and conduct proceedings by:
A firm can add up to seven (7) Lawyers under part I for no additional fees. Any extra addition is USD 100. There are no fees for removal of practitioners in Part I.
Entry in Part II can only be in the name of an individual. The applicant must provide a declaration (as stated on the online application form) as to whether:
An individual applying for registration in Part II of the Register should give the DIFC Courts not less than 7 days’ notice of their intention to appear before a judge, so that the necessary arrangements can be made to ensure the presence of the Registrar. If it is not possible to give sufficient notice, or if no Registrar is available to attend the first hearing, the individual will need to seek permission of the hearing judge to proceed with the hearing in the absence of the Registrar and the individual’s registration in the Register shall remain provisional until the next hearing, at which the Registrar shall attend and either: (i) confirm the applicant’s registration as permanent; or (ii) refuse the registration.
Registrations are valid for one year and are renewed upon proving the required documents and payment of the associated renewal fees. Several reminder emails are sent to registered practitioners before the date of expiry.
If a Part I or Part II practitioner does not renew their registration (including the payment) before the expiry date, their registration will be suspended. The firm or practitioner will need to pay the full registration fee in order to re-register.
In order for a practitioner to be added under the firm’s Part I registration, the admin of the firm may request for this through the online portal, attaching the below documents. Once the request is received, the application will be reviewed prior to acceptance.
The firm must provide the following documents must be provided:
In order for a practitioner to be removed under the firm’s Part I registration, the firm must provide a letter signed by the managing partner/senior partner addressed to the DIFC Courts by e-mail to registration@difccourts.ae requesting the same.
NOTE: These guidelines apply to all existing and new registrations/renewals.