Dubai Disputes Associate

ALN UAE

ASSOCIATE, DISPUTES | DUBAI

We are seeking an Associate to join our Disputes team in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

ALN UAE is the Middle East office of Anjarwalla & Khanna, East Africa’s largest law firm. Established in 1954, Anjarwalla & Khanna founded ALN, the African Legal Network, in 2004. ALN is now Africa’s leading law firm alliance, with member firms across 16 jurisdictions.

With offices in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Dubai, and a Dubai presence of over 15 years, the firm occupies a distinctive position in the market: a Dubai-based disputes platform with deep links across Africa, the Middle East and wider international markets.

Role Summary

ALN UAE is seeking to hire an Associate into its Disputes team in Dubai.

The team is currently handling mandates with an aggregate value exceeding USD 1 billion, across a diverse client base that includes corporates, financial institutions, investors, shareholders, insolvency officeholders, private clients, family businesses and international groups operating across the Middle East, Africa and beyond.

The work covers complex disputes and advisory mandates across financial services, trade and agri-business, technology, intellectual property, energy, aviation, insolvency, commercial disputes and shareholder disputes.

The role offers exposure to high-value, cross-border disputes across the UAE’s hybrid civil and common law legal system, including the DIFC Courts, ADGM Courts, onshore UAE Courts, international commercial and investor-State arbitration, enforcement and asset recovery, regulatory matters and cross-border advisory work. The team advises principally under English law, DIFC law, ADGM law and UAE law.

The Disputes team is lean, full-service and supported by larger teams across Africa where needed. The successful candidate will be expected to deliver to high international standards across the full life cycle of disputes work.

Key roles and responsibilities:

The responsibilities under this role will include:

• Case and client management.


• Advanced legal research across common law, UAE civil law, private international law and public international law.


• Drafting advice, correspondence, pleadings, submissions, applications and witness evidence.


• Hearing preparation and, where appropriate, oral advocacy.


• Cross-border advisory work.


• Thought leadership, proposals, profile-building and business development.

Given the level of client demand, the role also offers a real opportunity to help accelerate the growth of developing practice areas across our Middle East and Africa disputes platform.

Candidate Profile

We are looking for a lawyer with strong legal fundamentals, sound judgment and a genuine interest in complex disputes. The successful candidate should be intellectually curious, commercially aware and motivated to build a demanding cross-border disputes practice.

The essential requirements are:

·       Bar admission, or equivalent qualification, in a relevant jurisdiction.

·       Approximately 2 to 5 years' post-qualification experience.

·       Excellent drafting, research and written communication skills.

·       Strong analytical ability and attention to detail.

·       Good judgment, including the ability to identify what matters, assess risk and communicate clearly.

·       Advocacy potential, including confidence in oral presentation and an interest in developing as an advocate.

·       An interest in a broad disputes practice, including litigation, arbitration, enforcement, regulatory matters, insolvency, fraud, shareholder disputes and cross-border advisory work.

·       The ability to manage multiple workstreams in a demanding environment.

Personal Qualities

We would particularly value candidates who demonstrate:

• Appetite for responsibility, autonomy and early client exposure.


• A positive, collaborative and emotionally intelligent working style.


• Strong organisation, efficiency and time management.


• Clear, persuasive communication, both in person and in writing.


• The ability to build effective working relationships with clients, colleagues, co-counsel, experts and other external stakeholders.


• High professional standards, integrity and commitment to teamwork.


• A genuine interest in ALN’s Middle East and Africa platform and in helping to build a growing disputes practice.

Candidates may come from common law, civil law, regional, or international backgrounds. They will be assessed recognising that different profiles may bring different strengths, including language skills, regional experience, sector knowledge, prior litigation or arbitration exposure, judicial assistantship, research experience, or other specialist experience.

Candidates should be legally qualified in a jurisdiction that provides a credible foundation for the role, and excellent written and spoken English is assumed.

The role will suit someone who wants to work in a lean, high-trust team and contribute actively to the development of practice.

Career development and compensation

The firm is committed to the long-term development of its Disputes practice in the region, and the successful candidate can expect a clear path to progression within a growing team. Compensation is competitive within the Dubai Disputes market and will be discussed with shortlisted candidates.

How to apply

If you are interest in applying, please submit your application via this link: https://alnafrica.bamboohr.com/careers/75

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.