Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla Strengthens Arbitration & Employment Offering in the UAE

Tuesday 07 June 2016
Charlotte Bijlani

Dubai - MENA Herald: Leading UAE law firm Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla has enhanced its capabilities in the region with the appointments of Charlotte Bijlani as a partner in its Arbitration practice and Joanna Matthews-Taylor as a senior associate for the Employment practice this month. Both are based in the Dubai office.

“The UAE is rapidly becoming a global hub for trade and finance with Dubai becoming an increasingly important center for dispute resolution in the Middle East region. With most cases being referred to arbitration, this mode of dispute resolution plays a vital role, particularly in disputes that arise in the real estate, construction and maritime sectors,” said Dr. Habib Al Mulla, Chairman of Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla. “Charlotte Bijlani brings a wealth of knowledge to our international arbitration team, and will enhance our ability to service our local, regional and global clients in complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes in Dubai and in other major arbitration centers. We are delighted to have her on board.”

Charlotte is a dispute resolution lawyer who specializes in international arbitration, commercial litigation and ADR with specific expertise in construction and engineering, real estate, corporate, shareholder and contractual disputes. She also has experience in corporate insolvency and regulatory matters. Charlotte is a longstanding Solicitor Advocate in the Higher Courts, Civil Proceedings of England and Wales and has full rights of audience before the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts. She joins from another international law firm where she was a partner in London and then Dubai, and is recognized as a leading practitioner by global independent legal directories.

In addition, the firm has boosted its Employment practice with the hire of Joanna Matthews-Taylor, who joins from DLA Piper's Dubai office. Admitted as a solicitor in Scotland, she has been practicing law in the UAE since 2008, advising human resources personnel and in-house counsel on a full spectrum of employment and immigration matters in the UAE and wider Middle East region. Joanna's areas of expertise include employment contracts, benefits and termination, as well as the employment aspects of corporate transactions, cross-border secondments and mobility of employees in the Middle East, advising on both contentious and non-contentious issues.

Borys Dackiw, Managing Partner at Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla, stated: “With the ongoing evolution of employment laws and regulations in the UAE and the broader Middle East region, Joanna Matthews-Taylor's expertise complements Baker & McKenzie's leading global Employment practice and enhances our existing offering to our clients in the region. We are very pleased that she has joined our firm.”

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