Haleema Wahid

Haleema Wahid is a Senior Associate and an English qualified lawyer who specialises in commercial dispute avoidance and resolution, with a particular focus on the DIFC Courts. Her primary practice area is Commercial Litigation.

She has extensive experience in complex domestic and international disputes and regularly advises clients on commercial strategy and enforcement. She has worked in London, Bahrain and the UAE, acting for a broad range of clients (UHNWIs, multinational companies, local and regional corporates, banks and government bodies) on complex and high-value cross-border matters across a variety of sectors.

She has represented clients at every stage of dispute resolution proceedings, including in the DIFC Courts, ADGM Courts, UAE Courts, English Courts, negotiation and mediation. She has also worked in-house as a Senior Manager (Legal) for a major UAE healthcare company, managing the Group's entire litigation portfolio and substantially reducing its litigation exposure, drafting commercial contracts, advising on regulatory, compliance and data protection issues, leading negotiations, and reporting to the Board of Directors and C-Suite Executives.

Her recent experience includes defending a Part 7 claim in the DIFC Courts in relation to alleged unpaid remuneration claimed by a former CEO; acting for an international asset holding company in successfully obtaining a worldwide freezing order and injunction from the DIFC Courts in respect of an AED 1.4 billion dispute relating to a failed investment deal; and defending a UHNWI in a USD 217 million+ joint venture dispute with a foreign listed property developer in a DIFC-LCIA arbitration (Singapore seat), commencing related court proceedings in the Singapore and DIFC Courts.

She has also drafted and filed a Part 8 Application in the DIFC Courts for an anti-suit injunction in respect of vexatious proceedings in the onshore Courts; acted for the Claimants in DIFC Court proceedings relating to the breach of a third-party agreement involving jurisdictional challenges, interim applications under the laws of the DIFC, and the validity of contractual agreements under UAE Law; and acted for the Claimant in DIFC Court proceedings relating to a fraudulent cross-border transaction for the sale of securities.

Other matters include acting for a global electronics company, leading settlement discussions and successfully settling a 6-year-old dispute in which the client had spent c. AED 7 million on legal fees; acting for a fintech company, advising on litigation strategy in respect of a shareholder dispute (value: USD 5 million) and negotiating a share buy-out with the adverse party; and, in a previous in-house role, managing the Group's extensive litigation, arbitration and investigations portfolio with claims value of USD 3 billion+ across 46 entities in 5 different jurisdictions.

She read Law (LLB (Hons)) at King's College London and completed an MSc in Law, Business and Management (Distinction) at the University of Law. She also holds a Certificate in Advocacy from the Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy. She trained and qualified (in 2018) with a City law firm in London. She speaks English.