Jonathan Brooks

Jonathan Brooks is Of Counsel in Al Tamimi & Company’s International Litigation Group, based in Dubai International Financial Centre, focusing on Commercial Litigation. The Group handles complex and high-value cross-border disputes across numerous sectors and industries.

He has over 15 years of experience in commercial litigation and dispute resolution, working on cases which often involve banking and financial services entities, and has also acted for some of the largest businesses in the UAE and Gulf region as well as multinationals carrying out business in the region. He has significant experience in fraud and asset recovery cases, obtaining injunctive relief and enforcement, as well as arbitration and mediation.

Jonathan advises clients on aspects of UAE, DIFC and English law and has considerable experience handling cases before the ADGM, DIFC and QFC courts, as well as in England and Wales. The Legal 500 has previously praised his ‘strong grasp of the law and excellent client-care skills’, and he has been recognised as an ‘associate to watch’, with clients describing him as “an excellent lawyer… practical, helpful and responsive”, “good at challenging opinions and offering creative solutions” and “a hard-hitting gritty litigator who fights aggressively for his clients”.

His recent experience includes acting for an eight-bank syndicate in an AED 1.8 billion DIFC claim following breaches of conventional and Islamic facilities, obtaining judgment for over AED 2 billion and successfully resisting appeal attempts; acting for Bank of Singapore in a EUR 240 million loan default, securing a US$55 million judgment, defeating counterclaims and successfully opposing appeals; acting for ADCB to enforce a mortgage in ADGM proceedings following the breach of an AED 500 million Islamic loan facility; acting for the owner of a Gulfstream private jet in ADGM Court proceedings against its insurer and reinsurers; acting for the successful claimant Thales before the QICDRC for breach of contract and obtaining judgment for damages in excess of QAR 8 million; acting for one of the largest family businesses in the MENA region in an LCIA London-seated arbitration and ancillary DIFC Court proceedings over the ownership of companies valued at over US$600 million; acting for State Bank of India in resisting claims for more than US$18 million following the non-renewal of a facility agreement, successfully defending proceedings at trial before the DIFC Court; and advising a leading Indian bank in a DIFC Court action for recovery of loans under facilities and related corporate and personal guarantees.

He holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from the College of Law (2004), an MSc from Portsmouth University (1997) and a BSc from Liverpool University (1996). He was admitted as a Solicitor of England & Wales in 2007 and speaks English.