Bird & Bird

The firm: Bird & Bird is an international law firm, with a long-established reputation for having a rare and invaluable grasp of strategic commercial issues. The firm combines exceptional legal expertise with deep industry knowledge and refreshingly creative thinking, to help clients operating at the forefront of their industries to achieve their commercial goals.

The local team has an in-depth understanding of the laws, business practices and customs of the region, and its core industries. Through its offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, our full-service UAE practice provides innovative corporate and commercial advice to local, regional and international clients in all areas of business law, with a focus on sectors and industries that are important to the development of the region..

Areas of practice: In the UAE, the firm focuses on the following key sectors:

Aerospace, defence and security: providing advice on all elements of ADS including on systems integration, defence contracting and procurement, international co-operation and competition, corporate, partnering, alliances and strategic partnerships, PFI, equipment leasing and receivables financing, technology, export control and customs, IPR, risk allocation, employment and immigration.

Aviation: advising airlines, lessors, financiers, aircraft manufacturers, groundhandlers, airports, MROs, freight forwarders, insurers, tour operators and travel agents around the world. It provides advice on aircraft sale and purchase, aircraft finance and leasing, dispute resolution, aviation commercial agreements, and aviation competition and regulation.

Education: advising schools, examination boards, professional training bodies and universities on franchising, licences, joint ventures, strategic alliances, co-operation and management agreements.

Fashion and retail: advising clients on trade marks and intellectual property, franchising, licensing, distribution, agency, and multi-channel and hybrid structures.

Food and beverage: advising on a full range of areas, including branding, labelling, health claims, fair trade and patents on novel foods.

Life sciences and healthcare: its focus on e-health projects, strategic partnerships, outsourcing and large-scale IT is complemented by the e-commerce, data protection compliance and regulatory work that it undertakes for clients.

Hospitality and tourism: advising major stakeholders in the hotels and leisure industry, across a wide range of transactions including acquisitions and disposals, operating leases, management and franchise agreements, and brand management, among others.

Real estate: advising clients on REITs and infrastructure, real estate development and financing, hotel acquisitions, operations and franchising, strata ownership, retail leasing, mall development and management, joint ventures, and commercial agencies.

Media and entertainment: advising clients from across the media spectrum on a wide range of issues, including exploitation across all forms of digital media, such as user-generated content exploitation.

Sports: advising national and international sports governing bodies, event organisers and sponsors on issues including exploitation of commercial rights, brand management, regulatory and disciplinary issues.

Technology and communications: advising on matters ranging from smaller innovative projects to the largest and most complex transactions of recent years. It advises clients on agile development methodologies, big data, cloud services, cyber and IT security, M2M, smart metering, mobile payments and apps, next generation genomics, open source and open data, robotics and software patentability, spectrum auctions, sharing and trading, and 3D printing.