Afridi & Angell has a long track record of providing multinational investment banks and financial service providers with legal opinions on the enforceability and validity their agreements and transactions with parties in the UAE, including termination and close-out netting provisions and title transfer collateral arrangements. The firm also advises on engagement with regulators and the development of financial products. Practice head Charles Laubach is lauded for his ‘commercial and client-oriented’ approach, while co-head Bashir Ahmed offers specialist advice on Shari’ah-compliant matters. Abdus Samad also comes recommended.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Charles Laubach gives very practical advice on ISDA matters, and gives a lot more insightful advice than other brand name law firms in this area.’
‘Charles Laubach is a pleasure to work with, as he provides clear, concise and timely advice. His turnaround time is also very good.’
‘Esoteric area of law providing guidance and advice to US FCM's for reliance - A&A's attorneys were well versed in the ask and delivered quality work product in a timely and efficient manner.’
‘I found the A&A attorneys to be engaged, knowledgeable and thorough.’
‘Afridi is a versatile firm with broad coverage of services and practice areas. Their longstanding presence in the Middle East enhances their understanding and "pulse" of the market. Importantly, they are one of the UAE law firms with the highest tenure among their lawyers -- a clear indication of their ability to recruit and retain talent.'
‘Charles Laubach has been consistently excellent both in the quality of his legal counsel and responsiveness. He is also very commercial and client oriented. He has provided to my bank and broker-dealer clients opinions on the structuring of complex products (prime brokerage, derivatives, securities lending, margin lending) and on the evaluation of the credit risk represented by UAE counterparties. He is also the official provider of the industry legal opinions on repurchase agreements and securities lending agreements.'
‘The team is solid. We searched for months to find timely, accurate, and useful legal advice. ’
Key clients
- Vision Bank
- Citibank
- BNP Paribas
- BNPP Wealth Management
- JP Morgan Chase
- International Capital Market Association
- International Securities Lending Association
- Habib Bank
- Ajman Bank
- National Bank of Fujairah
Work highlights
- Advising the DIFC branch of an Electronic Money Institution that provides multi-currency international business accounts as well as foreign exchange solutions on developing a new compliance and anti-money laundering framework, developing a new privacy and data protection program, and developing an outsourcing contract and policy framework to comply with the stringent safeguards on outsourcing imposed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
- Advising a blockchain intelligence company on the rollout of its exchange platform to the United Arab Emirates. We are advising on all aspects of UAE law including licensing and business set-up, data privacy and protection and regulatory approvals including those required from the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Charles Laubach, Bashir Ahmed