Mishcon de Reya appoints high‑profile disputes team in the UAE

Mishcon de Reya announced the appointment of three new hires in the Dispute Resolution team in the UAE. Charlotte Bijlani joins as partner and co-head of the UAE Disputes practice. She has been joined by managing associate, Haya Al Bawab and associate, Gabriela Benavides.

All three join from Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), where Bijlani was Managing Partner of the Dubai office and head of their Middle East Dispute Resolution practice.

Bijlani is the second partner to join the UAE Dispute Resolution team this year, following the arrival ofpartner Bushra Ahmed in March 2026. Her appointment brings the total number of regional partners to seven, under the leadership of managing partner Christopher Skipper.

Bijlani brings more than two decades of experience advising clients on high-value, cross-border commercial litigation and arbitration matters. She has a diverse domestic and international client base including high net worth individuals, family businesses, financial institutions, major corporates, governments, sovereign wealth funds as well as companies across the energy, infrastructure, real estate, transport and telecommunications sectors.

She has handled disputes across the Middle East, India, Africa, Asia, Europe and the UK relating to joint ventures/shareholder agreements, fraud, debt recovery and enforcement, investigations, construction, real estate, hospitality, insolvency, aviation, maritime and data protection. She has extensive experience in aircraft repossessions in the UAE, KSA, Europe and the UK and in seeking interim remedies, in particular, worldwide freezing injunctions.

Bijlani regularly appears as an advocate before the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts and also has full rights of audience before the English Higher Courts (Civil Division) and the ADGM Courts. She also sits as an arbitrator and is frequently appointed by DIAC and the ICC.

Joining Bijlani are managing associate, Haya Al Bawab and associate, Gabriela Benavides, both experienced disputes lawyers with significant regional and international experience.

The team move comes at the time of the recent announcement that Mishcon de Reya has opened its Dubai office in the prestigious One Za’abeel, offering clients support across a range of practice areas, including corporate, dispute resolution, employment, real estate, private wealth, impact, and innovation. The hires mark a major milestone in the firm’s international growth strategy and reinforce its long-term confidence in and commitment to the region.

Christopher Skipper, managing partner, UAE, said, “This is another important step in the expansion of Mishcon de Reya in the UAE. Our reputation as a disputes powerhouse makes the firm an attractive home for leading talent. Charlotte, Haya and Gabi, bring strong regional and international experience in complex, high value arbitrations and disputes. Their arrival further strengthens our disputes practice and reinforces our commitment to providing clients with the highest quality legal advice across the region.”

Greg Falkof, partner and head of international arbitration at Mishcon de Reya, said, “The arrival of Charlotte, Haya and Gabi further serves to underline our expertise in the most complex, international arbitration and the firm’s position as a dispute powerhouse, and also acknowledges the increasingly international nature of disputes work. Charlotte and the team’s experience in complex, high-value, cross-jurisdictional disputes will enhance our offering to clients and allow us to bring our holistic approach to litigation and arbitration to clients across the region and beyond.”

Charlotte Bijlani, partner and co-head of the Dispute Resolution Group in the UAE, added, “I am delighted to join Mishcon de Reya with Haya and Gabi at such an exciting stage of its growth in the UAE and to play a key role in the development of the disputes practice in this region. The firm is known as a dispute powerhouse having built an outstanding reputation internationally for handling complex disputes and delivering exceptional outcomes for clients.”

The team appointment aligns with Mishcon de Reya’s Vision 2030 strategy to expand its international disputes capability and support clients involved in multi‑jurisdictional litigation and arbitration.