WFW launches Dubai contentious practice with key partner hire

Charlotte Bijlani joins the firm from Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla in Dubai, where she was partner and head of the international arbitration practice.

Bijlani is an experienced litigator with full rights of audience before both the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) courts and the higher courts of England and Wales. She regularly acts for employers, contractors and funders in construction and engineering disputes across the Middle East, as well as major corporates, developers, investors, financial institutions and high net worth individuals in all types of contentious matters both regionally and in the UK. Her practice extends to litigation, international arbitration, expert determination and mediation, as well as advisory work on litigation risk and avoidance.

Andrew Baird, WFW Dubai office head, commented, “Charlotte is an exceptionally-talented lawyer and is highly regarded in the region.  Our practice has until now been best known for its focus on non-contentious finance, corporate and projects related work especially in our key sectors of transport and energy. Her arrival and the inception of our contentious practice in the region will herald a new phase in our development and will allow us to better serve our clients in our key sectors and more widely”. Managing partner Chris Lowe added, “Growing our global litigation and disputes resolution capability is one of our key strategic goals and Charlotte moving to WFW is a high-profile example of our commitment to, and success in, doing just that.”

Bijlani said, “WFW not only has a highly-regarded practice in the Middle East, it also offers a superb global platform with a strong brand for high quality work that will be attractive to my clients. I look forward to helping develop the disputes practice regionally, as well as working with all my new colleagues across WFW’s global network.”