People

“Afridi delivers international quality advice on local law matters. The team meets deadlines and bring a commercial understanding to their work product. They are also responsive and personable in their dealings.” - Legal 500 EMEA

Areas of Expertise

  • Banking and Finance
  • Bankruptcy and Insolvency
  • Capital Markets
  • Corporate and Commercial
  • Corporate Governance
  • Compliance
  • Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
  • Employment
  • Funds
  • Industrial and Manufacturing
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Private Client
  • Private Equity
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • Restructuring
  • Telecommunications, Media and Technology
  • Venture Capital

Qualifications

  • Professional
  • Solicitor, Law Society of England & Wales, 2001
  • Financial Services Lawyers Association
  • British Business Group, Dubai and Northern Emirates
  • Languages
  • English
  • Academic
  • Legal Practice Course, College of Law, London, 1999
  • Common Professional Examination, University of Hong Kong, 1997
  • BA (Hons.), Sociology and Economics, University of York, England, 1993
Notable Matters
  • Acted for the Xstrata Group in their US$2.25 billion global note issue (US$500 million DIFC tranche). The DIFC element of the transaction raised novel questions of DIFC law and the nature of DIFC instruments under English and New York law. Also acted for the Xstrata Group in the establishment and renewal of their US$6 billion medium term note programme
  • Advised various entities in their dealings with the DFSA, financial services advisory and transactional matters (such as new product launches and contractual documentation) plus contentious matters such as regulatory investigations and enforcement actions
  • Established Dubai Islamic Bank’s investment banking subsidiaries in the DIFC (DFSA regulated)
  • DIFC employment advice for both employees and employers
Speaking Engagements
  • Speaker, New Year’s Legal Update: UAE Data Protection Law, 27 January 2022
  • Speaker, Doing Business in the UAE, a Lex Mundi webinar hosted by S. Horowitz & Co. in collaboration with Afridi & Angell, 8 September 2020
  • Speaker, TikTok for sale, The Business Breakfast radio show, Dubai Eye 103.8, 5 August 2020, Dubai
  • Speaker, Issues being faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on the legal sector, webinar organised by The University of Birmingham Dubai and part of the Business Bites Webinar Series, 1 July 2020, Dubai
  • Panelist, The Impact of COVID-19 on Cross-Border Restructuring, webinar organised by Lex Mundi and part of the Lex Mundi Business Adaptation Webinar Series, 1 July 2020
  • Speaker, New Apple / Google partnership on COVID-19 contact tracing technology from a legal perspective, The Business Breakfast radio show, Dubai Eye 103.8, 14 April 2020, Dubai
  • Speaker, Legal side of the UAE’s data protection regulations, The Business Breakfast radio show, Dubai Eye 103.8, 28 January 2020, Dubai
  • Speaker, Key Aspects of the Employment Relationship, workshop organised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai, 8 May 2018
  • Moderator, How to prepare for and cope with ‘dawn-raids’ conducted by authorities, 3rd Anti-Corruption Compliance EMEA Summit, Dubai, 15-16 November 2017
  • Panelist, What do practitioners think of DIFC wills?, Optimal Successions in Dubai 7 the UAE, Dubai, 23-25 November 2015
  • Member of Emerging Courts Session, 4th GCC Regulators’ Summit, Doha, 22-23 February, 2010
  • Do compliance programmes mitigate against fines or damages claims? A practitioner’s view.  Conference: Dispute Resolution in the Middle East, Dubai, October 2009
Awards and Testimonials

“Both Stuart Walker and Sulakshana Senanayake work extremely hard – often at short notice and under considerable time pressure – and are prepared to go the extra mile for the client and the team. They also had a very good feel for the way that the DIFC court would receive submissions – whether a point is likely to fall flat or engage the court.”

Chambers Global 2020

 

“The right balance between legal knowledge and business acumen.”

Legal 500 EMEA 2017

 

“Very commercial, practical and balanced in his approach.”

Legal 500 EMEA 2015

 

We are really impressed. He is very practical – he expresses himself clearly and explains things to us so we can understand them.”

Chambers Global 2014

 

“Clients speak highly of Stuart Walker, who brings considerable regulatory expertise to the team.”

Chambers Global: The Client’s Guide 2010

 

Stuart Walker, who “knows his stuff”, is regarded as one of the leading regulatory specialists in Dubai and as a result is known to be a key advisor in relation to DFSA investigations.

Legal 500 – 2009 

 

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About

Stuart’s primary practice includes financial services regulation, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and employment matters. He leads the field in advising parties during Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) investigations and, where necessary, negotiating settlements on their behalf. Stuart was instructed by the first authorised firm to be fined by the DFSA and has since gone on to advise in connection with a significant number of DFSA investigations.

 

Stuart is a regular contributor to Euromoney’s Global Banking & Financial Policy Review. He is the co-author of the UAE chapter, Financial Services Regulation in the Middle East, Oxford University Press (2008). He has contributed articles to various publications including the International Financial Law Reviews and Lawyer Monthly.

 

Stuart joined Afridi & Angell in 2003 and became a partner in 2008. Prior to joining the firm Stuart was a solicitor in the banking department of Lovells in London. He lived and worked in London, Hong Kong, New York and Dubai. Prior to qualifying as a lawyer, he wrote for and edited various trade journals and other publications.