Sonia joined Afridi & Angell in 2017. Her practice encompasses a broad range of services, including, private client work, dispute resolution and business set up in the UAE.
Sonia has regularly advised Brazilian and South American businesses on various aspects of doing business in the UAE.
Sonia has been registered as Wills Draftsman with the DIFC Wills Service Centre since 2018. Sonia advises clients on inheritance laws and the enforceability of Wills.
Sonia also has experience and assists in a variety of contentious matters involving arbitration (DIFC-LCIA, DIAC and ad hoc) as well as court litigation before the UAE onshore courts and the DIFC courts.
Prior to joining Afridi & Angell, Sonia gained in-depth experience working as a consultant in the litigation department for a well-known UAE law firm. Before that, she worked for a number of years as Attorney-Corporate for Schlumberger Oilfield Services, in Dubai.
Representative Transactions
Foreign investment and business set up:
- Advised a Brazilian poultry business on requirements for establishing a commercial farm in the UAE.
- Advised a large South American gemstone company on sale of goods in the UAE.
- Advised a South American fruit and vegetable conglomerate on export of product to the UAE.
- Advised a South American based design-studio, interior design and furniture manufacturers on options on setting up and selling products in the UAE.
- Undertook due diligence on a large commodity trade transaction, advised and alerted first time Brazilian exporters on an attempt to defraud them.
- Regular participant in Latin American and APEX-BRASIL forums.
Private client/wills and estate planning:
- Coordination and consultation with the Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department and Ras Al Khaimah Courts and other relevant governmental and municipal authorities to identify and assess issues relating to making wills for non-Muslims.
- Advising a Dubai based European couple on issues of distribution of worldwide assets; drafted and registered Mirror Wills.
- Advising an Abu Dhabi based North American couple on matters relating to guardianship laws; distribution of assets; executorship and registration of individual and Mirror Wills in the DIFC.
- Advised client on status of Dubai Notary Will in conjunction with DIFC Will; effect of revocation clauses; and deregistration of Dubai Notary Will.
- Advising clients from different countries (including, France, Germany, Japan, Belgium, United States, India) on the registration of DIFC Wills.
- Consulted with and gave recommendations to the DIFC Wills Registry on public awareness of the Wills Service.
Dispute resolution:
- Lead role in defence of first ever personal injury claim brought before the DIFC Court.
- Assisted in preparations and attended hearings for applications for discharge of DIFC court freezing orders/injunctions.
- Assisted in a high-value dispute under DIAC arbitration rules involving claims for prolongation and variations under contract for the construction of a hotel project.
- Assisted lead counsel in DIFC-LCIA arbitration involving disputes arising from the termination of an international automobile dealership.
- Assisted and directed strategy in Dubai Court litigation involving claims arising from the sale of a residential building tower in the Dubai Marina.
- Advised and assisted foreign counsel in respect of dispute over ownership of Intellectual Property rights involving multiple jurisdictions.
- Advised a Turkish contractor in respect of dispute with a Saudi joint venture partner involving construction of a factory in Iraq.
- Acted as a volunteer pro bono consultant on criminal cases involving foreign national defendants prosecuted in Dubai.
Aleefa supports lawyers on a wide range of corporate, commercial, dispute resolution, and real estate matters. She primarily assists the dispute resolution team in legal research, document classification, document management and drafting with a special focus on the DIFC Courts.
Aleefa has gained a broad range of dispute resolution experience through her internships at leading law firms in Mumbai, the DIFC and at the High Courts and trial courts of India, not for profit organisations and through her internship at Afridi & Angell.
Prior to joining Afridi & Angell, Aleefa worked with a law firm in the UAE, assisting on corporate and maritime litigation matters.
Tanya practices in the firm’s dispute resolution practice. She advises and represents clients in arbitration proceedings before the DIAC and the LCIA, and litigation before the on-shore Courts and the DIFC Courts. In addition to advising clients on commercial disputes, Tanya regularly acts for and advises clients on employment, insurance, agency, bankruptcy and insolvency disputes.
Prior to joining Afridi & Angell, Tanya gained extensive experience through several internships at leading law firms in India, including an internship at the Supreme Court of India.
Stincy’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures and general corporate advisory matters. She has advised clients across a wide range of sectors, including education, healthcare, financial services, clean energy, manufacturing and high-end retail.
Prior to joining Afridi & Angell, Stincy was a senior associate at a DIFC-based international law firm where she worked on private equity transactions in the education, healthcare and automobile sectors, and advised on mergers and acquisitions of private and public listed companies.
Prior to moving to Dubai, Stincy was an associate with a leading firm in India. In addition to general corporate and commercial work, Stincy’s practice focused on capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. She also advised clients on private equity and debt capital market transactions and represented corporations, and book running lead managers in proposed initial public offerings, qualified institutional placements, offer for sale and preferential rights allotment. She advised one of India’s leading ports on their public issue and private placement of infrastructure bonds and non-convertible debentures.
Stincy completed her LLM in Corporate and Securities Law from Columbia Law School, where she served on the Editorial Board of the American Review of International Arbitration.
Omer advises clients on all aspects of corporate transactions and represents clients before governmental departments and agencies. His broad areas of expertise include:
- advising on company formations in the UAE including the free zones;
- mergers and acquisitions advice and drafting corporate resolutions for share transfer;
- drafting various commercial agreements and assisting businesses on a regular basis thereafter;
- drafting and reviewing employment contracts, and advising on terminations and end-of-service benefits;
- assisting with personal status and money matters of Muslims and non Muslims in the Shari’a and Personal Status Court;
- preparing and filing criminal cases; and
- handling criminal investigations with the police and public prosecution department.
Omer joined Afridi & Angell in 2009. Prior to joining Afridi & Angell, Omer was working in the legal department of Sharjah Airport International Free Zone, where he practiced the rules and regulations of Free Zone Companies including the formation and liquidation of companies, and provided legal consultation at management and investor level.
Omer has a wide network of contacts and developed strong relationships within various governmental entities including the UAE Central Bank, the Department of Economic Development, Chambers of Commerce across the UAE, as well as the various UAE free zones.
Omer’s strong contacts and fluency in Arabic along with his technical skills and understanding of local laws and regulations, have proven invaluable for clients in virtually all their corporate and commercial transactions.
Zeina joined Afridi & Angell in 2008. Her practice is focused primarily on corporate and commercial matters. She has been involved in:
- advising on the establishment of businesses in the UAE, preparing documentation related thereto, and later assisting such businesses on a regular basis;
- negotiating with private and government counterparties on behalf of clients;
- advising on the purchase and sale of business, including conducting due diligence, structuring, and negotiating the transaction;
- preparing a broad range of commercial agreements, including national agency agreements, partnership agreements, and transfer of business agreements; and
- advising clients on changing legal forms of companies.
Sulakshana practices in the firm’s dispute resolution group and specializes in litigation before the DIFC Courts. He is a Part II Practitioner of the DIFC Courts with full rights of audience and has represented clients in a number of notable cases before the DIFC Courts. He has particular experience in the areas of commercial disputes, employment, construction, negligence, and injunctions as well as regulatory disputes involving the DFSA and the Financial Markets Tribunal. Sulakshana is recognized in Legal 500 as a lawyer who has 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”.
Prior to joining Afridi & Angell in 2017, Sulakshana was a practicing counsel in the private bar of Sri Lanka and worked with eminent President’s Counsel. He has also been involved in policy making with international organisations and acted as a legal consultant to a leading bank in Sri Lanka.
Mamoun’s practice focuses on court litigation and commercial law and his experience includes conducting legal research, drafting all types of memoranda, pleadings and applications to all levels of local UAE courts, as well as drafting all types of legal documents, including contracts, security deeds, and legal opinions. He has over fifteen years of experience representing clients before courts of jurisdiction, arbitration panels and other tribunals in all types of disputes including, civil, criminal, corporate issues, and investment disputes.
Prior to joining Afridi & Angell in 2017, Mamoun was a senior associate at another law firm in Dubai, UAE. Prior to that, he worked as an advocate at one of the leading firms in Sudan, and gained a wealth of experience working as a legal advisor at a well-known conglomerate in Khartoum, Sudan.
