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Large-scale developments rarely succeed on capital alone. Developers, landowners, investors and contractors each bring s...
28/09/2026

Large-scale developments rarely succeed on capital alone. Developers, landowners, investors and contractors each bring something different to the table, and without a clear legal framework, those differences can turn into governance disputes, funding conflicts and costly delays.

A well-structured development joint venture should address:

🏗️ Governance and decision-making rights
💰 Capital contributions and profit distribution
⚖️ Risk allocation between partners
🚪 Exit, transfer and deadlock provisions
🌍 Cross-border structuring for international stakeholders

At Asma Ali Al Messabi Advocates & Legal Consultants, we advise developers, investors, landowners and family offices on JV structures for real estate and infrastructure projects across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, going beyond drafting to align governance, financing and long-term project goals.

Planning a development partnership in the UAE? Get the structure right from day one.

👇 Link in the comments

A cybersecurity incident can begin as a technical problem and quickly develop into a legal, regulatory and contractual m...
23/09/2026

A cybersecurity incident can begin as a technical problem and quickly develop into a legal, regulatory and contractual matter.

For businesses operating in the UAE and internationally, understanding the consequences requires looking beyond the compromised system itself. The assessment may need to consider whether personal or confidential information was affected, which regulatory frameworks apply, whether reporting or contractual obligations have arisen and whether the incident extends across multiple jurisdictions.

Technical containment is therefore only one part of an effective response. Legal assessment can help determine the nature of the incident, the organization’s obligations and the regulatory or commercial exposure that may follow.

ASMA ALI ALMESSABI Advocates & Legal Consultants advises technology companies, financial institutions, multinational businesses, digital platforms and other organizations on data privacy compliance, data protection frameworks, cybersecurity governance, incident response, regulatory investigations and cross-border data matters.

When you acquire a company, you may also acquire problems that were created long before you arrived.This is one of the r...
21/09/2026

When you acquire a company, you may also acquire problems that were created long before you arrived.

This is one of the reasons legal due diligence forms such an important part of an acquisition.

A UAE business may have strong revenues, established customers and attractive growth prospects while also carrying contractual obligations, corporate-governance issues, regulatory exposure, employment matters, disputes or questions around the ownership of important assets.

These matters do not necessarily make the business a poor acquisition. Their significance depends on their nature and on how the transaction is structured.

Identifying them before completion gives the buyer an opportunity to understand the target more accurately and decide how relevant exposures should be dealt with as part of the transaction.

For international buyers, this means looking beyond the commercial proposition and understanding the legal business that will actually sit beneath their ownership after completion.

Our 2026 guide examines the principal areas to investigate when acquiring a UAE business:

https://asmalaw.com/uae-ma-due-diligence-in-2026-what-international-buyers-need-to-investigate-before-acquiring-a-uae-business/

What happens when a smart contract works correctly but produces a disputed result?That scenario illustrates an important...
17/09/2026

What happens when a smart contract works correctly but produces a disputed result?

That scenario illustrates an important distinction in smart-contract transactions.

The code may have performed exactly as intended. It received the required input, recognised that a programmed condition had been satisfied and automatically executed the corresponding action.

The dispute may instead concern everything surrounding that ex*****on.

A smart contract might depend on information originating outside the blockchain. If that information is inaccurate, the code does not necessarily know that it is inaccurate. It simply processes the input according to its programming.

There can also be questions about the relationship between the code and the parties’ wider contractual documentation. If they produce different outcomes, determining the parties’ rights may require examining the agreement, governing law, allocation of risk and applicable dispute-resolution mechanism.

DAOs introduce comparable issues into governance. A decentralised system can establish voting rules and execute successful proposals automatically, while legal questions can remain concerning the organisation itself and the rights and responsibilities of those participating in it.

The UAE is developing legal and regulatory frameworks capable of accommodating these models, but the applicable framework depends on the structure, activity and jurisdiction involved.

The important lesson is relatively simple:

successful technical ex*****on does not necessarily resolve every legal consequence of the transaction.

What does family governance actually govern?The easiest way to understand family governance is to separate it from owner...
16/09/2026

What does family governance actually govern?

The easiest way to understand family governance is to separate it from ownership and day-to-day management.

Ownership identifies who holds shares or other interests in the family business. Management concerns the people responsible for running its operations. Family governance concerns the framework through which the family organises its relationship with the business and addresses matters that arise from combining family relationships with commercial ownership.

That can become increasingly relevant when a founder-led company passes to a larger second or third generation.

The UAE’s Federal Decree-Law No. 37 of 2022 provides a dedicated framework for qualifying family businesses that elect to register under the regime. A family charter under the framework may address ownership rules, family objectives and values, share valuation, profit distribution, preparation of family members to work within the business and the handling of family-business disputes.

The legislation also provides for family governance through bodies such as a family assembly, family council and family office, which can have defined roles in managing family affairs and the family’s relationship with the company.

This makes family governance distinct from simply deciding how shares will be distributed between heirs.

Succession can determine where ownership goes. Governance helps determine how multiple owners can function around the same family business once it gets there.

What does a UAE court actually consider when asked to recognise a foreign judgment?The important point is that recogniti...
14/09/2026

What does a UAE court actually consider when asked to recognise a foreign judgment?

The important point is that recognition is not generally a second trial of the underlying dispute. A foreign court has already heard the case and issued its decision. The UAE recognition process instead considers whether that decision meets the legal requirements necessary for it to be given effect locally.

Depending on the jurisdiction involved, an applicable bilateral or multilateral treaty may provide the relevant framework. In other cases, the recognition of the judgment may be considered under UAE procedural law and the principle of reciprocity.

The court can therefore examine matters such as whether the foreign court had jurisdiction, whether the parties were properly summoned and represented, whether the decision is final and binding, whether it conflicts with an existing UAE judgment, and whether recognition would be inconsistent with UAE public policy.

Foreign arbitral awards are treated differently. The UAE’s participation in the New York Convention provides the principal international framework for recognising and enforcing qualifying foreign awards, with the Convention defining the circumstances in which recognition or enforcement may be refused.

These differences are particularly important for companies operating internationally. Obtaining a successful result abroad is one part of a cross-border dispute; understanding how that result can acquire legal effect in another jurisdiction is another.

Our 2026 guide examines both routes in the UAE.

https://asmalaw.com/enforcing-foreign-judgments-and-arbitral-awards-in-the-uae-in-2026-a-guide-for-international-businesses-and-investors/

IF YOU BUY A TOKENIZED PROPERTY INTEREST IN DUBAI, DO YOU OWN THE PROPERTY?The answer cannot be determined simply from t...
10/09/2026

IF YOU BUY A TOKENIZED PROPERTY INTEREST IN DUBAI, DO YOU OWN THE PROPERTY?

The answer cannot be determined simply from the fact that you hold a token.

“Tokenized real estate” describes the use of digital infrastructure, but the legal rights associated with a particular token depend on how the arrangement has been structured.

A useful way to analyse it is to separate five layers:

Property → Legal Ownership → Investor Rights → Token → Investor

The property is the underlying asset. Its ownership exists within the applicable property-registration and legal framework. A structure then determines what rights are made available to investors. The token digitally represents the relevant interest, and the investor holds that token subject to the terms and regulatory framework governing the arrangement.

Depending on the particular structure, those rights may not necessarily be identical to direct ownership of the underlying property.

That distinction matters when considering distributions, transfers, governance, redemption, disputes and enforcement.

And the same principle extends beyond property.

Whenever an asset or right is tokenized, one of the first legal questions should be:

What precisely does the token represent?

Asma Ali Al Messabi Advocates & Legal Consultants advises businesses and investors on tokenisation, digital assets, corporate structuring and related UAE regulatory matters.

https://asmalaw.com/tokenization-digital-assets-services/

New UAE protections for SME customers take effect on 13 September 2026.The Central Bank of the UAE’s new SME Customer Pr...
09/09/2026

New UAE protections for SME customers take effect on 13 September 2026.

The Central Bank of the UAE’s new SME Customer Protection Regulation replaces the existing SME Market Conduct Regulation and establishes an updated framework for how CBUAE-licensed banks and finance companies provide financial products and services to SME customers.

The Regulation covers several important aspects of that relationship, including disclosure and transparency, responsible conduct, financing practices, complaints, customer data and the treatment of customers experiencing financial difficulty.

The requirements are practical as well as regulatory. Financial institutions must provide information that is accurate, comprehensive and not misleading, with disclosures available in English and Arabic. When providing credit, institutions must also assess the customer’s ability to meet its credit obligations and must not provide credit beyond amounts the customer is capable of servicing.

Complaint handling is also specifically addressed. Financial institutions must provide an accessible and transparent complaints process without fees and establish an independent complaints-management function reporting directly to senior management.

For UAE SMEs, this is therefore more than a regulatory development for the banking sector. It is a framework businesses should understand from the customer side of the financial relationship.

Asma Ali Al Messabi Advocates & Legal Consultants advises UAE and international businesses on financial, corporate and regulatory legal matters.

A business can outgrow its corporate structure without realising it.International expansion often happens incrementally....
07/09/2026

A business can outgrow its corporate structure without realising it.

International expansion often happens incrementally. A subsidiary is established for a new market. Another company is created for a particular investment. New shareholders enter the business. An acquisition adds another entity. Governance arrangements that worked for a smaller organisation remain in place as the group becomes considerably more complex.

Over time, the result can be a corporate structure that no longer corresponds neatly with the commercial reality of the business.

Cross-border restructuring provides an opportunity to examine that structure as a whole. Depending on the objectives of the group, this may involve shareholder restructuring, entity consolidation, changes to holding arrangements, redomiciliation or governance realignment across jurisdictions.

These are legal changes to existing companies, rights and relationships. Corporate approvals, shareholder interests, contractual arrangements, financing and regulatory requirements therefore need to be considered alongside the commercial objective of the restructuring.

Asma Ali Al Messabi Advocates & Legal Consultants advises corporate groups and international businesses on restructuring involving UAE and cross-border operations.

Asset recovery can become particularly challenging when funds or property connected to a dispute have been transferred, ...
03/09/2026

Asset recovery can become particularly challenging when funds or property connected to a dispute have been transferred, concealed or moved across jurisdictions.

The original asset may no longer exist in the same form. Funds can pass through different accounts, value can be converted into other assets, and ownership may involve companies or structures that require further examination.

This is why complex asset recovery often combines several elements of legal work.

Asset tracing can help establish how value moved and where it may now be held. Where legally available and appropriate, freezing orders, injunctive relief or other protective measures may be considered to preserve assets while proceedings are underway. Cross-border cases may also require legal action to be coordinated across several jurisdictions.

Asma Ali Al Messabi Advocates & Legal Consultants advises businesses, investors and international clients on asset recovery matters involving fraud, misappropriation and concealed assets in the UAE and internationally.

Address

M Floor, Building No. 26, Hazza Bin Zayed The First Street
Abu Dhabi

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 13:00
14:00 - 17:00
Saturday 08:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+97126777737

Website

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