Our practice provides international support to a selective number of clients which can be viewed in two categories:

  Individual and local group of companies with international interests such as the Al  Moosa Group.
  Foreign companies who wish to operate in the UAE.

KAS & Associates is the regional counsel of many multi-national companies with branches in the Gulf. It already assists international companies to open the Representative/Branch Offices, some of which have been set up as joint ventures. Located in the modern cosmopolitan city of Dubai – ‘the Gateway to the Gulf’ – we can assist foreign firms in establishing an effective operation.

Our specialist services for companies wishing to establish a strong Gulf base are aimed at making the process as easy and as trouble free as possible. We offer:

 A reduction of risk by giving accurate professional legal advice and on-going information in relation to Governmental and Legislative requirements.

 A team of highly experienced experts to assist employees and their families adjust quickly in the new country thus minimizing any culture shock.

  An assessment of the current market for your product's) / services

 A reliable and helpful sponsor

KAS & Associates specializes in the establishment of business and thereafter in providing the necessary advice and legal documentation required to achieve our clients’ on-going commercial objectives.

We offer a complete package designed to provide an efficient service with the least disruption to our clients and at a cost that is not governed by the number of hours spent on a matter.

The Principal of the firm, Kamel Abu Saqr. With over eighteen years of experience as a lawyer in the United Arab Emirates, he has a thorough working knowledge of UAE laws and of the indigenous market.

KAS & Associates has extensive contacts in the local community and in the Government Departments and Federal Ministries, enabling the firm to complete services expeditiously.

Specifically, we provide the following services :
 

Business Start-Ups

We advise on the most appropriate legal entity through which to conduct business in the United Arab Emirates. We draft all the documentation required to set up a new business and handle our Clients’ License submission and obtain all the approvals and licenses.

We deal with the establishment of the following types of business :
 

  Trading Companies (Limited Liability Companies, sole proprietorships, GCC concerns).

  Professional Consistencies.

  Partnerships.

  Joint Ventures.

  Branches and Representative Offices of foreign companies.
  UAE Free Zone Establishments.

  Offshore Companies.
 

We also prepare a comprehensive security package to protect the foreign clients’ interests in the local business environment.

Commercial Agreements

 We advise upon and draft the full range of Commercial Agreements, including :
 

  Memoranda of Understanding.

  Business Management Agreements.

  Commercial Agency, Distribution and Supply Agreements (including registrations, renewals and de-registrations).

  Joint Venture Agreements.

  Shareholders’ Agreements.

  Franchise Agreements.

  Strategic Alliance Agreements.

  Commercial Leases.

Information and E-Commerce

We advise clients on legal and management strategies related to web-site B2B, B2-Clients and e-commerce developments. We also vet all legal issues in respect of such web developments.

Banking and Insurance

We assist in banking transactions and insurance, from opening a bank account to obtain all the insurance policies required by clients.

Our experience in appearing before the Courts for several years gives us the know-how to monitor and control the local advocates as they would be instructed by us to  select the right experienced lawyers specializing in local and international Commercial, Corporate and Civil Litigation.

Our policy is to mediate before we have to litigate since disputes are best settled without the need for litigation. Extra-judicial dispute resolution saves untold  time and expenses for our clients. However, where litigation and filing the case is the only available option, our services fall into two main categories :

 
  We represent  our  clients  in  litigation   matters    before   the  various Governmental Department  and Federal Ministries  Agencies  (but not courts).  At  all stages we aim  to  ensure that our  clients  appreciate  the implications  of  the    proceedings and are provided  an  understanding  of  the process  so  that  they  are  fully  aware of their rights and obligations.

  For  litigation  matters  before the UAE and Transnational Litigation, we act side by side  with  local  advocates  or foreign  lawyers to  provide  specialist advice, draft pleadings and represent   our  clients before the Courts. We supervise the litigation, which   includes :

1. Dissemination,  translation  and compilation  of  our clients’  documents.
2. Providing  strategy and advice.
3. Reviewing  all  the  court submission  pleading  and   in some critical cases we write all the submission.
4. Ensuring reasonableness of  fees  and   expenses of  the local advocate  or foreign lawyer.
5. And providing full and regular progress reports to our Client.

We have strong associations and partnerships with local advocates and have also developed litigation strategies for our clients in various other countries where we utilise specialized or smaller firms with reasonable fee structures.

Such associations exist with lawyers in GCC countries and, of course, throughout the Middle East, including Iran.

We look for firms with a strong Litigation Department that can analyse the dispute and, based upon the Laws of their own jurisdiction, can provide us with a sound opinion on whether litigation or settlement should be pursued.

Specifically, we handle the following matters for our Clients :

Civil and Commercial Suits

According to the clients’ instructions, we would review all documents in order to provide a legal opinion on the merits of the specific case. We would liaise closely with advocates based in the UAE and elsewhere as required.

We assist our clients to assess both the costs and the legal merits of pursuing the case and, if our clients so desire, we would proceed, bearing in mind the provision of quality supervision in the interests of ensuring a successful outcome to the best of our abilities.

Our brief would entail :

  Monitoring of cases, careful scrutiny and revision of all pleadings drafted by the advocates and if necessary we would amend the draft ourselves

  Arranging translation of pleadings

  Full reporting of progress of the cases to clients

  And convening regular meetings with the advocates to keep abreast of the case.

Marine and Insurance

We handle maritime and insurance disputes, including arrests of ships through advocates in all the Emirates of the UAE to secure expeditious recovery of debt or related matters.

Criminal Cases, Rent and Labour Disputes

We would handle Criminal Cases on  a case-by-case basis for our Corporate clients, for  example, pursuing dishonored cheques cases and defending misdemeanors. In this regard, we may deal directly with the Police Departments and the Office of Public Prosecution.

In respect of Rent Disputes, we have time and again represented our clients directly or through local advocates at the Dubai Municipality; however, we also attempt initially to achieve results through amicable resolutions.

Labour Disputes arise in the UAE and we would formulate strategies with our clients either to file or defend complaints at the Ministry of Labour. This would entail compilation and translation of documents, with an accompanying Letter explaining the merits of our clients’ case in full. From time to time, certain cases would be transferred to Courts, and in this regard, we refer you to peruse In the News.

KAS Legal Consultancy offers advise on construction contractual matters, prepare and negotiate claims and represent employers, contractors, sub-contractors and engineering consultants in arbitration proceedings, legal action and claim management.

A brief overview:

In the construction business if you do not have on-going proper legal advise, you will discover that the cost of claims resolution has often equaled or exceeded the cost of the entire project. Our experience from working with local and international construction companies has proved that it is wise to prevent claims rather than to litigate later.

KAS Legal Consultancy have become familiar with three major systems of law (common, civil and Islamic). According to Article 7 of the UAE Constitution:

“Islam is the official religion of the Union. The Islamic Sharia shall be the main source of legislation in the Union.”

Although the Islamic Sharia is the main source, the laws regulating the construction industry are based on civil law, and the UAE Courts have a federal system, except for Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah. Court-appointed technical experts are highly influential. Expert’s “proceedings” allow an opportunity for consideration of technical and factual detail in an otherwise largely documentary process.

Arbitration can bring a degree of common sense and industry practice to the dispute resolution process.

Problems arise from the use of forms of contracts prepared for common law jurisdictions, being made subject to local (civil) law.

“Civil Law” is defined as a system based on codified laws as opposed to precedent.

Authorities from common law jurisdictions are not applicable in the local Courts but may influence the outcome of arbitration.

Related Construction Laws

1.Commercial Transaction Code.
2.Civil Transaction Code.
3.Federal Purchases, Tenders and Work’s Contracts Regulations.
4.Abu Dhabi Tenders, Auctions and Warehouses Law.
5.Government of Dubai Contracts’ Law.

KAS Legal Consultancy experience indicates that parties who get off to a bad start are more likely to have disputes which lead to later claims. So it is better to get the right advice at the start at get going on the right foot to avoid a bad start.