Zarghona Fazal

Zarghona is Partner, Arbitration, and Head of DIFC/ADGM Litigation at Hadef & Partners.

She has acted as counsel in numerous commercial arbitrations in the UAE and internationally, both ad-hoc and under the rules of the major arbitral institutions in the region including the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), DIFC-LCIA, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).

Zarghona also regularly advises on the enforcement of judgments and arbitral awards through the UAE Courts including the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts. Her international experiences have proven an invaluable element in navigating the UAE disputes landscape. She specialises in a variety of high-value contractual, shareholder, real estate, accounting and banking disputes and has wider experience in consumer laws, insurance, oil and gas, and construction litigation.

Admissions

• Barrister and Solicitor, Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia
• Barrister and Solicitor, High Court and Federal Court of Australia
• Co-Chair of the Hadef & Partners ESG Committee

• Representing a large Indian media group in defending a wrongful termination claim for USD90 million relating to the purchase of a cinema chain in the UAE. The contract was governed by English Law and the arbitration proceedings were conducted under the LCIA Rules and seated in London.
• Representing the sellers of a large UAE business in arbitration proceedings in which the purchasers made various warranty claims and sought over AED60 million in damages. The arbitration proceedings were commenced under the DIFC LCIA Arbitration Rules with a DIFC seat. The contract was governed by English law.
• Representing a large UAE real estate developer in respect of a loss of profit and infrastructure claim for breaches under a Project Development Agreement. The arbitration proceedings were commenced under the DIAC Arbitration Rules with a Dubai seat. The contract was governed by UAE law. The amount in dispute was over AED1 billion.
• Representing another large UAE real estate developer in respect of a real estate claim against a Government owned real estate master developer. The arbitration proceedings were commenced under the DIAC Arbitration Rules with a Dubai seat. The contract was governed by Dubai law. The Claimant’s claim against the Respondent was valued as approximately USD 424,227,820.05.
• Representing a large retail and hospitality group in respect of 21 separate DIAC arbitrations relating to 21 separate Retail Lease Agreements.
• Representing a large retailer in respect of an ICC arbitration commenced against them in relation to several claims brought against them by a distributor in relation to several Distribution Agreements and Marketing Fund Agreements.
• Representing a large auditing firm in respect of negligence claims commenced against them by Bahraini banks before the Bahrain Chamber of Dispute Resolution.
• Representing a large Saudi company in relation to DIFC LCIA arbitration proceedings commenced against it by a large multinational company. The seat of the arbitration was DIFC and the governing law of the dispute was English law.
• Representing a client in ad hoc arbitration proceedings overseen by the Dubai Courts.