Fawzi Abdullah Ahnish

Fawzi is a Senior Associate in our Dispute Resolution practice in Abu Dhabi, bringing over 17 years of extensive experience in litigation before the UAE Courts. He adeptly handles litigation matters for both local, GCC and international clients, specializing in commercial, civil, criminal, construction, rental, and labour disputes.

Fawzi's expertise includes representing clients in complex disputes involving breach of contract, unjust enrichment, procurement contracts, breach of trust, fraud, and assignment of rights and their validity. He is well-versed in handling all types of labor disputes in the UAE, ensuring comprehensive legal support for our clients.

In addition, Fawzi has significant experience in enforcing arrest orders against vessels, arbitral awards, and foreign judgments within the UAE. He excels in executing UAE court judgments against debtors, leveraging his deep understanding of enforcement procedures to secure orders for measures that force the debtors to pay the judgment amount. Fawzi also plays a crucial role in assisting clients with criminal investigations in major financial crime matters, providing essential data to local authorities and managing the required criminal procedures. His dedication and proficiency in execution matters make him an invaluable asset to our clients in achieving their legal objectives.

Moreover, Fawzi has extensive experience in assisting clients in negotiating settlements of their disputes. He excels in assessing and coordinating multiple litigation and enforcement proceedings for corporate clients, and possesses unique expertise in successfully negotiating settlements in the UAE and MENA region.

Prior to joining Hadef & Partners in 2007, he practised as a trial lawyer, predominantly dealing with civil and commercial cases before the Courts of First Instance and Appeal in Libya.

Fawzi holds an LLB from Omar Al Mokhtar University in Libya, 2003 and a Diploma in Diplomatic studies from the Libyan Diplomatic Studies Institute. He is a member of the Libyan Bar Association.

Admissions

• Libyan Bar Association

• Represented a major bank in over thirty commercial disputes of over AED 20,000,000, successfully claiming the entire amount for the bank.
• Represented Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank in a AED 37,000,000 claim in a loan dispute, successfully obtaining a judgment issuing the entire amount.
• Represented a client in a major bankruptcy case of over AED 12,000,000,000.
• Represented a major private wealth client in a contracting dispute with a value of AED 25,000,000 against a leading contracting company, successfully obtaining a judgement defending the entire amount and successfully raised a counterclaim and obtaining a further judgement in favor of the client.
• Represented various clients in employment disputes including wrongful termination, including one claim with over 200 claimants, obtaining a winning judgement for over 90% of the claimants.
• Represented various companies in employment disputes, all worth claims of over AED 7,000,000.
  Represented various clients in real estate disputes, with a particular focus on lease disputes, including claims of over AED 10,000,000.
• Successfully defended various clients in criminal cases, successfully obtaining judgements of innocence, including money laundering cases.
• Represented various clients in commercial cases, successfully claiming for amounts due arising from commercial transactions between parties, including supply contracts, sale and purchase contracts, all with claim values of over AED 10,000,000.
• Represented various clients in major maritime disputes, including multiple judgements for attachment of vessels.
• Drafted various letters of advice relating to insurance claims, employment claims, lease claims, commercial claims, bankruptcy claims, and various other contentious matters.