Harriet is an Associate in our Dispute Resolution practice in Dubai. She comes with wide ranging experience of general commercial disputes in the English Courts, DIFC & ADGM Courts, local UAE Courts, Hong Kong Courts, QFC Courts and in arbitration matters under the rules of major arbitral institutions. 

Harriet acts for major international and local corporations, including banks, airlines and investment funds as well as high-net worth individuals on a wide spectrum of complex and high value disputes. Harriet’s practice has a particular focus on cross-border litigation and arbitration, regularly working alongside foreign co-counsel for UAE based clients. 

Harriet’s experience includes acting in and advising on shareholder disputes (unfair prejudice claims and derivative actions), warranty and indemnity claims, shipping disputes, technology disputes, insurance disputes, insolvency, agency/franchise disputes, financial disputes, defamation & media matters and commodities and international trade. Harriet also regularly provides advice on the service and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and judgments in the UAE, including challenging the enforcement of arbitral awards through the UAE courts. 

She was admitted as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales in 2018 after training at a major UK Headquartered International law firm and has worked in several jurisdictions, including England, Hong Kong and Dubai, UAE. Prior to joining Hadef, Harriet work for a major international law firm in its Dubai office, focusing on DIFC and ADGM litigation and commercial arbitration.

Admissions

• Solicitor, England & Wales

• Acting for a KSA investment company in successful Part 8 proceedings in the DIFC Court relating to the enforcement of a promissory note.
• Advising an Emirati Investor and two UAE corporations in English High Court proceedings and connected DIFC Court proceedings relating to a AED500m unpaid facilities and allegations of fraud connected to a judgment obtained in the Sharjah Courts, working with English Co-counsel Acting for the Claimant in an application for injunctive relief in the DIFC Court in connection with a real estate brokerage business.
• Acting for three Chinese state owned companies in the DIFC Court arising out of alleged fraudulent bills of lading and the termination of a lending facility by an Indian Bank, including successfully defeating an application to made by the Claimant to retrospectively extend the validity of the Claim Form and succeeding in having the proceedings Set Aside.
• Advising numerous international companies on a variety of charterparty disputes and providing advice on ship arrests in the UAE, including advising an Indian Shipping company headquartered in Singapore in connection with the enforcement of Indian Arbitration awards in the UAE and viability of obtaining a ship arrest of a vessel owned by the award debtor in the UAE.
• Acting for senior management of a Swiss Hedge Fund in relation to defamation claims against a UAE based media agency, successfully resolving the matter without the need to commence formal proceedings in the UAE.
• Acting for a KSA based entrepreneur and successfully pursuing a EUR 2billion unfair prejudice claim in an arbitration proceeding under the DIFC-LCIA rules, seated in Dubai, including acting in connected DIFC Court proceedings (previous firm).
• Acting for a UAE based petrochemical company in an insurance dispute in the DIFC Court relating to alleged fraudulent bills of lading and policy avoidance (previous firm).
• Acting for a syndicate of banks in DIFC Litigation in a c.US$300 million breach of contract and breach of trust claim arising from unpaid conventional, Islamic and hedging liabilities, including seeking a worldwide freezing injunction, an anti-suit injunction and dealing with jurisdictional challenges to the JJC (previous firm).
• Acting for an insurance company in litigation in the DIFC Court relating to the disappearance of a vessel, including an application for an anti-suit injunction to prevent the Claimant from pursuing proceedings in the onshore UAE and preparing defences to jurisdictional challenge applications and appeals (previous firm).
• Acting for a Swiss Investment company in DIFC proceedings against FAB Bank and a local Emirati investor concerning fraudulent bond transactions, with parallel civil and criminal proceedings in the UAE and Switzerland (working with Swiss co-counsel) (previous firm).