James heads the Intellectual Property practice at Hadef & Partners and has 20 years of experience in intellectual property law in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Middle East. He has practised in Dubai since 2014. His practice focuses on all aspects of intellectual property, with a particular focus on trade marks, brand protection and enforcement. He has extensive experience in advertising clearance; brand counselling; management of intellectual property portfolios; trade mark clearance, prosecution and enforcement programs in the UAE, across the MENA region and internationally; and advising on copyright creation, ownership and use, both online and in traditional media formats. In conjunction with the Corporate team at Hadef & Partners, James has also led the intellectual property audits in a range of corporate acquisition and investments projects across the hospitality, retail, entertainment and leisure sectors.

James has advised clients ranging from small businesses through to market leading multinational companies across a very diverse range of industry sectors including in the areas of hospitality and leisure; entertainment; personal care and beauty; finance; retail; transportation; energy and resources; aviation; technology; construction; pharmaceuticals; luxury goods; and QSR (‘Quick Service Restaurant’) and FMCG (‘Fast Moving Consumer Goods’).

James is registered as a legal consultant at the Dubai Legal Affairs Department and is a dual-qualified solicitor admitted in New South Wales (Australia) and England and Wales (United Kingdom). He holds a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws, and Master of Laws (with a focus on technology, media and intellectual property law). In addition to his private practice experience, he has also held in-house roles in the trade marks department of one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and so is very aware of the budget and time constraints that brand owners, and in-house legal counsel, are subject to. 

With the benefit of both in-house experience, and a litigation background earlier in his career (including as a Judge’s Associate in the District Court of New South Wales), James is able to consider intellectual property disputes from the perspective of each client and the circumstances of their particular matters with a view to resolving in the most cost and time effective way. Should court proceedings be required, then he works with the specialist intellectual property litigators and legal advocates at Hadef & Partners at all levels of the UAE courts, including the Court of Cassation, the highest appellate court in the UAE.

With a keen interest in fostering awareness of intellectual property, James has been a member of INTA (the International Trademark Association) for a number of years. Since 2018, he has written and delivered intellectual property courses to Dubai based legal consultants as part of the mandatory Continuing Legal Professional Development training required of all licensed legal consultants by the Dubai Legal Affairs Department.

Admissions

• Solicitor, England & Wales
• Solicitor, New South Wales (Australia)
• Member of the Hadef & Partners Brand & Marketing Committee
• Member of INTA (International Trademark Association)