Emirate · Onshore & free zones
Dubai
Mainland licensing, 20+ free zones, property, employment and the Dubai courts.
TRW & Co · United Arab Emirates
Several systems.
One clear view.
An international law firm for companies, investors, institutions and founders doing business in and through the UAE — onshore, in the DIFC and ADGM, and across the free zones — connected to Bangladesh, the UK, Singapore, China and Europe.
Typical matters
DIFC CourtsADGM CourtsDubai CourtsAbu Dhabi Judicial DepartmentFederal Supreme CourtDFSAFSRACentral Bank of the UAESecurities and Commodities AuthorityFederal Tax AuthorityDubai Land DepartmentMinistry of Human Resources & Emiratisation
Where we work
Seven emirates.
Two financial centres.
Each jurisdiction has its own regulator, courts and rules. Choose where your business sits and go straight to the guidance and the team for it.
All company setup guides
Financial centre · English common law
ADGM
Al Maryah Island: companies, FSRA licensing, the ADGM Courts and start-ups.
Ajman · RAK · Fujairah · UAQ
Northern Emirates
Cost-efficient licences, RAKEZ, RAK ICC, Ajman and Fujairah free zones.
Firm perspective
The UAE is where capital, trade, talent and technology meet — under several legal systems at once. TRW & Co shows which rules govern the decision, then connects it to Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Singapore, China and Europe with one standard of judgement.
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Forum first.
Onshore, DIFC, ADGM or free zone — the governing system is identified before the advice begins.
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Connected across borders.
Matters move between Dubai, Dhaka, London, Singapore, China and Europe without changing hands.
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One accountable lead.
A single partner owns the matter end to end, however many jurisdictions it touches.
Jurisdiction lens
One country.
Several legal systems.
Where a company is licensed, where a contract says disputes go and which regulator supervises the activity can each point to a different system. Choose a jurisdiction to see how it works.
Schematic — not to scale. Free-zone markers are illustrative, not an exhaustive list.
Onshore UAE
The civil-law system that applies across the seven emirates outside the DIFC and ADGM.
- 01Civil-law courts applying federal codes, including the Civil Transactions Law and the Commercial Transactions Law; proceedings are conducted in Arabic.
- 02Abu Dhabi and Dubai run their own judicial departments — the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department and the Dubai Courts — as does Ras Al Khaimah; the other emirates sit within the federal judiciary.
- 03Cases move from first instance to appeal and then cassation, with the Federal Supreme Court at the apex of the federal system.
- 04Arbitral awards and foreign judgments are recognised and enforced through the onshore courts under federal arbitration and civil-procedure rules.
Related practice areas
DIFC
A financial free zone in Dubai with its own common-law-based legal system and courts.
- 01Its own civil and commercial laws, drafted largely on common-law principles and applied in English.
- 02The DIFC Courts are independent common-law courts with a Court of First Instance and a Court of Appeal; parties can also agree in writing to use them.
- 03Financial services are regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA); the DIFC has its own data protection and employment laws.
- 04DIFC Courts judgments can be executed onshore through the Dubai Courts under the applicable enforcement procedures.
Related practice areas
ADGM
Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre, where English common law applies directly.
- 01English common law, including equity, applies directly in ADGM alongside ADGM’s own regulations.
- 02The ADGM Courts operate a Court of First Instance and a Court of Appeal, with proceedings in English.
- 03The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) regulates financial services; ADGM has its own companies and data protection regulations.
- 04Arrangements with the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department provide a route for ADGM Courts judgments to be enforced elsewhere in Abu Dhabi.
Related practice areas
Free zones
Economic zones across the emirates, each with its own authority, licensing rules and company regulations.
- 01Each zone has its own authority, licence categories, permitted activities and company regulations.
- 02Free-zone companies may generally be wholly foreign-owned; trading onshore usually requires an onshore licence, branch or local distributor.
- 03Outside the DIFC and ADGM, federal civil, commercial and labour laws generally apply in the free zones, and disputes go to the onshore courts unless parties agree otherwise.
- 04Federal corporate tax applies; free-zone entities may qualify for a preferential regime if they meet the conditions.
Related practice areas
A general overview only. Which system governs a matter depends on the facts, the documents and current law — take advice before relying on it.
Ten fields of work
The depth behind
the headline.
Commercial questions rarely respect practice boundaries. Choose the field closest to the matter — each opens onto the UAE practice areas beneath it.
Corporate & Commercial
Company formation, mainland and free-zone structures, governance, M&A, joint ventures and the commercial contracts that run a UAE business.
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Company formation
Mainland company structures
Free-zone company formation
Shareholder agreements
Joint ventures and strategic alliances
Corporate governance
Directors duties and liability
Beneficial ownership and registers
Corporate restructuring
Mergers and acquisitions
All Corporate & Commercial
Disputes & Arbitration
Litigation before the onshore, DIFC and ADGM courts, arbitration, urgent relief and the enforcement of judgments and awards.
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Commercial litigation
International arbitration
UAE-seated arbitration
DIFC Courts proceedings
ADGM Courts proceedings
Mediation and settlement
Foreign judgment enforcement
Arbitral award enforcement
Shareholder disputes
Emergency and interim relief
All Disputes & Arbitration
Banking, Finance & Capital Markets
Lending, project and trade finance, fintech and payments, funds and securities, and conduct regulation onshore, in the DIFC and in ADGM.
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Banking and finance
Secured lending
Project finance
Real estate finance
Trade finance
Fintech regulation
Payment services
Consumer finance
Debt restructuring
Financial-services outsourcing
All Banking, Finance & Capital Markets
Data, Privacy & Cyber
Federal, DIFC and ADGM data-protection regimes, cross-border transfers, privacy programmes and incident response.
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Federal personal-data protection
Dubai data regulation
DIFC data protection
ADGM data protection
Cross-border data transfers
Data-processing agreements
Data-breach response
AI governance
Cybersecurity incidents
Privacy-by-design programmes
All Data, Privacy & Cyber
Technology & IP
Technology and SaaS transactions, AI, e-transactions, and the protection and licensing of trade marks, patents, copyright and trade secrets.
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Technology transactions
Software licensing
Cloud and outsourcing
Artificial intelligence
Digital signatures and e-transactions
Trade mark strategy
Copyright and content
Patent commercialisation
Trade secrets
IP licensing
All Technology & IP
Employment & Immigration
Employment contracts, policies, terminations and disputes, Emiratisation, and residence and work-authorisation routes for teams, founders and families.
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UAE employment contracts
Employment policies
Wages and payroll
Working time and leave
Termination and end-of-service benefits
Workplace investigations
Employment disputes
Emiratisation compliance
Executive employment
Restrictive covenants
All Employment & Immigration
Real Estate, Construction & Energy
Acquisition, development, leasing and regulation of real estate, construction, infrastructure, PPPs and renewable energy.
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Real estate acquisition
Commercial leasing
Real estate development
Construction disputes
Infrastructure projects
PPP and concessions
Renewable energy projects
Power purchase agreements
Property management
Real estate regulation
All Real Estate, Construction & Energy
Tax & Regulatory
Corporate tax, VAT, excise, transfer pricing and the regulatory approvals that shape how a UAE business is structured and run.
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Corporate tax
VAT
Transfer pricing
Tax disputes and FTA audits
Customs and trade compliance
Sanctions and export controls
Competition law
Merger control
AML compliance
Consumer protection
All Tax & Regulatory
Private Wealth & Family
Wills, succession, family businesses, foundations and the personal status rules that matter to families with UAE ties.
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Family offices
Wills and succession
Foundations and trusts
Family business governance
Divorce and family law
All Private Wealth & Family
Shipping, Aviation & Industries
Shipping, aviation, insurance, healthcare, energy and other sector regimes that need specialist UAE handling.
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Shipping and maritime
Aviation
Insurance and reinsurance
Healthcare regulation
Education and schools
Hotels and hospitality
Media regulation
Gaming and lotteries
Sports and events
Oil and gas
All Shipping, Aviation & Industries
How we work
Good advice starts
with context.
A legal question sits inside a business, a licence, a regulator, a contract and a set of people who must act.
Every brief starts with the decision.
Before the law, the objective: what must be decided, by whom and by when. Structure, licence, regulator, contract and evidence are mapped around that decision — so complexity becomes something you can act on.
Find the governing system.
In the UAE the first legal question is often which system applies: onshore federal and emirate law, the DIFC, ADGM or a free-zone regime. A useful answer separates those layers, flags what needs a current authority check and brings in foreign law early.
The right room, across practices.
Corporate, disputes, finance, data, people and real estate questions overlap. Specialists across the TRW network work as one team when the matter demands it — with a single point of accountability.
Clear writing is part of the work.
Advice is designed to be used: the issue, the options, the risk boundary, the documents and the next action — written so decision-makers can move when timing matters.
Sectors
Markets change.
Questions compound.
The same rule behaves differently in a bank, a free-zone start-up, a hotel or a government project. Our work brings the legal, regulatory and market view together.
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Financial services & fintech
Banks, payment firms, funds and virtual-asset businesses — onshore and in the DIFC and ADGM.
Real estate & construction
Investors, developers, landlords and contractors across UAE property and building projects.
Energy & infrastructure
Power, utilities, renewables, PPPs and the finance behind long-life assets.
Technology, media & telecoms
Platforms, SaaS, AI and content businesses building from the UAE.
Healthcare & life sciences
Providers, digital-health businesses, distributors and suppliers in a regulated market.
Hospitality & leisure
Hotels, restaurants, attractions and leisure brands — owners, operators and franchisees.
Transport, logistics & maritime
Carriers, forwarders, traders and port-linked businesses moving goods through the UAE.
Retail & consumer
Brands, distributors, franchisees and e-commerce sellers serving UAE consumers.
Education
Schools, universities, training providers and education investors.
Family business & private wealth
Family groups, founders and investors planning ownership, control and residence.
Aviation
Airlines, lessors, financiers and aviation-service providers.
Government & public sector
Public bodies, government-related entities and their private-sector partners.
Client perspectives · firmwide, independent feedback
“The team’s litigation preparation is second to none.”
Masayuki OmotoPresident and CEO · Marubeni Corporation
View independent source
“The Dispute Resolution team at TRW Law Firm is undoubtedly one of the most formidable legal forces in South Asia.”
Masahiro TaniguchiPresident, CEO · TOA Corporation
View independent source
“Tahmidur Rahman’s skill in managing parallel proceedings—where domestic litigation and international arbitration overlap—is truly outstanding.”
S M Mahbubul AlamManaging Director · Walton
View independent source
“Tahmidur Rahman’s ability to see the litigation before it happens—and prepare for it at the deal stage—is a rare strength.”
Bill Winters, CBEGroup Chief Executive · Standard Chartered
View independent source
Dubai · October 2025
GITEX Global,
Dubai.
The UAE Ministry of Finance extended VIP conference access to the firm’s founding partners, who met H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy.
View the announcementIndependent references
Recognised in
the market.
Independent publisher profiles provide further information about the firm. They are offered as source links, not as claims of a particular ranking.
Insights
Useful insight.
Not noise.
Long-form UAE guides written for the person who has to make the decision — with the authorities, the documents and the next step.
Explore all 562 insightsProperty Taxes and Fees in Dubai: What Buyers and Owners Pay
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Read the insightAccounting and Audit for Oil, Gas and Renewable Energy Companies in the UAE
Read the insightOne firm · nine cities
Dubai, connected
to the network.
Matters that start in the UAE rarely end there. Work moves across TRW offices with one standard of judgement and one point of accountability.
