The advocate
Our Advocates
When you instruct a firm, you are not really instructing a firm. You are instructing a person, who will read your file, stand up in court and answer for what is said in your name. You are entitled to know which person that is before you sign anything.
Licence 593372 Check it yourself
Our advocates
Mr Abdulla
Role: Senior advocate
Licence number: 593372
Advocate or legal consultant, and why it matters to you
These two titles get used interchangeably in conversation. They are not interchangeable in a courtroom.
An advocate is licensed and registered to appear before the courts and plead on your behalf. If your matter is going to a hearing, an advocate is who takes it there.
A legal consultant may advise you, review your contracts, draft your documents and sit with you through a negotiation, but may not plead before the Dubai Courts. That is a real limit, and it is not a criticism. A great deal of legal work never reaches a courtroom, and a legal consultant may be exactly the right person for it.
The problem arises when nobody tells you which one you have hired. If your case is heading for a hearing and the person you engaged cannot appear at it, someone else has to be brought in, and you will usually pay for the handover. Ask at the first meeting. A licensed professional will answer immediately.
How to verify a lawyer in Dubai
The title is protected. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2022 regulating the legal profession, in force on 2 January 2023, only a licensed lawyer may use it. Checking takes a few minutes and is worth doing before money changes hands:
Every number on this page is published so that you can run exactly that check on us. Our firm licence and registering body are set out on our about page.
- Get the full name as it appears on the licence. Nicknames and shortened spellings will not match the register.
- Get the individual licence number, not only the firm’s.
- Ask whether the person is registered as an advocate or as a legal consultant, and which courts they may appear before.
- Check it against the register held by the Dubai Legal Affairs Department, which licenses and supervises lawyers and legal consultancies practising in the emirate.
Frequently asked questions
What can an advocate in Dubai do that I cannot do myself?
An advocate can file and plead before the courts on your behalf, which is the part most people cannot do alone once a matter is contested. Before that stage, some complaints can be opened directly with the relevant authority.
Are legal consultants in Dubai regulated?
Yes. Legal consultancies and the consultants working in them are licensed and supervised, and a consultant should be able to give you a licence number exactly as an advocate can.
Can I choose which of your lawyers in Dubai handles my case?
Yes. Name the person when you contact us. If the matter falls outside what they handle, we will say so rather than move it quietly to someone else.
Will the same person stay on my file?
That is the intention, and you should ask any firm the same question. If a matter has to move to a colleague, you should be told before it happens rather than after.
Speak to one of our advocates
Tell us what has happened and which stage it has reached, and we will put you with the person who handles that kind of work.
Phone: +971 50 747 9570
Email: help@lawyerindubai.ae
You can send the details through our contact page, or read how our charges are structured first.
Check us on a register we do not control
Ask any firm for its licence number and the body that issued it, then look it up. Ours is 593372.
Dubai Legal Affairs Department
Licenses and supervises advocates practising in Dubai.
Ministry of Justice
Maintains the federal roll of practising lawyers.
Abu Dhabi Judicial Department
The equivalent register for Abu Dhabi matters.
Ten minutes with the advocate
No charge, no assistant, no obligation. Long enough to know whether this is something you need to pay anyone for.