Mishcon de Reya announced the appointment of three new hires to its Dispute Resolution team in the UAE.
Charlotte Bijlani has joined the firm as Partner and Co-Head of the UAE Disputes practice. She is joined by Managing Associate Haya Al Bawab and Associate Gabriela Benavides. All three join from Watson Farley & Williams, where Bijlani was Managing Partner of the Dubai office and Head of the firm’s Middle East Dispute Resolution practice.
Bijlani is the second partner to join Mishcon de Reya’s UAE Dispute Resolution team this year, following the arrival of Partner Bushra Ahmed in March 2026. Her appointment brings the total number of regional partners to seven under the leadership of UAE Managing Partner Christopher Skipper.
Bijlani brings more than two decades of experience advising clients on high-value, cross-border commercial litigation and arbitration matters. Her client base includes high-net-worth individuals, family businesses, financial institutions, major corporates, governments, sovereign wealth funds, and companies across the energy, infrastructure, real estate, transport, and telecommunications sectors.
She has handled disputes across the Middle East, India, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the U.K. involving joint ventures, shareholder agreements, fraud, debt recovery and enforcement, investigations, construction, real estate, hospitality, insolvency, aviation, maritime, and data protection. She also has extensive experience in aircraft repossessions in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Europe, and the U.K., as well as interim remedies including worldwide freezing injunctions.
Bijlani regularly appears as an advocate before the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts and has full rights of audience before the English Higher Courts Civil Division and the ADGM Courts. She also sits as an arbitrator and is frequently appointed by DIAC and the ICC.
The team move follows Mishcon de Reya’s recent opening of its Dubai office at One Za’abeel. The office supports clients across practice areas including corporate, dispute resolution, employment, real estate, private wealth, impact, and innovation.
The appointments mark a major milestone in the firm’s international growth strategy and reinforce its long-term commitment to the region. The team’s arrival also aligns with Mishcon de Reya’s Vision 2030 strategy to expand its international disputes capability and support clients involved in multi-jurisdictional litigation and arbitration.
KEY QUOTES:
“This is another important step in the expansion of Mishcon de Reya in the UAE. Our reputation as a disputes powerhouse makes the firm an attractive home for leading talent. Charlotte, Haya and Gabi, bring strong regional and international experience in complex, high value arbitrations and disputes. Their arrival further strengthens our disputes practice and reinforces our commitment to providing clients with the highest quality legal advice across the region.”
Christopher Skipper, Managing Partner, UAE
“The arrival of Charlotte, Haya and Gabi further serves to underline our expertise in the most complex, international arbitration and the firm’s position as a dispute powerhouse, and also acknowledges the increasingly international nature of disputes work. Charlotte and the team’s experience in complex, high-value, cross-jurisdictional disputes will enhance our offering to clients and allow us to bring our holistic approach to litigation and arbitration to clients across the region and beyond.”
Greg Falkof, Partner and Head of International Arbitration at Mishcon de Reya
“I am delighted to join Mishcon de Reya with Haya and Gabi at such an exciting stage of its growth in the UAE and to play a key role in the development of the disputes practice in this region. The firm is known as a dispute powerhouse having built an outstanding reputation internationally for handling complex disputes and delivering exceptional outcomes for clients.”
Charlotte Bijlani, Partner and Co-Head of the Dispute Resolution Group in the UAE
