Richard Briggs 360x360

Richard Briggs

Richard is a recognised leader in commercial dispute resolution in the UAE and has practised contentious business law in the UAE and Middle East region for most of his career. His areas of specialisation are in the commercial litigation and arbitration fields, particularly with reference to commercial disputes, fraud and asset recovery, maritime, trade and insurance law in the United Arab Emirates and larger Middle East area.

Prior to working as Executive Partner at Hadef & Partners, Richard trained with Clifford Chance in London, worked with Clifford Chance in London and Dubai (1992 – 1996), later joining Al Tamimi & Co as partner (1996 – 2004). Richard is a member of the Law Society and a Practicing Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. He is also a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), the Inter Pacific Bar Association (IPBA), and ICC FraudNet Member for the UAE. Richard is the current past President of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA), and former Chairman of the Host Committee for the IPBA Annual Meeting and Conference held in Dubai from 7 to 10 March 2023.

Richard has recently been appointed Board Member of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), and was also the Chairman of the Host Committee of the International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators (ICMA) Conference which came to Dubai for the first time from 5 to 10 November 2023. Richard was formerly the Chairman of the ICC FraudNet S&P Committee from 2017 – 2019 and member of the ICC FraudNet Advisory Board, and former Vice Chair of the IBA Maritime Committee from 2008 – 2014. Richard is also former Vice Chair and Board Member of the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (EMAC).

Walid Azzam 360x360

Walid Azzam

Walid is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Department in Dubai. He specialises in complex Commercial and Corporate arbitration and litigation, often with cross-border elements.

Walid joined Hadef & Partners in 2005. During that time, he has developed specialist knowledge of managing large scale, multi-jurisdictional disputes and has acted on a number of high-profile banking and real estate matters. Walid advises a diverse group of clients; including publicly traded and multi-national companies, as well as high net worth individuals on various contentious matters.

Walid also specialises in local and international asset tracings and recovery, advises on financial crimes as well as on anti-corruption and anti-bribery issues. He further advises on extradition and mutual legal assistance as well as on sanctions and anti-money laundering matters.

Walid has a Juris Doctorate and is admitted to the Massachusetts State Bar. Prior to joining Hadef & Partners, he practiced in the US, in both Chicago and Boston. He routinely lectures, and sits on various panels that deal with a variety of issues relating to regional legal trends and developments. Walid is fluent in English, Arabic and French.

Taher Abdeen Ibrahim 360x360

Taher Abdeen Ibrahim

Taher is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution team at Hadef & Partners. He specialises in civil, real estate, criminal and commercial matters and primarily engages in corporate enforcement work. Taher has extensive experience in commercial transactions linked to criminal matters as well as complexed matters related to breach of trust, bribery, fraud and money laundering. Taher holds full rights to appear before the public prosecution services. “I am honoured to be a member of ICC FraudNet Future and have already found immerse value in being part of the network.”

Edward H. Davis

Edward H. Davis, Jr. has practiced law for over 35 years and is a founding shareholder of the Miami international law firm, Astigarraga Davis. As a Certified Fraud Examiner, he heads the firm”s Asset Recovery and Financial Fraud group representing victims of fraud and grand corruption including governments, governmental entities, corporations, hedge fund, insolvency practitioners and individuals by investigating and prosecuting civil fraud and asset recovery actions. He has consulted with the World Bank on three corruption asset recovery books and contributed a chapter to the Asset Recovery Handbook published by the International Centre for Asset Recovery in Basel, Switzerland. He is past Chair of the Florida Bar International Law Section and a member of the anti-corruption and international litigation committees of the International Law Section of the ABA. He serves as inaugural chair of the Asset Recovery Sub-Committee of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the IBA; and is a leading original member of the London-based ICC Commercial Crimes Services FraudNet Network. Mr. Davis sits on advisory boards of Offshore Alert and Global Investigations Review magazine. In 2013 Ed was recognized as the first Asset Recovery Lawyer of the Year by Who’s Who Legal. He has won that award again in 2014 and 2015.