The Dubai partners of Dewey & LeBoeuf, an American law firm that entered bankruptcy protection, have filed for creditor protection in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts.
The suit will be a test case for the financial centre's untried insolvency laws.
Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for bankruptcy late last month amid an exodus of more than 160 of its 300 partners, after the firm was unable to service its debts.
It was the biggest collapse in American legal history.
Dewey & LeBoeuf's office in the DIFC closed its doors at the beginning of last month, but three of the firm's partners have brought claims seeking to protect the firm's local assets from being reclaimed by the company's liquidators in New York. The suit will be an important test case for DIFC insolvency laws, said Shahab Haider, the managing partner of Sajjad Haider Chartered Accountants, who has been appointed as the provisional liquidator for Dewey & LeBoeuf's Dubai operations.
"This is a unique situation in a sense," he said.
"The whole purpose of this suit is that local assets and liabilities are returned in accordance with DIFC laws. What they've done is effectively shut the operations here in the DIFC so that all local assets and liabilities are returned on an equitable basis."
If successful, the creditor protection laws will ensure the firm retains enough funds for local employees to receive end-of-service payments and payments to be made to trade creditors.
The next hearing in the case has been set for a week today.
The DIFC, Dubai's financial free zone, has its own legal system based on English common-law courts and draws on international precedents distinct from UAE laws. It recently expanded its jurisdiction to allow cases from any company in the Emirates, provided both parties have agreed to use them in advance.
The Dewey & LeBoeuf case comes soon after Drydocks World's use of Decree 57, a set of bespoke bankruptcy protection laws invoked at the Dubai World Tribunal. So far, however, these laws have only been on offer to companies involved in the US$24.9 billion (Dh91.46bn) debt restructuring of Dubai World, the conglomerate that defaulted on its payments in 2009.
The UAE's bankruptcy laws, in force since 1993, have been criticised by bankers as outdated and a hindrance to efforts to lend money to individuals and businesses.
While the World Bank's ease of doing business rankings rates the country among the top nations globally for criteria such as registering property or trading across borders, the Emirates rates 151st for resolving insolvency.
New laws governing bankruptcy are expected to be passed by the end of this year.
ghunter@thenational.ae
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The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
The six points:
1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences
2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation
3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it
4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow
5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided
6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
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