JAMES BERRY & ASSOCIATES

Welcome to James Berry & Associates, one of the longest established legal practices in Dubai.

James Berry & Associates offers an overall solution for the full range of clients’ legal needs, from entry into the country and establishing legal status, to setting up a business, advising on corporate transactions, or concluding employment arrangements, right through to advising clients of need in their personal affairs.

Our associates are legal professionals with qualifications obtained from various international jurisdictions. Their training and experience enables them to provide a high standard of advice and legal expertise in every case.

What differentiates us is that, apart from being knowledgeable in the law, and experienced in advising on transactions, we recognise that what ultimately matters to our clients is the outcome. We make it our business to set and manage realistic expectations.

With offices located on Sheikh Zayed Road, James Berry & Associates provides clients with central and accessible offices to meet our associates.

About James Berry & Associates

Founded in 1986

50 people in their team


Practice areas
Elder Law
Business
Family
Real Estate
Employment & Labor
Bankruptcy & Debt
Immigration
Lawsuits & Disputes

Languages spoken
Arabic
English

Social media

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Practice areas

Elder Law

Wills, Estates & Succession Planning

If you are looking for legal advice on:

  • Drafting a Will
  • Inheritance
  • Administration of Deceased’s Estates
  • Succession planning

We are here to help!

Established for almost 30 years in Dubai.
We are professional, efficient, approachable and cost-effective.
James Berry & Associates has all the expertise you need.

Take Advantage of our Personal Approach

Because our lawyers work directly with clients to understand their unique situation, we can scale our services to offer creative and customised approaches to a wide variety of legal issues.

  • Our Wills and Probate Solicitors have significant experience in dealing with all issues relating to Wills, Probate and Succession Planning, with a particular expertise on UAE Inheritance and Succession laws.
  • We make it our business to set and manage realistic expectations.
  • We offer affordable fixed fees for advising on and preparing Wills.

Wills 

Making a Will is usually the first sensible and necessary step in ensuring assets pass to loved ones. At James Berry & Associates, we can advise on ways to ensure clients’ assets are protected and pass to their chosen beneficiaries on their demise. Our senior lawyer is a TEP (Trusts and Estates Practitioner – STEP International), a member of the DIFC Wills and Probate Registry (DIFC WPR) working group and the first licensed legal consultant to be listed on the DIFC WPR Register of Will draftsmen. 

Administration of Estates

Dealing with the financial affairs of a deceased loved one can add to the heartache at an already difficult time, especially in an unfamiliar country. We can offer advice and assistance to family members (including those resident abroad) on all aspects of dealing with UAE based assets (both movable and immovable) of a deceased family member. We have substantial experience in dealing with inheritance cases in both the local and international Courts. We approach such cases with sensitivity and expertise, to ensure matters are finalised within the shortest possible time scale, and in the most efficient manner.

 

Estate Planning
Probate
Trusts
Will & Testament

Business

Commercial

If you are looking for:

  • Commercial & business lawyers
  • Commercial Law Firms / Commercial Law Practice
  • Contract Negotiation
  • Business Dispute Lawyers
  • Commercial Litigation Lawyers
  • Commercial Law and Litigation Solicitors

We are here to help!

Established for almost 30 years in Dubai.
We are professional, efficient, approachable and cost-effective.
James Berry & Associates has all the expertise you need.


Book an appointment or Submit your ENQUIRY Now

 

Take Advantage of our Personal Approach
Because our lawyers work directly with clients to understand their unique situation, we can scale our services to offer more creative and customised approaches.

  • Our Commercial & business lawyers have years of experience dealing with all issues relating to joint ventures, company re-structuring and conversion, mergers and acquisitions, international and local Commerce, commercial agency and distributorship, insurance, intellectual property and licensing, banking and finance, construction and engineering, professional partnership, company secretarial services, commercial property and due diligence
  • We make it our business to set and manage realistic expectations.
  • We offer affordable and flexible pricing for all our business and commercial law services.

 

Banking & Finance
Business Registration
Contract
Employer
Franchising
Legal Document
Licensing
Merger & Acquisition
New Business Formation
Office Solutions

Family

Family & Matrimonial

If you are looking for legal advice on from a Family Lawyer on: 

  • Divorce and Separation
  • Child Custody
  • Domestic violence & Abuse
  • Pre-Nuptial Agreements
  • Post-Nuptial Agreements

We are here to help!

Established for almost 30 years in Dubai. We are professional, efficient, approachable and cost-effective. James Berry & Associates has all the expertise you need, right here!


Book an appointment or Submit your ENQUIRY Now.

Take Advantage of our Personal Approach

Because our Family Lawyers work directly with clients to understand their unique situation, we can scale our services to offer more creative and customised approaches.

  • Our Family & Divorce Lawyers have years of experience dealing with all issues relating to divorce, separation, financial allocation, property disputes and matters relating to children.
  • We have extensive experience in various jurisdictions including UK and UAE.
  • We make it our business to set and manage realistic expectations.
  • We offer affordable and flexible pricing for all our Family Law services.

Separation & Divorce Lawyers

Separating or divorce is never easy, but when couples and their lawyers take a less adversarial approach, the entire family benefits. This is an approach encouraged in many jurisdictions and, where appropriate, we are committed to the practice of collaborative law for resolving family law matters.
When working collaboratively, the parties and their legal representatives agree to resolve all issues of their case without contentious (and costly) court proceedings. They plan together to craft an agreement, only applying to the court to process an agreed form of the divorce petition and to sanction the final consent order. 

 

Collaborative model for quick & satisfying agreements

The collaborative model is often faster and more “user friendly” than court proceedings. It can help keep channels of communication open between participants, which is vital where there is a continued need to co-parent children. It can also help parties to conclude an agreement which they can live with for the long term. In some instances, the collaborative process is not an option and in such cases we ensure that our clients have competent representation in whichever forum they find themselves litigating.

 

Adoption
Child Abuse
Child Custody
Child Support
Child Visitation
Divorce & Separation
Domestic Violence
Marriage

Real Estate

Real Estate

We offer a full service property department.  Our legal associates can advise on:

  • Residential property purchases or sales, relating to completed properties or “off plan” properties.
  • Commercial leases and related ancillary documentation.
  • Drafting of powers of attorney.
  • Handover issues.
  • Landlord and tenant laws in Dubai.
  • Disputes with developers, relating to properties purchased “off plan”.  We represent clients at arbitration; we also refer disputes to local Arabic advocates, when particular cases can only be filed in the local courts.

 

Commercial Real Estate
Foreclosure
Housing, Construction & Development
Land Use & Zoning
Landlord & Tenant
Mortgage

Employment & Labor

Employment

If you are looking for:

  • Employment and Labour Lawyer in Dubai
  • Employment Contract Lawyers in Dubai

We are here to help!

Established for almost 30 years in Dubai.
We are professional, efficient, approachable and cost-effective.
Our experienced employment department at James Berry & Associates has all the expertise you need.

Take Advantage of our Personal Approach

Because our Lawyers work directly with clients to understand their unique situation, we can scale our services to offer more creative and customised approaches.

  • Our Employment department has years of experience dealing with all issues relating to discrimination and labour laws, employment relationships, employee contracts, employment law and human resource policies.
  • We make it our business to set and manage realistic expectations.
  • We offer affordable and flexible pricing for all our employment and labour law services.

Our employment team

Our expert employment team will be happy to assist with any of your employment queries, including but not limited to any questions relating to the termination of the employment relationship and an employee’s entitlements under the UAE Labour Law and drafting employment contracts/Director’s Service Agreements or key company Human Resources Policies, in line with good international practice. 

Our employment & labour lawyers provide employment advice to:

Businesses

Individuals

 

Our engagements

  • Availability & reactivity
  • Clarity of fees
  • Information & transparency
Employment Rights
Hiring & Firing
Job Discrimination
Labor Law
Retirement
Sexual Harassment
Wage & Hour
Wrongful Termination

Bankruptcy & Debt

Debt Recovery

Our Debt Recovery department recognise that for commercial organisations, debt recovery is fundamental to the smooth operation of any business. Our client base varies from small local companies to large international organisations. Our team has an excellent track record of being able to secure settlement without the need for litigation, but, if required, are professionally able to assist and manage our client’s matters throughout the litigation process.

 

Bankruptcy
Credit Repair
Creditor
Debt & Collection

Immigration

UK Immigration

We have a vast wealth of experience dealing with various UK related immigration matters, having dealt with immigration in the UK and Dubai, for over 9 years. We provide advice on areas of UK immigration including but not limited to the following :

UK Visitor Visas

There are two categories of Standard visitor visas; Short term Visitor visa and Long term Visitor visa.

An application can be made for a Standard Visitor visa if the applicant wants to visit the UK for a vacation, to see family and friends, business, to take part in sports or creative events or another reason ie.to receive private medical treatment.

Short-term visit visas are generally granted for a stay in the UK for up to 6 months.

The applicant may be able to stay for longer if he/she is:

visiting the UK for private medical treatment - up to 11 months
an academic on sabbatical and coming to the UK for research – the applicant, spouse or civil partner may be able to stay for up to 12 months
For Long-term visit visas, if the applicant can prove that he/she needs to visit the UK regularly over a longer period, he/she can apply for a visa that lasts 2, 5 or 10 years. He/she can stay for a maximum of 6 months on each visit.

If the applicant is under 18 years old when he/she applies, the long-term visit visa will only be valid for up to 6 months after he/she turns 18.

Dependent relatives and Applications relating to married, unmarried, civil partners and engaged partners

Applicants in this category will require a ‘family of a settled person’ visa if they are from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland and want to join a partner or family member who is living in the UK permanently, for 6 months or more.

Your family member in the UK can be a British citizen; have settled in the UK or has asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK. 

If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can apply to join your partner (spouse, fiancé(e), civil or unmarried partner); join your parent ; come to look after your child or come to be looked after by family. 

Students

We can assist in making student visa applications which fall under the Tier 4 (General) student visa category. This is a points based system (PBS) application whereby the applicant will have to score 40 points on the points table to be eligible for a student visa.   In general, a Tier 4 (General) student visa application can be made 3 months before the course commences if the applicant is 16 or over and has been offered a place on a course; can speak, read, write and understand English;  has enough money to support himself/herself and pay for the course (the amount will vary depending on each individuals circumstances) and meet the eligbility requirements.  

Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)

We can assist you in making a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa if you want to set up or run a business in the UK; work for your business; including being self-employed. The main eligibility requirement is that you must be from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland territories and you meet all the other eligibility requirements among which include a ready accessibility (depending on the category) of £50,000 or £200,000.

You can make the application 3 months before you travel and expect a decision on your visa within about 3 weeks.

Once a visa is granted, the validity is for a maximum of 3 years and 4 months and after the expiry of this period you can apply to extend this visa for another 2 years thereafter potentially making you eligible for indefinite leave to remain in UK.

Tier 1 (Investor)

You can apply for a Tier 1 (Investor) visa if you want to invest £2,000,000 or more in UK government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies. There are two more options here: you can apply to settle after 2 years if you invest £10 million or you can apply to settle after 3 years if you invest £5 million.

We can advise on the issued guidelines on the activities of the proposed business and the  investment which should not be in a company mainly engaged in property investment, property management or property development. 

You can make the application 3 months before you travel and expect a decision on your visa within about 3 weeks. Once a visa is granted, the validity is for a maximum of 3 years and 4 months and after the expiry of this period, you can apply to extend this visa for another 2 years thereafter potentially making you eligible for indefinite leave to remain in UK.

We also provide legal advice and representation in all types of nationality applications to the UK Border Agency, including Naturalisation as a British Citizen; naturalisation to be a British Citizen following the completion of 6 years (the routes, process, and eligibility differ, depending mainly on the type of visa you are holding at the end of the 6 years)  in virtually all categories of visas. 

We can assist with registration as a British Citizen.  The eligibility requirements are wide enough to accommodate certain individuals to register -the main being the citizenship of the parents at the time of the child’s birth. The citizenship of the parents plays a vital role in advising for such registrations.

If you require any UK immigration advice, please contact Dee Popat at [email protected]

OTHER SERVICES

In addition to the above services, our Legal Consultants and UK qualified Solicitors can offer the following services : Administering oaths, Certifying true copies of passports or any other documents, Witnessing signatures, preparing Statutory Declarations, advise on Deeds of Postponements or other documents required by UK banking institutes.   

Please note that we are not Notaries Public although our UK qualified Solicitors are Commissioners for Oaths.

 

Asylum
Business Visa
Citizenship
Dependent Visa
Permanent Residency
Retirement Visa
Work Permit

Lawsuits & Disputes

Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolution

James Berry & Associates advises and assists in the conduct of litigation, both in-house and through its appointed local advocates. By this means we are able to assist our clients in all aspects of litigation in the UAE Courts. We also have a particular focus on domestic and international arbitration, particularly in relation to real property disputes. Our in-house litigation team has rights of audience in the DIFC Courts and our clients can rest assured that we are able to fully represent our clients at all stages of the litigation process.

The main areas of specialisation are:

  • Commercial and Civil Disputes
  • Real Property Disputes
  • Intellectual Property
  • Shipping
  • Arbitration
  • Communication & Media
  • Employment Disputes
  • Debt Collection
  • Criminal Proceedings

 

Appeal
Litigation

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