Legal Counsel for Financial Institutions and Regulated Entities Operating in the UAE and MENA Region
JUR advises the banks, asset managers, insurers, and sovereign entities that underpin the UAE's position as the pre-eminent financial centre of the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
Practice Overview
The UAE financial services sector is governed by a dual-regulatory architecture of genuine global consequence. The Central Bank of the UAE, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi, and the Securities and Commodities Authority together administer one of the most active and progressively developing financial regulatory frameworks in the world. For international banks, insurance groups, asset managers, private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds, operating in this environment demands counsel with deep institutional knowledge of how UAE financial regulators think, how DIFC and ADGM courts adjudicate, and how cross-border capital structures interact with onshore UAE law and free zone frameworks simultaneously.
JUR’s Financial Services practice is built for the precise complexity that this environment generates. We advise global financial institutions on regulatory licensing, fund formation, capital markets transactions, Islamic finance structuring, insurance and reinsurance regulatory matters, and high-value disputes before the DIFC Courts and the onshore UAE judiciary. Every mandate accepted by this practice is led by a senior practitioner with direct sector experience and established regulatory relationships. We do not offer generalist advisory. We deliver the jurisdictional precision and institutional authority that financial services mandates of this consequence require.
Regulatory Licensing
DFSA, FSRA, CBUAE, and SCA licensing across all regulated activity categories, including Category 1 through 4 DFSA authorisations, insurance and reinsurance licensing, and FinTech innovation regime applications.
Fund Formation
DIFC and ADGM fund establishment for private equity, venture capital, real estate, and alternative asset strategies, including management company licensing, carried interest structuring, and LP/GP agreement negotiation.
Islamic Finance
Shari’a-compliant financing structures including Murabaha, Ijara, Wakala, Musharaka, and Istisna instruments, Sukuk programme establishment, and issuance advisory for corporate and sovereign issuers.
Capital Markets
Debt and equity capital markets advisory, GMTN and trust certificate programmes, cross-border securities offerings, prospectus advisory, and SCA and DFSA disclosure compliance.
Banking Compliance
CBUAE prudential capital and liquidity requirements, AML and CFT compliance architecture, consumer protection frameworks, open banking regulatory advisory, and correspondent banking compliance.
Restructuring and Insolvency
Advisory and representation in complex restructurings under Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2016 on Bankruptcy, DIFC Insolvency Law proceedings, and cross-border insolvency coordination.
FinTech and Digital Assets
Regulatory strategy for payment service providers, virtual asset service providers under VARA, and FinTech licensing within DIFC’s Innovation Testing Licence and ADGM’s RegLab frameworks.
Insurance and Reinsurance
UAE Insurance Authority and DFSA insurance regulatory compliance, reinsurance treaty advisory, takaful structuring, captive insurance establishment, and insurance intermediary licensing.
Financial Disputes
Representation before DIFC Courts, ADGM Courts, and the onshore UAE judiciary in high-value banking and financial disputes, enforcement of foreign judgments, and freezing order applications.
Why Global Institutions Choose JUR
JUR operates across the full spectrum of UAE financial regulatory frameworks spanning onshore, DIFC, and ADGM, with the depth to advise on dual-jurisdiction structures that most firms approach as a secondary capability. Every financial services mandate at JUR is led by a senior practitioner with direct regulatory relationships and transactional experience commensurate with the instruction’s complexity. Our clients operate in a regulatory environment that moves at pace, and we advise at that pace, with the precision that transactions of this consequence demand.
