Shoeb Saher – Ex BigLaw – 20 years of local practice experience
Commercial Lawyer in the United Arab Emirates
Solicitor- England and Wales
Advocate – India
Legal Counsel – United Arab Emirates
Introduction
Shoeb Saher is an experienced UAE corporate and commercial lawyer who advises companies, founders, family-owned businesses, investors and international clients on transactions, commercial arrangements and business disputes.
Having practised in the United Arab Emirates since 2008, Shoeb combines substantial regional experience with qualifications from India and England and Wales. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, shareholder arrangements, corporate restructuring, complex commercial contracts, construction and development matters, employment issues and dispute resolution support.
Shoeb is the founder of Economic Law Partners, a UAE legal consultancy established to provide clients with direct access to experienced senior counsel. His approach is practical, commercially focused and designed to give businesses clear recommendations rather than lengthy theoretical advice.
Professional Background and Qualifications
Shoeb is qualified as an Advocate in India and as a Solicitor of England and Wales. He also holds an LL.M. from the University of Birmingham.
He began practising in the UAE in 2008 and spent approximately seven years with Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla. During that period, he worked on matters involving multinational companies, regional corporate groups, financial institutions and prominent family businesses.
His experience also includes an industry secondment with a major UAE telecommunications operator. This gave him valuable insight into how in-house legal teams assess risk, manage internal stakeholders and require external lawyers to deliver advice that is commercially useful and capable of implementation.
Shoeb has advised on transactions with an aggregate value exceeding AED 5 billion. His work includes acquisitions and disposals, shareholder exits, investment arrangements, joint ventures, business restructurings and complex contractual matters.
Corporate and Commercial Practice
Shoeb advises clients throughout the lifecycle of their businesses, from establishment and investment through growth, restructuring, dispute management and exit.
His principal areas of work include:
He regularly drafts and negotiates agreements that involve complex questions of control, funding, profit distribution, reserved matters, deadlock, default, exit rights, restrictive covenants, liability and dispute resolution.
His work is particularly focused on ensuring that contractual provisions are commercially workable and capable of enforcement within the UAE legal environment.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Joint Ventures
As a UAE M&A lawyer, Shoeb advises sellers, buyers, founders and investors on private acquisitions, disposals and corporate investments.
His involvement may include transaction structuring, legal due diligence, heads of terms, share purchase agreements, disclosure arrangements, conditions precedent, warranties, indemnities, completion documentation and post-completion matters.
He also advises on joint ventures and shareholder arrangements involving UAE companies, foreign investors and family-owned businesses. His experience enables him to identify issues that may not be immediately apparent from the commercial term sheet, including management control, future funding, transfer restrictions, minority protection, deadlock and exit planning.
Commercial Contracts and Business Advisory
Shoeb assists businesses with the drafting, review and negotiation of commercial contracts across a wide range of sectors.
Rather than treating contracts as isolated legal documents, he considers how the agreement will operate in practice, how responsibilities will be monitored and what will happen if the commercial relationship deteriorates.
He also provides outside general counsel support to businesses that require continuing access to experienced UAE legal advice without maintaining a full internal legal department. This may include contract review, employment matters, corporate governance, negotiations, regulatory coordination and the management of potential disputes.
Disputes and Litigation Support
Shoeb advises clients on commercial disputes involving shareholders, contractual defaults, unpaid amounts, failed investments, construction matters, employment issues and business separations.
His role includes evaluating the legal and commercial position, preserving evidence, preparing legal notices, developing settlement strategies and coordinating with licensed UAE advocates where court proceedings are required.
This combination of transactional and dispute-related experience enables him to anticipate how contractual provisions may be interpreted and challenged when a business relationship breaks down.
Sectors and Clients
Shoeb acts for clients operating across sectors including:
His clients include UAE companies, international businesses entering or operating in the UAE, entrepreneurs, founders, investors, contractors and professional service providers.
Cross-Border and Referral Work
Shoeb regularly works with overseas law firms, accountants, corporate service providers, investment advisers and other professional intermediaries whose clients require UAE legal support.
He can assist with the UAE aspects of international transactions, company structures, investments, commercial arrangements, employment matters and disputes. He is accustomed to working as part of a wider professional team and to providing focused UAE advice that can be incorporated into a broader cross-border mandate.
Shoeb values long-term professional relationships and works collaboratively with referring advisers while respecting their existing relationship with the client.
Approach to Client Service
Shoeb’s practice is based on direct senior-level involvement, responsiveness and commercial clarity.
Clients work directly with him rather than having their matters routinely delegated through several layers of junior lawyers. This enables him to understand the commercial background, identify the issues that genuinely matter and provide practical options for moving forward.
Where appropriate, he offers fixed or capped fee arrangements to give clients greater predictability over legal costs.
His objective is not simply to identify legal risk. It is to help clients decide which risks can be accepted, which should be negotiated and which require a different commercial structure.
UAE Commercial Law and Legal Developments
The UAE’s legal and regulatory environment continues to develop rapidly. Recent reforms, including the introduction of the new Civil Transactions Law under Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, have important implications for contractual rights, liability, remedies and business relationships.
Shoeb regularly writes and comments on practical developments in UAE corporate and commercial law. His publications are intended to help business owners, investors and in-house legal teams understand how legislative changes may affect their contracts and operations.
Engaging Shoeb Saher
Businesses and professional advisers seeking an experienced commercial lawyer in the United Arab Emirates may engage Shoeb for individual transactions, contract negotiations, corporate advisory matters, disputes or ongoing outside general counsel support.
His combination of UAE experience, international qualifications, large-firm training and direct partner-level service makes his practice particularly suitable for clients seeking commercially focused and cost-conscious legal advice.
Shoeb Saher
Founder, Economic Law Partners
Solicitor of England and Wales
Advocate, India
UAE Legal Counsel
Shoeb Saher is a recognised commercial lawyer in the United Arab Emirates who provides pragmatic, business-focused advice to corporates, family groups, investors and start-ups, handling both transactional work and litigation-capable matters.
He trained in commerce and law, has practised in the UAE since 2008, is qualified as an Advocate in India and as a Solicitor of England & Wales, worked with leading regional and international firms (including Baker Mckenzie.Habib Al Mulla), and founded Economic Law Partners.
His practice covers the full lifecycle of commercial matters: share and asset sales, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, contract drafting and negotiation, commercial agency, employment and HR-related disputes, bankruptcy/insolvency, complex shareholder arrangements, cross-border investments and outside general counsel services.
He regularly acts for clients in construction and infrastructure, automotive, marine, technology, hospitality and financial services, as well as entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses, SMEs and large corporates with cross-border elements.
He combines partner-level involvement, cross-jurisdictional qualifications and industry secondment experience to deliver bespoke, cost-predictable, enforceable solutions, emphasising practical drafting, risk-managed outcomes and integration with day-to-day business decisions.
Major reforms such as Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 (the Civil Transactions Law), effective 1 June 2026, reshape contract formation, remedies, suretyship and corporate obligations; businesses should seek specialist commercial advice for preventive drafting, compliance, transaction structuring and dispute strategy to align with the updated legal framework.
posted 2 hours ago
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