Assistant Legal Counsel
Your tasks
1. Litigation & dispute management
- Manage litigation cases independently from inception through resolution, coordinating all procedural steps and deadlines.
- Handle police cases, criminal complaints, and employee disputes, ensuring timely and well-documented responses.
- Instruct and coordinate external lawyers, monitor case progress, and maintain up-to-date status reports for senior management.
- Prepare and review litigation-related documentation, pleadings, and correspondence in both Arabic and English.
- Advise internal stakeholders on litigation risks, likely outcomes, and recommended courses of action.
2. Contract drafting & review
- Draft, review, and negotiate commercial contracts in Arabic and English across retail, real estate, F&B, and franchise operations.
- Ensure contractual terms adequately protect the Group's interests while remaining commercially practical and enforceable.
- Maintain a structured contract repository and tracking system to support renewals, expirations, and compliance obligations.
- Provide clear and concise legal commentary to business units on contractual risks and proposed amendments.
3. Legal advisory & stakeholder support
- Advise cross-functional teams on day-to-day legal matters including employment, commercial, and regulatory issues.
- Support HR and operations on employee disputes, disciplinary proceedings, and labor law compliance.
- Coordinate with external counsel and regulatory bodies to obtain timely legal opinions and approvals.
- Communicate legal positions clearly and concisely to non-legal stakeholders in both Arabic and English.
4. Regulatory monitoring & compliance
- Monitor legislative and regulatory developments across relevant jurisdictions and assess their impact on business operations.
- Prepare and circulate timely legal updates to keep internal teams informed of new or amended requirements.
- Support the development and maintenance of internal legal policies, templates, and compliance frameworks.
- Assist in ensuring the Group's operations remain aligned with applicable laws, regulations, and licensing requirements.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB or equivalent) from a recognized institution; postgraduate legal qualification is an advantage.
- Minimum 4 - 7 years of legal experience, with substantial hands-on litigation and dispute resolution practice.
- Proven experience managing police cases, criminal complaints, and employment disputes independently.
- Demonstrated ability to instruct external lawyers, track case progress, and report to senior stakeholders effectively.
- Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills in both Arabic and English across commercial and operational contexts.
- Full professional fluency in Arabic and English, with excellent written and verbal communication skills in both languages.
- Sound understanding of UAE and/or GCC commercial, labor, and regulatory laws applicable to retail and multi-brand environments.
- Ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- High degree of professional integrity, discretion, and sound judgment in handling sensitive legal matters.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools and legal document management systems.