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Charlotte Songwiqi
Senior Associate
Biography
Charlotte Songwiqi is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution Team at Al Tamimi & Company’s Dubai office, and has recently completed two secondments with Emirates NBD. Prior to joining Al Tamimi, Charlotte practiced in a leading international law firm in the Manchester, Muscat and Dubai offices.
Charlotte specialises in advising and representing clients in high value, complex commercial disputes, with a particular focus on financial and shareholder disputes. She has extensive experience in both local UAE Courts and common law courts such as the DIFC and ADGM. She is currently engaged as a Lead Associate on the largest case in the DIFC Courts’ history. Charlotte has acted for prominent international banks and local and foreign businesses in various high profile and significant disputes in the region under UAE, DIFC, English and international law. Charlotte also advises on general commercial arbitrations under all of the major institutional rules and has recently contributed to the UAE Chapter of “A Practitioner’s Guide to Arbitration in the Middle East and North Africa”.
Charlotte serves as Chapter Director on the 2025-2026 Board of Women in eDiscovery (Dubai Chapter), is a member of the UAE Women Lawyers Network Committee and co-launched the Women in Finance networking group, powered by Al Tamimi. Charlotte has been described by clients as “an exceptional lawyer. She has a fantastic, extremely dedicated work ethic and always delivers quality which is never compromised”.
Recent Experience
- Representing one of the ‘Big Four’ before the DIFC Courts in high value breach of contract and auditor negligence claims arising out of the fraud and misuse of investor funds by the management of a collapsed private equity group.
- Acting for one of the largest family businesses in the MENA region in LCIA London arbitration and ancillary DIFC Court proceedings, including securing a USD 55m freezing order, in a dispute over the ownership of companies valued at over USD 600m.
- Advising and acting on enforcement applications relating to the enforcement of onshore court, DIFC Courts, ADGM Courts and foreign judgments and arbitral awards.
- Acting for a Syndicate of banks in a USD 300m DIFC Court Claim in respect of unpaid conventional, Islamic and hedging liabilities, including claims for a worldwide freezing order and an application for an anti-suit injunction to prevent parallel proceedings in the onshore Dubai Courts; and parallel JJC proceedings, Dubai Court proceedings and Abu Dhabi Bankruptcy proceedings.
- Advising a major bank in relation to prospective alleged fraudulent trading claims with an estimated value of USD 1 billion in the ADGM Courts.
- Acting for a Syndicate of banks in successfully defending a Part 8 claim in the DIFC Courts brought by a panel of Trustees seeking recognition of parallel restructuring/ bankruptcy proceedings in the Abu Dhabi onshore Courts.
- Acting for an international bank in defending an alleged USD 11.5m mis-selling claim in the DIFC Courts.
- Acting on behalf of an international bank before the DIFC Courts and successfully obtaining immediate judgment in the sum of USD 55m.
- Acting for an Indian Bank in successfully defending a USD 18.51m damages claim in the DIFC Courts.
- Acting for the successful policyholders in a preliminary issues trial before the DIFC Courts in the first Covid-19 related business interruption case decided by the DIFC Court.
Language(s)
English – native
Education
2018 – Legal Practice Course – Distinction – BPP University
2017 – LLB International Law – First Class Honours – Lancaster University
Admission
2020 – Solicitor, England & Wales
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