DIFC lawyers since 2009
Founded by two lawyers who wanted to give family businesses the advice big firms gave to big companies, at a price they could plan for.
Still owned by the people who work here
Eleanor Hale and David Morrow opened the firm in two rooms in Gate Village in 2009, after ten years each advising Gulf businesses at international firms. Their first clients were a fit-out joinery, a dairy and a family of building-materials traders. All three still instruct us.
Today the firm has 62 people in DIFC and Abu Dhabi, led by four partners, two of them the founders. We have never merged and have no plans to: it’s what lets us set our own fees and answer to our clients rather than to outside investors.
- Founded
- 2009
- People
- 62
- Offices
- 2
Eleanor Hale, Managing Partner
Our history
-
2009
Eleanor Hale and David Morrow open Hale & Morrow in Gate Village, DIFC, with five staff.
-
2011
An employment team is set up, acting only for employers.
-
2014
We move to Level 4, Gate Village 5, and run our first trial in the DIFC Courts.
-
2017
Nadia Hussain becomes a partner, and we are certified to ISO 27001 for information security.
-
2019
Our Abu Dhabi office opens on Al Maryah Island for private client and real estate clients.
-
2021
Eleanor Hale becomes managing partner; David Morrow leads the real estate team full time.
-
2026
26 lawyers, two offices, and a new corporate team led by Karim Haddad.
What we promise
-
A partner on every matter
Someone senior is responsible for your work and reachable when you need them.
-
The cost before we start
A fixed fee where we can, an estimate in writing where we can’t, and a call before we go over it.
-
An answer within a day
Every new enquiry gets a call back within one working day, and existing clients usually the same day.
-
Honest advice about fighting
If a dispute isn’t worth pursuing, we’ll say so, even when it means less work for us.
Registered and accredited
The standards we’re held to, and the ones we choose to meet.
-
DIFC
Registered in the Dubai International Financial Centre, licence no. CL0000 (demo), with our advocates on the DIFC Courts’ register
-
DFSA
Registered with the Dubai Financial Services Authority for anti-money laundering supervision (demo)
-
STEP
Three full members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, active in its UAE branch
-
ISO 27001
Certified for information security, so your documents stay safe
AED 20m
Professional indemnity insurance on every matter
In the community
Every lawyer at the firm gives at least 25 hours a year of free advice, through the DIFC Courts’ pro bono programme and to small charities, and our trainees run a monthly session for start-up founders in the DIFC.
We sponsor two junior football clubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and match staff fundraising for a UAE charity chosen each year by the whole firm.
Speak to a lawyer
A free 20-minute call with a partner, usually within one working day.