Rita Al Semaani Legal Consultants LLC S.O.C
A sector focused boutique firm which offers innovative and pragmatic legal solutions whilst ensuring full regulatory compliance with the UAE legal framework.
Get In TouchAbout Us
We provide high quality service with a commercial approach and bring extensive know how to your business.
Our lawyers who are business oriented possess extensive experience in the UAE with deep local knowledge and expertise across our core business sectors.
Please reach out to us to find out about our legal solutions and how we can assist you.
Our Sectors
We offer targeted local legal advice infused with international perspective across strategic core legal domains.
Commodities & Trade
Energy and Infrastructure
Maritime
Regulatory
Services
Click on any specialized division below to review individual breakdowns and comprehensive legal framework descriptions.
Corporate
We know our clients and understand their business needs. We have significant experience serving various sectors including our core. From inception of a business idea to implementing the concept we join our clients on their journey to success.
We are recognized as commercially focused and as experts in corporate, structuring & restructuring, Company formation in mainland and free zones, joint ventures and shareholders agreements, Licensing, M&A and cross-border transactions, winding up and insolvency.
Commercial
We draft, negotiate and opine on all types of commercial agreements including consultancy, cooperation, outsourcing, agency and distributorship and franchise, know how, royalty, and loyalty agreements, terms and conditions of sale and purchase, trading agreements, hire, lease, build and maintenance agreements, including non-disclosure, head of terms, letter of intent and other commercial agreements.
Finance
We act as a UAE local counsel and opine on financial and facility agreements and ancillary documents across a range of financing types and asset classes. Register of mortgages and pledges of shares.
Mergers & Acquisitions
We advise on practical and business focussed solutions across the transaction lifecycle, from due diligence negotiations to post-acquisition integration. We cover the full spectrum of the transaction. From negotiating the terms to drafting the suite of documentation required up to implementing at the relevant authority and beyond.
We advise on regulatory strategies and draft compliance frameworks, policies, and procedures. We set standards for clients and advice on corporate governance. We have considerable experience working along a range of clients from board members, C suit, entrepreneurs, to SME’s and multinationals. We provide risk assessments. We also advise on whistle blowing and protective measures taken in relation to internal investigation and reporting requirements.
Our corporate governance guidance mitigates shareholders dispute and financial crime. This may lead to asset and account freezing and forfeiture orders, bribery and corruption, cash and assets seizures and detention, cybercrime and data theft, Directors' and Officers' investigation and regulatory enforcement, fraud and white collar crime advisory.
We advise on all aspects of a project life cycle. We act for developers, lenders, contractors, investors and sponsors whether the project is renewable or conventional, infrastructure including power, water, transport, ports and waste to energy.
Our project services include project structuring, corporate set-up and structuring, drafting, reviewing, negotiating of project documents including contracts, subcontracts, framework agreements, collateral warranties bonds, guarantees up to project completion. We also act as a UAE legal counsel on Project finance. We negotiate and draft usufruct and concessions, management and operation agreements and M&A.
We provide guidance to commodity traders, shipowners, operators, charterers, financiers, lessors, manufacturers across the maritime various sectors. Whether its chartering, trading, ports or terminal development, offshore, injury or crew incidents, logistics or freight, debt recovery, arrests or collisions we advise on the best strategies to achieve the best result in a competitive environment.
Yachts & Marinas
We advise and support with transactional arrangements, sale purchase of yachts and super yachts, yacht financing, repair, hire and interior refurbishment. We advise yacht agents and representatives, yacht owners, sellers, brokers and marina managers on repair and licencing, berthing, crewing, operations and management.
Sometimes disputes are unavoidable and in similar circumstances, we work with our clients to understand the full commercial context and your objectives and provide strategic and tactical advice identifying the merits and weaknesses of the dispute and the best course of action to follow.
Key Contacts
Rita Al Semaani Jansen
Nigel Truscott
Rita Jansen
Rita has extensive experience in the maritime and leisure, energy and infrastructure sectors. She provides end-to-end legal and strategic counsel on transactional, corporate and commercial matters including legal opinions to regional and international financiers.
Rita’s practice spans a broad range of areas, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructuring, franchising and licensing, trading and sale purchase. She advises on debt recovery, arrests, collisions and disputes ensuring clients receive robust solutions tailored to their needs.
Rita advises on regulatory and corporate governance, policies, procedures and complex cross-border fraud, cybercrime and white-collar crime.
Nigel Truscott
Nigel is a seasoned expert who specializes in projects work incorporating construction, development and arbitration along with IT. He represented sponsors, owners, developers, contractors on a range of significant international projects since 1990 both in contentious and non-contentious capacities, with a particular focus on complex projects in the Middle East and the Gulf region. His experience spans over a period of 35 years.
Awards & Recognition
- The Lawyer’s “Lawyer of the Year – Corporate” Award (2024)
- Lloyd’s List “Lifetime Achievement Award” (2019), recognising Rita’s pioneering work supporting women in law and maritime
- Ranked among the Top 10 Maritime Lawyers (2019)
- Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 recognised practitioners
What clients say about us
Careers
Early Career Professionals
If you are starting your career, aspire to be trained to develop technical and legal skills or wish to be involved in client work and become an integrated part of the team.
Consultants & Senior Experts
If you value flexibility or wish to work at your leisure, part time or if you are a senior, with extensive knowledge and experience, why retire? work at your own pace, pick and choose your work.
What we Offer
Contact Us
Get In Touch Directly
Clients choose us for our ability to provide clear, practical and cost-efficient solutions. Your enquiries are important. Contact us using the secure lines below to discuss your legal or business needs.