Wajahat Monaf

I was based at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) office of the firm. I worked alongside associates, senior associates, and the Partner in the Intellectual Property & Competition team on the following:

• Researched the development of the UAE Competition Law and its enforcement mechanism. After comparing the UAE and EU provisions, I concluded that the UAE's competition law regime was at a nascent stage and had heavily borrowed from the EU. I also learnt that competition law advice in the country predominantly followed the EU and UK decisional practice.
• Drafted guidance notes on key competition law aspects, which the firm could rely on in the future.
• Identified, researched and drafted memorandums on the law on different types of vertical agreements, pricing restrictions, dominance threshold, practices which can lead to a finding of abuse of dominance, and merger-control analysis.
• Also highlighted how the similarities between the EU and UAE competition regimes might translate into similar decisions.
• Prepared advice for clients in response to their questions on discounting, loyalty rebates, maximum retail prices, and recommended retail prices. In doing so, always adopted a comparative approach between the UAE law and EU jurisprudence.

This was the third internship (second call-back internship) with the Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, a tier-1 Indian law firm. The multiple internships with the firm were the result of my strong performances and the healthy professional relationship I had built with the associates and the Partner. As such, I was trusted to work independently and involved in the most complex transactions:

• Prepared advice for a foreign client on the regulatory regime governing Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
• Applied a gamut of complex legal rules to the specific queries raised by the client.
• Researched the requirements for NBFCs to form their Anti-Money Laundering (AML) & Know Your Customer (KYC) policies according to the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines.
• Assessed the suitability of a client’s draft KYC and AML policies and suggested changes.
• Assisted the associates in drafting due-diligence reports, which further enhanced my understanding of the Mergers & Acquisition process.
• Drafted an employment agreement, which involved modifying the template according to the specific request of the client.
• Demonstrated commitment to client-service by returning to the office on a holiday to carry out this urgent request for the client.
• Prepared a memorandum related to the NBFC sector for the Partner’s client pitch.
• Researched various corporate law areas such as the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) 2018 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008.

During this internship, I worked with the General Corporate team. I worked directly with the partner and had close client contact while undertaking tasks such as:

• Leading on the incorporation of a foreign company's local subsidiary, during which I handled the preparation of necessary documents, resolved the client’s in-person queries in a professional manner, and liaised with the company secretary to ensure a smooth filing process.
• Assisted in preparing the issues lists, draft due diligence reports, executive summaries, and identifying the condition precedents required to close a complex multi-jurisdictional M&A transaction.
• Proofread and checked the cross-referencing the share purchase agreement. In doing so, identified and made necessary changes to the document before it was sent out.
• Researched the laws on the subscription of an unlisted public company.
• Drafted internal notes and responses for clients on the advantages of holding shares in dematerialised form and the post-incorporation corporate governance compliance requirements.

• Worked for partners and senior associates across the Corporate and Commercial, Dispute Resolution, and Employment teams one of the leading UAE-based regional law firms.
• Researched and drafted a memorandum on the U.A.E Employment Law, which formed the basis of the firm’s contribution to a leading global legal publication.
• Prepared a comparative research note on the institutional rules of U.A.E based arbitration institutions such as the Dubai International Financial Centre-London Court of Commercial Arbitration (DIFC-LCIA) and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC). This note helped the associates in drafting an advice for a client who wanted to decide where to institute arbitral proceedings. As a result, I was able to appreciate the issues such as default seats, fees, etc which must be considered by a lawyer when drafting arbitration agreements.

I interned at the chamber of a retired High Court Judge, who was working as a designated Senior Advocate and regularly appeared before the Supreme Court of India. During this internship, I:

• Researched grounds of arguments, case-law, precedent which could be useful for our side in upcoming cases.
• Prepared notes for drafting Special Leave Petitions and Civil Appeals to be filed in the Supreme Court of India.
• Authored an article titled “Evolution of law: where do academicians stand?”, in which I argued that academicians have played a pioneering role in shaping judicial decisions and that the time had come for one of them to be appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of India.
• Attended landmark constitution bench hearings, such as the challenge to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (criminalising homosexuality), Sabarimala Temple case (which prohibited the entry of women of menstruating age into the temple), etc. I took notes and observed from close quarters the powerful legal arguments, which have taught me the value of presenting complex legal problems in simple terms.

I worked with the General Corporate team on tasks related to the newly enacted Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC), such as:

• Analysed fifteen Supreme Court of India's/lower court judgments that had delineated the scope of various provisions of the IBC. As part of this exercise, I identified the most important issues which could be relevant to the firm’s clients and its practice.
• Delivered a presentation to the Partner and a Senior Associate on the jurisprudential trends arising from the IBC. I was commended for my research skills and clear articulation.
• Drafted a memorandum on the Framework for Revitalising Distressed Assets and the Joint Lenders Forum. =
• Contributed research notes to the firm’s internal knowledge group. These notes covered - the definition of 'dispute' under the IBC, inherent power of the Supreme Court to allow settlement of a dispute, and whether the agreement of all lenders is required during the Joint Lenders Forum restructuring process.
• My strong performance earned me a ‘call-back’ internship at the firm.

This was a litigation internship in which I assisted an independent practitioner in a wide array of practice areas. In particular:

• Worked on Arbitration, Criminal, Civil, Property, Service, and Environmental Law related cases.
• Researched the environmental regulations concerning stone crushers in India.
• Undertook case-law research to support our client’s case for compensation against a real estate company that had failed to deliver the project on time.
• Prepared a note used by the chamber to brief the lead Senior Advocate of the intricacies of a case scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court.
• Regularly assisted in drafting of Special Leave Petitions, Statement of Cases, Rejoinder, Counter Affidavits, Case notes, etc.
• Attended proceedings at the Supreme Court of India, the Delhi High Court, the National Green Tribunal, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, etc.
• Although it was an unpaid internship, I was nevertheless offered a stipend in recognition of my performance.

I assisted the Corporate and Commercial team at the firm's Dubai office.

• Researched various U.A.E laws, contracts, and incorporation processes.
• Researched and drafted a memorandum on the Commercial Agency Law, focussing on the legal position of an unregistered agency and the grounds for termination of a commercial agency.
• Suggested amendments to a client's Article of Association (AoA) and Memorandum of Association (MoA) to ensure compliance with recent changes in the UAE’s company law regime. This task gave me an insight into the various clauses of an AoA and MoA and the forms of companies under the U.A.E law.
• Analysed a construction contract and recommended amendments, to comply with the latest FIDIC template.
• Compiled a list of marketing activities allowed in the Dubai Media City for a client looking to set up his business.
• Liaised with Ajman free-zone to determine the process for transferring a Free-Zone Establishment (FZE) to a Free-Zone Company (FZC).
• Prepared summaries for Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court cases and Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) cases.

I worked with the Commercial and Arbitration teams.

• Adopted an inquisitive approach and actively approached associates for work.
• Developed creative solutions to suitthe needs of a Ghanaian investor registering a company. Given their preference for full-ownership and intendedexternal trading, I proposed setting up a Free Zone Offshore Company. I enjoyed identifying the feasibility ofthis solution to suit the client's specific needs.
• Prepared and managed the documentation for the incorporation of offshore and onshore companies at various UAE based free zones, as well as mainland UAE.
• Drafted a memorandum for a client on the stepwise process for setting up a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Dubai. Consequently, I understood the business and legal rationale behind choosing one form of business over another.
• Researched the grounds for eviction under the Real Estate Law, which proved invaluable in drafting an eviction notice to a retailer. I also assisted in drafting a shareholders' agreement.
• Researched the DIFC Wills & Probate Registry Rules, which gave me an insight into the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a unique Common law jurisdiction in the UAE.

I worked part-time to assist the school’s liaison team in attending career talks and education fairs. My role has changed due to the pandemic. Before the first lockdown:

• Placed freight orders after reviewing the previous year's demand.
• Worked on business application platforms such as Dynamics 365 to create entries (called campaigns) for each outbound talk/fair scheduled in the inbox calendar. Being a quick learner, I was able to execute these tasks smoothly.
• Created Gecko forms using another business application, which allowed the student ambassadors to collect responses from students at the career fairs.
• Updated the planning spreadsheet regularly, which allowed other colleagues to plan their work.
• Tallied and processed the expense forms submitted by the student ambassadors and responded to their queries regarding the same
• After a couple of months away from work, I rejoined albeit with a new team on an ad-hoc basis.
• Acted as a student ambassador and answered questions in the Q&A chat box during the King's Virtual Open Week.
• Mapped the data from virtual career fairs with the available subject areas at King's and input data in relevant spreadsheets.

I worked part-time for an ecologically sustainable last-mile delivery service. In this role, I:

• Picked up food items, parcels, flowers etc from cafés, restaurants, and other retailers.
• Coordinated with the manager at Pret-A-Manger Centre Point to ensure the delivery of any last-minute orders which had not been processed through the Urb-it app.
• The time-sensitive nature of the delivery services meant that I developed my ability to deliver on time whilst maintaining the quality of the order.
• As multiple orders were assigned at once, deciding the most time-efficient route also sharpened my ability to think on my feet.
• Regularly stepped-in for colleagues running late and assisted those who had a heavy load to carry.
• Demonstrated my professional and courteous behaviour when receiving and delivering the order to the customer.