Bio
Gary has extensive international experience representing various players within the construction industry, including developers, project managers, general contractors, subtrades and suppliers. He has worked on cases involving large, multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects
Gary stared his legal career in Pretoria, South Africa in 2006, articling at one of the oldest firms in the city, where he was retained as an associate, after which he was admitted as an Advocate (Barrister).
In 2012, Gary relocated to Dubai, UAE and joined a leading construction/dispute department of a full service regional firm. During this time he was involved in a wide variety of litigation and international arbitration matters, mainly representing developers and a variety of subtrades on large construction projects throughout the Middle East and Africa. He then spent time in house at a prominent developer, where he worked on several billion-dollar construction and infrastructure contracts, and advised Dubai’s Engineering Office on various government infrastructure projects.
Prior to joining Glaholt Bowles LLP in 2021, Gary was a senior associate at a boutique Dubai firm, heading their dispute resolution department.
Representative Work
- Represented an engineering consultancy firm before the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts, challenging the enforcement of a foreign judgement on jurisdictional grounds.
- Represented a subcontractor in defence of a USD 270 million damages claim filed by the main contractor in relation to fireproofing work done to a hotel that was destroyed by fire.
- Filed damages claims in Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) on behalf of a consultant based on an invalid termination of a contract for infrastructure works performed for an African government.
- Represented semi-governmental entity with various property disputes, including advice on litigations strategies, settlement negotiations and contractual entitlements in relation to long term leases.
- Drafted FIDIC based suit of contracts on behalf of an international developer for the construction of a Dubai based theme park. Assisted with the negotiation and settlement of same.
- Supported an international MEP contractor with debt recovery strategies, including the enforcement of extension of time and delay claims in a DIAC arbitration.
- Advised a main contractor in relation pre-litigation compliance with FIDIC conditions for project in excess of USD 200 million. Prepared a precautionary attachment application for presentation to Dubai Courts to prevent the calling of performance bonds.
- Represented a MEP subcontractor in filing an application before the Dubai Court for the appointment of an expert to determine it entitlement to an extension of time and prolongation costs.
- Represented a main contractor in the preparation of precautionary attachment applications to prevent the calling of performance and advance payment bonds before the Abu Dhabi Courts.
Rankings & Recognition
Certificate of Appreciation – Legal Affairs Department of Dubai (2019)