Wesley Wood

Wesley is a dual-qualified (South Africa and England & Wales) maritime and international trade lawyer advising on all manner of shipping and international trade disputes.  Wesley trained and was ultimately a Partner at leading South African law firm, Shepstone & Wylie where he practiced for eight years before moving to the UAE in 2018.

Prior to joining HAS, Wesley was a Partner at leading local and regional firms based in Dubai.  He has been consistently ranked by both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for Shipping Dispute Resolution in the UAE and has also been named by Business Today as one of the ‘Top 10 Influential Shipping Dispute Resolution Lawyers in the UAE’.

Wesley is widely recognized for his expertise in international trade, commodities and maritime law, representing both local and international clients in large and complex disputes.

Recent Cases:

• Represented a mortgagee bank in proceedings before the UAE Courts and DIFC Courts, including obtaining a freezing order injunction over the proceeds of a judicial sale of a vessel and ultimately obtained judgment of approximately USD47 million.
• Represented a Swiss bank in various UAE Court proceedings with its claims of over USD19 million against subsidiaries of a group of manufacturers, marketers and traders implicated in widescale fraudulent activities.
• Represented another Swiss bank which had provided trade finance of over USD12 million to a UAE entity for the purchase of fuel oil in highly contentious and vehemently opposed proceedings in the UAE Courts.