The ruler of Dubai hired ‘prizefighter’ top QC Lord Pannick for a bumper £1million, the Daily Mail understands.
The astonishing amount for Lord Pannick QC, one of the best lawyers in Britain, was agreed when he was recruited by the ruler to revive his case.
He is one of eight QCs hired by the billionaire Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s, along with five junior barristers and large teams of solicitors from two firms.
The legal costs for all sides in the case – which has involved some 17 QCs – is estimated to be £5.2million.
Lord Pannick, described in a profile in The Times as a ‘prizefighting legal titan’ successfully represented businesswoman Gina Miller in her Supreme Court challenge last year about the government’s prolonged prorogation of parliament.
David Pannick QC arrives at the Supreme Court in central London, on the second day of the hearing into the decision by the government to prorogue parliament on September 18, 2019. He is one of eight QCs hired by the billionaire sheikh, along with five junior barristers and large teams of solicitors from two firms
When asked to comment on claims that he was receiving a £1million fee, Lord Pannick said to the Mail: ‘I never comment on my fees – whether what you have said is accurate or inaccurate.’
On the other side of the courtroom, Princess Haya, the Sheikh’s ex-wife and opponent, headed her team with Charles Geekie QC, a leading family law silk, with a focus on matters involving children.
According to the Legal 500, a directory of barristers in the UK, Mr Geekie is ‘renowned for his handling of extremely complex and sensitive children matters.’
‘[He] routinely engages in cases relating to sexual, emotional and physical abuse,’ the review adds.
Instructing Mr Geekie was Princess Haya’s solicitor, Baroness Fiona Shackleton, who represented Prince Charles in his 1996 divorce of Princess Diana.
Baroness Shackleton’s fees for divorce cases have been reported at over £500 per hour.
Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, the wife of Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and her lawyer Baroness Fiona Shackleton arrive at the High Court in London, Britain at the end of February
In addition to the royal divorce, Baroness Shackleton represented Sir Paul McCartney in his split from Heather Mills in 2008, where legal bills exceeded £100,000.
One of Shackleton’s former clients revealed the Baroness had charged £95,000 for advice on a child support case. The case was later dropped and the client paid his own costs.
Princess Haya, 45, the half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan, who is wealthy in her own right, was in court to apply for her children to be made wards of court.
She also asked the High Court in London to make a series of findings of fact about Sheikh Mohammed, in particular in relation to the kidnap and forcible detention of two of his adult daughters from another marriage almost two decades apart.
She was also applying for a forced marriage protection order in relation to Princess Jalila and a non-molestation order for her own protection.
The princess studied philosophy and economics at Oxford University and is a keen equestrian, representing Jordan at the 2000 Olympics.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, who abducted and detained two of his adult daughters against their will almost two decades apart, a High Court judge has found
The mother-of-three attended almost every hearing, flanked by Baroness Shackleton and a security detail, but Sheikh Mohammed did not attend one.
Sheikh Mohammed’s legal team insisted prior to the fact-finding hearing that the ruler ‘could not and would not’ attend to give evidence.
Lord Pannick told the court that, if the fact-finding went ahead, Sheikh Mohammed’s lawyers would ‘play no active part in these proceedings’.
But Sir Andrew refused to allow him to withdraw, after Mr Geekie told the court that it would not be right that ‘the father’s wish to avoid the scrutiny of the court should deployed in order to reduce the protection that is available to the children’.