FIRE Middle East 2024

In 2022, Justice Michael Black was appointed as a Judge at the DIFC Courts Court of Appeal and Judge in charge of the Digital Economy Court (DEC).

Prior to his appointment at the DIFC Courts, Justice Black has been involved with the DIFC Courts since it was established in 2004. As well as assisting the First Chief Justice, Sir Anthony Evans, in establishing the Courts’ structure and drafting the Rules, Justice Black was also the first Practitioner to be Registered under Part II and appeared in the first trial before the Court of First Instance and the first hearing before the Court of Appeal.

Justice Black served as a Deputy Judge of the Technology & Construction Court in London between 1999 and 2013 and a Deputy High Court Judge (Queen’s Bench Division) between 2008 and 2013.

Justice Black was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1978 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1995.

In September 2022, Justice Michael Black was appointed Judge in Charge of the Digital Economy Court Division.

Mark Pelling was appointed Judge in Charge of the London Circuit Commercial Court in 2019.

He is authorised to sit in the Chancery Division, Queens Bench Division, Administrative Court and the Technology and Construction Court as well as the Commercial and Circuit Commercial Courts.

His Honour Judge Pelling grew up and was educated in North East London. He read law at Kings College London and was called to the Bar in 1979.

He practiced from Monckton Chambers and then 3 Verulam Buildings, where he specialised in commercial and construction litigation both in the Courts in England and Wales and in arbitrations both here and abroad.

He was appointed a QC and a Recorder in 2003, as a specialist Senior Circuit Judge in 2006 and to his present role as Judge in Charge of the London Circuit Commercial Court in 2019.

Jacques Visser heads the Legal Affairs division of the DIFC Authority.

In addition, he holds the position of Secretary to the DIFC Higher Board and the Boards of the DIFC Authority and DIFC Investments LLC. Mr. Visser also currently serves as DIFC’s Security Registrar and Commissioner of Data Protection.

David K. Young is the Managing Director of Oxford Analytica, a leading geopolitical and macroeconomic analysis and advisory company. Founded in 1975, Oxford Analytica has built a world-class reputation for providing trusted insights and seasoned judgements on global issues that impact strategies, policies, investments and operations. Acquired by FiscalNote (NYSE:NOTE) in 2021, Oxford Analytica stands as the central pillar to FiscalNote’s Global Intelligence business to support over 1000 of the world's leading multinational companies, multilateral organizations and governments to serve over 10,000 global professionals.

Prior to joining Oxford Analytica in 2014, David worked across the sectors of international security, technology, and emerging market development. He has a BA in Government from the College of William and Mary, a MA in Intelligence and International Security from King’s College, University of London, and a MBA from the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University.

Ahmad is a Saudi qualified lawyer, certified arbitrator, and a former judge in Riyadh's General Court.

He holds a B.A in Shari'ah law, Master in Comparative Jurisprudence, LLM in Advance Legal Studies and a PhD in the area of Islamic Finance and Financial Regulation from University of Warwick. He has extensive experience in litigation, arbitration, family business, capital market, Islamic finance, construction and real state law. He has various publications, most important of which is his recent book titled "Creative Compliance in the Islamic finance industry, and "Disputes between Stockbrokers and Investors in The Saudi Capital Market".

Nicolle is a dual-barred attorney in the United States (Washington DC) and Honduras. She has provided valuable legal advice to individuals and companies looking to get involved in NFTs and Web3 matters.

Nicolle has gone from “interested” and “curious” about NFTs to focusing her career on solving and guiding individuals and companies through the legal uncertainties of the crypto space. She provides advisement for blockchain projects and product strategy; crypto start-ups; DAO formations and their corporate structures and; DeFi regulation matters with the SEC.

Nicolle is also an NFT investor and active international crypto speaker. She combines her passion to create opportunities and impulse more LATAM inclusion into the Web3 space. She strives to educate the Spanish speaking community on the basics of NFT and crypto.  

Things that keep her spark going: learning and solving legal issues in Web3, creating and building meaningful connections, freestyle acrylic painting, surfing, and outdoor sports.

Rebecca is a partner based in the Dubai office. She is the Head of both the Litigation and Dispute Management team and the Corporate Crime and Investigations/Financial Services Disputes and Investigations team in the Middle East. She is described by Legal 500 as "exceptionally astute", "reassuringly commercial" and a "noted name".

She is experienced in both common and local civil law systems, managing high profile and high value claims in the English, UAE, Bahraini and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) courts. She was recently appointed to the DIFC Court Rules Committee, responsible for drafting the DIFC’s common law procedural rules and protocols. She supports clients on the entire cycle of litigation work including advisory work, injunctive relief, asset tracing and enforcement action. She has also managed numerous complex jurisdictional challenges both in the UAE and across the globe. She is commended by Chambers & Partners for her work on “financial disputes” being described as a lawyer who “focuses on understanding the business and devises tailored strategies to maximise prospects of recovery and minimise costs."

As the Managing Partner of Hage-Chahine Law Firm, Najib Hage-Chahine oversees all aspects of its operations and its educational initiatives for younger attorneys.

He has supervised the recent restructuring of the firm that aimed to introduce the use of cutting edge legal technology and implement a new system for the delivery of legal services.

Najib Hage-Chahine is a dual-qualified lawyer in Lebanon and France.

He holds the prestigious title of Agrégé of the French Faculties of Law which is the highest academic recognition that is bestowed upon French Law Practitioners and is a Professor of Private Law at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at Saint-Joseph University in Beirut and a Visiting Professor at Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas in Paris.

He currently serves as the President of the Lebanese International Arbitration Center of the Beirut Bar Association. 
Najib Hage-Chahine is routinely solicited to handle complex cross border disputes and international business transactions. He often acts for foreign companies who aim to do business in the Middle East and handles incorporation, acquisitions, commercial contracts, closing down of subsidiaries and establishing joint ventures. He also provides in-depth legal consultations on comparative law and regional compliance.

As an experienced litigator and a listed arbitrator, he specializes in domestic and international disputes arising out of a contract. His expertise encompasses cross-border enforcement of court decisions and arbitral awards as well as investor-state dispute settlements. He is well-versed in issues of sovereign immunity and emanation of state and has demonstrated the ability to deliver indisputable results in matters involving foreign governments and international institutions. 

Seema is a Commercial Dispute Resolution Partner in Pinsent Masons’ Dubai office, and moved from London to Dubai in 2014. 

Seema was awarded ‘Private Practice Lawyer of the Year’ at the LexisNexis Women in Law Awards 2023. Seema has extensive experience of advising clients on complex, multi-jurisdictional commercial litigation and international arbitration proceedings in various sectors, including technology, real estate, energy, hospitality and financial services. In addition, she advises clients on cross-border investigations arising from bribery and corruption, fraud and compliance issues.

Seema is ranked as “Next Generation Partner” for Dispute Resolution by The Legal 500 and individually ranked in Chambers & Partners’ Global Guide.  These directories describe Seema as “very intelligent”, “meticulous on detail”, “certainly one to watch for the future, and is heading straight to the top”, “an outstanding practitioner. She is thoughtful, considered and outcome-focused. She is a pleasure to deal with” and “fantastic with clients; she is really hard-working and has brilliant expertise in the DIFC”.

She is admitted as a Solicitor of England and Wales. She is an elected member of the DIFC Courts’ Users’ Committee and sits on the MENA Sub-Committee of the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations. She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and ArbitralWomen.  Seema regularly speaks at conferences in the region as well as being a guest speaker at Cornell Law School in New York.

Sarah Malik is an award-winning lawyer who achieved Litigator of the Year (2022) at the first GCC Women in Law Awards and received an honourable mention as the Law Firm Leader of the Year category at the same awards. She set up SOL, a boutique legal practice in the UAE in 2018. SOL has since become a household name both in the UAE and worldwide, and has been listed as a ‘Firm to Watch in Dispute Resolution’ by Legal 500 EMEA. Sarah is a published author of two legal texts, a visiting lecturer in law, an arbitrator, acts as Counsel in multi-jurisdictional disputes and is an international public speaker who trains governments and judiciaries worldwide. 

Sarah is also retained as personal advisor to UHNW, acts as external GC, and undertakes sports, fashion, and entertainment law.

Berkay Oncel is the Head of MENAT Investments at SC Lowy, a privately-owned US$3 billion global asset management group with over 250 professionals.

Berkay joined SC Lowy in the Hong Kong office in 2012 as Research Analyst before relocating to London in 2015 to manage EMEA illiquid investments, increasingly focusing on Middle Eastern and Turkish markets. During his 15-year career Berkay primarily focused on EM special situations credit, distressed debt and private credit investments. Berkay graduated with a B.A. in International Businesss & Management and Economics from Dickinson College in the U.S.

Marc's practice focuses on the restructuring and financial recovery of distressed Cayman Islands entities and offers commercial solutions to creditors, shareholders and beneficiaries of entities threatened with insolvency. 

He regularly advises managers, directors, general partners, office holders and stakeholders as to the options available to them in cross-border insolvency, and as to the interplay between Cayman and onshore restructurings and insolvency proceedings. He also represents trustees, protectors and beneficiaries in relation to their rights under offshore trust arrangements, and shareholders of distressed funds in connection with disputes arising out, or in anticipation of, events of default or unpaid redemptions or capital calls.

Directory feedback for Marc describes him as "exceptionally client focused" and notes that he "has seen everything in Cayman and comes into his own in real-time emergency litigation".

Marc regularly contributes to legislative subcommittees advising the Cayman Islands government as to the desirability and effect of proposed legislation concerning, for example, restructuring and insolvency legislation, contractual rights of third parties, damages awarded in medical negligence actions, and contingency and conditional fee and third party funding arrangements.

Marc is part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Restructuring & Corporate Recovery and Private Equity teams. His achievements include advising on scheme of arrangements restructuring bond debt and other assets issued or held by various types of Cayman entity, facilitating the refinancing of international oil and gas groups with offshore vehicles, bringing and defending large-scale fraud and asset tracing claims on behalf of liquidation estates, and assisting parties to onshore litigation by providing expert evidence and analysis of technical questions of Cayman Islands law.

Marc is a Fellow of INSOL International.

Prior to joining Ogier in 2017 Marc was Cayman Islands Head of Litigation and Insolvency at another major offshore firm.

Prior to joining Fichte & Co., she has worked for few major investment conglomerates in the region and gained valuable experience while heading the corporate and commercial practice of several law firms in Dubai. In her over 17 years career span, she acted across various jurisdictions in the European Union, having a recognized experience in advising high net worth individuals or working at the crossroads of multiple systems of Law. In addition, she has worked for governmental institutions and for intergovernmental organizations as well.

She holds a master’s and a PhD in International Law and has studied in prestigious institutions across Europe and Asia. Laura has a keen interest in niche areas of Law, such as the Law of the Sea, Outer Space Law or in the legal aspects of disruptive technologies such as blockchain or technology, where she is currently specializing.

She is a book author and university lecturer in the field of Law. She is also a habitual contributor to various legal publications and legal training programs.

She is fluent in English, French, Spanish & Romanian.

Bushra Ahmed is a highly accomplished and experienced barrister with over 20 years of experience in commercial litigation and international arbitration. She is currently a Partner at KBH, a law firm with offices in the DIFC (Dubai), Bahrain and Kuwait, where she is the Head of Dispute Resolution since 2014, specialising in a wide range of complex commercial, corporate, employment, financial services, and regulatory matters in the United Kingdom and the Middle East. Bushra was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2001 and has since established herself as a reputable and skilled advocate and litigator in the legal community.

Bushra has also been appointed as a presider and co-arbitrator under various arbitration rules and forums, including the ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, and DIAC, and has handled a wide range of international commercial and construction disputes. She is also a CEDR accredited mediator since 2005.

Dr. Paresh Kathrani is an independent strategy consultant based in London, UK, working primarily in digital transformation in the legal sector. His research focuses on LawTech, blockchain, and digital assets.

He has written on LawTech, including as a co-contributor for a submission to Parliament.

He has convened many panels and worked on an EU-funded project with a start-up in looking at how AI and natural language processing can be used to triage law cases.

He was part of a gamification group that designed serious games for legal education. He is currently a consultant at the Legal Technology and Innovation Institute in London.

He has spoken at events on digital assets, including the regulation of digital money.

Zoe O’Sullivan KC is a highly experienced commercial practitioner who thrives in court.

Her subject area expertise includes joint ventures and shareholder disputes, banking and finance, oil and gas and IT/outsourcing disputes. She is described in the directories as “very easy to work with and very hands on”, “a real fighter, who is incredibly focused and charismatic and has real gravitas” and “fiercely intelligent”. She is registered as a practitioner in Part II of the DIFC Courts’ Register and regularly appears in the DIFC Court as counsel.

Zoe is also regularly appointed as sole, presiding and co-arbitrator in arbitrations under the  LCIA, ICC and UNCITRAL rules.

Michael is a specialist in the defence of corporate and financial crime and regulatory investigations and prosecutions. He has represented senior executives and other professionals in many high-profile domestic and international investigations and prosecutions conducted by the SFO, FCA, NCA and other prosecution/regulatory agencies.

Michael is a specialist in the defence of corporate and financial crime and regulatory investigations and prosecutions. He has represented senior executives and other professionals in many high-profile domestic and international investigations and prosecutions conducted by the SFO, FCA, NCA and other prosecution/regulatory agencies.

Adept at navigating the overlap between jurisdictions, Michael regularly advises in international cases that involve overseas prosecutors/regulators and has managed and coordinated responses in each jurisdiction on numerous occasions.

Michael regularly advises and represents senior financial services personnel facing FCA/PRA and other regulator investigations and disciplinary action. He also advises and represents high-net-worth individuals facing revenue investigations and potential prosecutions.

Michael has also been extensively involved in advising clients facing financial and trade sanctions both domestically and globally with experience of sanctions regimes in a range of countries, including Russia, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Syria. His most recent experience includes representing high-net-worth individuals that are the subject of sanctions imposed by OFAC, OFSI and the Minister for External Relations and Financial Services (Jersey), including challenging the ‘designated’ status of a number of high-profile Russian Oligarchs, and advising various Russian companies in a range of industry sectors on potential exposures arising from the evolving EU, US and UK sanctions regime

In addition, he advises both companies and professional firms on their anti-money laundering compliance. Michael is a Solicitor-Advocate (Higher Courts Criminal and Civil Proceedings).

Daniel Hall is a Managing Director and co-lead of Burford’s global corporate intelligence, asset tracing and enforcement business.

As the largest legal finance provider with an in-house global asset recovery business, Burford can combine its capital and investment expertise alongside top-level global judgment enforcement. Mr. Hall speaks regularly on enforcement issues at conferences and has testified to numerous international bodies on money-laundering and judgment enforcement.

Prior to joining Burford, Mr. Hall founded and led Focus Intelligence Ltd., which was acquired by Burford in January 2015. Mr. Hall is a UK qualified solicitor who practiced in both London and Hong Kong for Stephenson Harwood. After leaving the law, he worked in the investigative sector and was a partner at a leading global risk-management consultancy. He spent ten years investigating fraud and financial crime before founding Focus Intelligence Ltd.

Mr. Hall earned his law degree from the University of Oxford.

Prior to joining SOL International Ltd, Nicola worked in the Arbitration, Private Client/Real Estate and Corporate team of a leading international law firm in Dubai.

Nicola is a qualified UK Solicitor, specialised in tech, sports, corporate/commercial law. Her experience ranges across multiple sectors, from advising clients in the sports and entertainment industry, providing advice on Sponsorship, Advertising, Management, IP, TV and Media Rights agreements and setting up companies in the UAE to guiding her clients through the legal frameworks and contractual agreements in the technology sector and the Crypto space. Nicola also hosts seminars for clients and lawyers in the TechLaw space, providing guidance on Smart Contracts; Web3, the Metaverse and the law; and on NFTs.

She is also registered as a DIFC Wills Drafts(wo)man, assisting her clients residing in the UAE with their Estate Planning.

With her background in law and international business, Nicola also acts as consultant for an international sports management agency, focusing on sports law and athlete management. Her knowledge in law, degree in international business and passion for sports encouraged her to become a successful businesswoman.

Nicola is dedicated to understanding her client’s needs and creating long-term strategic partnerships. Her experience in both the business and legal world enables her to find creative and unique ways to assist her clients.

Joint founding and managing partner, Mohammed Al Dahbashi, is a prominent Emirati lawyer. Having graduated from the United Kingdom, with a Bachelors degree of Law with Honours (LLB Hons), Mohammed is of the few Emiratis that is experienced in both corporate/commercial transactions and disputes work.

Having worked for UAE firm Hadef & Partners, before setting up his own firm MAD Advocates and then co-founding ADG, Mohammed is committed to combining local UAE experience with international client care standards. Mohammed has also worked with various legal teams in the UAE that specialize on the corporate sector of legal work, and as a legal advisor at a boutique management consultancy firm in Dubai. He worked with the legal team of Mubadala Development Company PJSC, with great focus on corporate governance, aerospace and renewable energy fields. He also trained with other legal teams, including the legal team of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

A licensed advocate, Mohammed has rights of appearance before the competent courts of the UAE and has worked on a wide range of contentious matters, including commercial arbitrations, commercial litigations and criminal matters. He also has experience in corporate restructuring, preparing agreements, joint ventures, negotiating and advising clients.

With his international standards and local legal skills, Mohammed has been able to reach outstanding outcomes for his clients. He is renowned for being focused and effective, whilst remaining attentive to the needs of his clients.

Antonia is a partner in the firm’s Global Commercial Disputes Group with over 12 years of experience in the MENA region. She advises on the full cycle of complex, high-value commercial and construction disputes, from settlement negotiations, mediations, and other alternative dispute resolution methods, to formal dispute resolution proceedings and enforcement.

Antonia has represented state, national and multinational clients in over 30 arbitrations and several DIFC court litigations in a variety of industry sectors including oil and gas, energy and water, construction and engineering, project development, distribution, and M&A. She has experience acting under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC, ADCCAC, ICDR, and UNCITRAL, with seats in the major arbitral centres as well as various GCC jurisdictions, and subject to numerous governing laws, including those of the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the laws of England and Wales.

Antonia has advised clients under investigation by the World Bank, the UK Serious Fraud Office, and various EU competition authorities. She has represented clients before regulatory bodies, led internal investigations, led compliance training and advised clients with respect to internal compliance procedures.

Since 2013, Antonia has sat as an arbitrator in disputes under the ICC, DIAC, and DIFC-LCIA rules. She also sits on several institutional panels.

Antonia regularly contributes to the arbitration community. She is the co-chair of the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge Middle East Sub-Committee and the co-chair of the Greener Arbitrations Middle East Sub-Committee. She regularly speaks at major conferences including GAR Live: Dubai, GAR Live: Abu Dhabi, and the ICC Africa Conference on International Arbitration. She co-authored the original and updated editions of the IBA Guide on Arbitration, UAE law chapter. She also teaches the International Arbitration Practicum to LL.M. students at the Pantheon Assas University Paris II, UAE.

Antonia is ranked in Chambers and Partners Global 2022: Dispute Resolution as an Up and Coming Practitioner, and in Who’s Who Legal 2022 as a Future Leader in Arbitration.

Peter is a barrister with experience of a wide range of civil and commercial disputes and sectors, including arbitration, banking and finance, company, employment, insurance, insolvency, media, real estate, technology and construction, and professional negligence.

Peter was recommended as a ‘Rising Star’ in the Legal 500 in both 2020 and 2021 and was “notable” in the Legal 500, 2019 (UAE Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and International Litigation).

Peter is admitted to practice in England and Wales (barrister), Dubai International Financial Centre (Part 1 and Part 2 registered), and the Emirate of Dubai.

Charlotte specialises in complex international arbitration and commercial litigation across all of our sector areas including energy, infrastructure, maritime and aviation. She has full rights of audience before both the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) courts and the higher courts of England and Wales.

As part of her practice, Charlotte also regularly assists clients in relation to mediation, expert determinations and managing dispute risk and avoidance. She also has extensive expertise in data protection laws and regulations.

Charlotte regularly sits as an arbitrator (sole, co-arbitrator and Chair) in ad hoc, ICC, LCIA and DIFC-LCIA arbitrations.

She is recognised as a leading dispute resolution and international arbitration lawyer in the UAE by legal directories Legal 500 EMEA and Chambers Global. In 2022, Legal 500 said that she is “a star of the commercial disputes scene in Dubai and the UAE.’ and Chambers Global described her as an “outstanding lawyer.”

Marijn Flinterman is responsible for the recovery and work-out of non-performing loans in connection with the Distressed Asset Recovery Program (DARP), which Omni Bridgeway manages in conjunction with the IFC.

Marijn joined Omni Bridgeway from ABN AMRO where he was a Director in the international recovery department, in which role he was responsible for the recovery of complex non-performing loans, including various high-profile bankruptcies, court-sanctioned restructurings (e.g. Chapter 11), wind-downs and fraud cases across the globe.

He also brings more than 10 years’ experience as a finance lawyer, both as Dutch qualified solicitor (NautaDutilh Amsterdam and Linklaters Amsterdam/London) and as in-house counsel (ING and ABN AMRO). In these capacities he has successfully negotiated a multitude of acquisition finance, project finance, and debt restructuring transactions across a wide range of industries and geographies.

Marijn holds a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD France & Singapore (Dean’s List) and a Master’s in civil law from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

He is fluent in Dutch and English and he understands German, Spanish, as well as basic French.

Georgina advises on complex cross-border disputes, cross-jurisdictional contractual disputes, issues arising under shareholder and joint venture agreements, and wide-ranging disputes concerning commercial contracts. Georgina also assists clients in managing disputes and minimising the need to resort to formal legal proceedings where possible.

The majority of Georgina’s practice involves acting for corporates and financial institutions in international commercial arbitration across the MENA region and globally. She is experienced in advising and acting on cases involving multi-jurisdictional issues.

Georgina is admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.

Luke Petith joined Walkers' Dubai office in 2016 and is a Partner in the Insolvency and Dispute Resolution Group. Luke advises on British Virgin Islands law and Cayman Islands law.

Luke has a broad range of commercial and civil litigation experience, including complex multi-jurisdictional disputes, shareholder disputes and fund disputes. He also has experience in complex international contentious and non-contentious restructuring of companies and partnerships. Luke advises on all forms of formal appointments of insolvency officeholders in the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands and advises creditors, debtors, private equity and hedge funds and other advisors with respect to insolvent or distressed situations.

Aija Lejniece is an independent counsel and arbitrator based in Paris.  Before establishing her solo practice focusing on public international law, and international investment and commercial arbitration, she spent a decade working for several prominent global law firms, including Latham & Watkins LLP and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

She advises governments and private entities in international commercial and investment disputes across a broad range of jurisdictions and business sectors.  Her practice likewise encompasses fintech and blockchain litigation – Aija was one of the first international arbitration specialists to branch out into crypto disputes, most notably advising traders in a dispute against the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

Aija was recently appointed as a Member of the Court of the Permanent Court of Arbitration by the Republic of Latvia.

In her free time, she enjoys playing polo and reading the New Yorker.

I am a director in our insolvency and asset recovery team dealing with contentious assignments. I specialise in global asset tracing, recovery, and enforcement, where I use insolvency and civil procedures as powerful tools to recover hidden and misappropriated assets to maximise financial recoveries for stakeholders.

My work typically involves multiple onshore/offshore insolvency appointments – liquidations, bankruptcies, and receiverships – where I coordinate enforcement and asset recovery strategy across multiple jurisdictions, including India, the Middle East, the UK, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Offshore Financial Centres, and the US.

I have extensive experience working with Indian and Middle Eastern financial institutions, corporates, and lawyers, in enforcing non-performing loans, judgments, and arbitration awards. I often act on a contingent basis where I share the costs and rewards of recovery.

I have recently been working with Grant Thornton India to help grow and develop its asset recovery and insolvency business in light of recent legislative changes in India. The recovery of assets related to Indian fraud or bad debts outside of the jurisdiction is a particular interest and focus.

Outside of work, I enjoy reading, hiking and spending time outdoors.

Laura Shingler has experience in disputes and investigations, with a particular focus on sanctions, anti-bribery and corruption (ABC), anti-money laundering (AML) and corporate crime.

She acts for leading corporate and financial institutions advising them on a range of regulatory and compliance issues and assisting them with the implementation of robust compliance programmes. Laura is recommended as an “Associate to Watch” for UAE Corporate Investigations in Chambers Global 2018-2021, and Legal 500 as a “Rising Star” for Compliance and Investigations, and Financial Services Regulation.

She has undertaken 10 month secondments to the sanctions compliance team at SCB in the UAE and the sanctions, AML and ABC team at Citibank in London. Laura regularly provides training to corporate and financial institutions throughout the UAE on sanctions, AML and ABC and publishes briefings and updates for clients in respect of changes to the international sanctions regimes.

Keith is a Dispute Resolution partner in Clyde & Co's Dubai office, where he has worked since joining the firm's MEA offices from the London office in 2007. He began his career with Clyde & Co in London in 2002. Keith handles a wide range of commercial dispute resolution work, with a specialism in trade credit insurance matters (coverage and recoveries) and with a jurisdictional focus on representing clients in commercial litigation before the DIFC Courts (a common law financial free zone in Dubai) - where he has attained advocacy rights to appear as counsel - and in DIFC-LCIA arbitration. Of particular note, Keith has successfully obtained for clients various forms of injunctive relief in the DIFC Courts and the ADGM Courts, including a number of ‘firsts’ as their jurisprudence develops.

Christian was born in Pretoria, South Africa and after traveling the world and attending school in 7 different countries he ultimately graduated with a British law degree in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Based in the Emirates for the past 6 years, Christian previously worked as a legal officer at an upcoming digital bank with a wide range of responsibilities from regulatory, compliance, contractual to intellectual property and anti-money laundering aspects.

Christian’s experience and knowledge of the financial sphere in particular in fintech, blockchain, and traditional banking allows for a prominent understanding of all aspects that surround company set-up, operations and transactions in particular in the new segments of crypto, NFT, Metaverse and challenger banks

Monaf is an Associate Director in Control Risks’ Business Intelligence team in Dubai, where he oversees dispute support investigations across the Middle East and North Africa.

He has been working in the region for ten years, developing experience in both the security and business intelligence sectors. Monaf has managed numerous multijurisdictional asset traces and dispute-focused complex investigations in the MENA region, working on behalf of law firms, financial institutions and corporates and has acted for clients in several significant litigation and arbitration proceedings.

Prior to joining Control Risks, Monaf worked at a multinational consultancy and a dispute-focused boutique investigation firm in Dubai, where he managed numerous complex dispute-focused investigations. Before moving to Dubai, Monaf spent two years working as an Intelligence Analyst for private security company G4S in Iraq, advising international clients on the political and security situation in the country. Monaf holds an MSc in Middle East Politics from SOAS, University of London.

Henrique Forssell is one of the founding partners of DFA, with extensive experience advising judicial administrators, foreign liquidators and financial institutions in the identification of bankruptcy and bank fraud of national repercussion. In the past ten years, he has been appointed by several judicial authorities to lead and coordinate some of the most important international asset recovery processes in Brazil. Since 2011, he has been a member of FraudNet, an organization established by the International Chamber of Commerce (International Chamber of Commerce), which selects highly qualified lawyers experienced in asset recovery in each country. He was appointed as a reference lawyer in Brazil in the area of ​​recovery of fraudulent assets by the English magazine Who's Who Legal.

Max specialises in high value, multi-jurisdictional disputes involving fraud, asset tracing and corruption in the financial services and banking sectors, often with an insolvency element. He has litigated in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Privy Council, and as far afield as in the Cayman Islands and Tanzania. He also has extensive experience of complex multi-party LCIA arbitration.

In tandem, Max has a burgeoning practice in Public and Administrative Law disputes, with a particular focus on Judicial Review and assisting colleagues in a wide variety of sectors including competition, environmental and planning, foreign governments, immigration, pensions and tax, and public inquiries and inquests. He is an active member of both the Young Lawyers Committee of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the ACROSS Fraud Network. He is also a member of ALBA, the Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association.

Maria has a busy commercial chancery litigation practice with a particular emphasis on commercial disputes (domestic and international), civil fraud, joint venture disputes, all aspects of company and partnership law (particular emphasis on shareholder remedies, director duties, and derivative claims), and corporate and personal insolvency.

Maria is registered in Part II of the Dubai International Financial Centre’s Register of Legal Practitioners and is presently instructed on several high value matters proceeding in the DIFC.

Maria is appreciated for her robust clear advice and strong advocacy in Court.

Rupert was appointed as a QC in 2014, having won 'Chancery Junior of the Year' at the Chambers Bar Awards in 2013. In the same year, he was included in the Chambers 100: UK Bar list of the top 100 junior barristers across all fields. Since 2014, he has been repeatedly identified as a 'Leader of the Bar' in Chambers Global.

He has a broad commercial and financial dispute practice, with a focus on agreements arising out of property investment, finance, development, and management, as well as wider fraud, banking, and shareholder disputes.

His practice in England is primarily in the Commercial Court and Chancery Division of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. He has a substantial overseas practice before arbitral tribunals and in the courts of offshore jurisdictions, in particular, the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) Courts. His international work commonly involves issues as to interim injunctive relief, jurisdiction, applicable law and cross-border enforcement.

Rupert has an established reputation in cases in the Middle East and in London involving parties from the Gulf and wider MENA region. He is fluent in French and has a working knowledge of Arabic, and has significant experience of issues of law and practice arising in Saudi Arabia, as well as the UAE, Egypt and other civil law jurisdictions.

He co-edits the DIFC Courts Practice, the leading text-book on DIFC substantive and procedural law, to which a number of members of Chambers have contributed. In his foreword, the Chief Justice of the DIFC Courts generously commented of the editors that ‘few have made as great a contribution to the development of the laws and rules’.

He is regularly appointed as an arbitrator in commercial and property matters in the Middle East and has significant experience as co-arbitrator, chairperson and sole arbitrator in DIAC and DIFC-LCIA arbitrations. He has even wider experience as counsel in LCIA, LICA-DIFC, ICC, DIAC and LMAA arbitrations seated in Europe and the Gulf.

He is a member of both the DIAC Rules Task Force and the DIFC Court’s Arbitration Working Group.

John is a partner in the Dispute Resolution Group of the Firm's London office.

A solicitor-advocate, John has acted in numerous international commercial arbitrations, primarily conducted under ICC or LCIA rules. John also focuses on complex cross-border litigation – often in support of arbitral and other proceedings worldwide – before the English Court, and in other common law jurisdictions. John also leads the commercial fraud team, with a particular focus on enforcement.

John's clients include large corporates in emerging markets and financial institutions, who he has both advised and represented, through all stages of arbitral and court proceedings, as well as in major regulatory investigations. 

John sits on the Committee of the London Solicitors Litigation Association, which represents the interests of a wide range of litigators in London. He is recognised in The Legal 500 UK 2023 as 'an excellent litigation partner, who works tirelessly and round the clock to achieve results for his clients'. He was also recognised as a "Future Leader" in arbitration in Who's Who Legal Arbitration 2020.

David is a partner in Ogier's BVI Dispute Resolution team and a barrister with broad experience of commercial and financial disputes, with a focus on cross-border company, trusts and insolvency matters. He has extensive advocacy experience before the BVI Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal.

Dominic Ayliffe is an associate managing director in Kroll’s Global Restructuring Advisory practice, based in Dubai.

Dominic brings over 12 years of experience working with corporates and their stakeholders in special situations—with a primary emphasis around credit risk and financial restructuring. Prior to joining Kroll, Dominic was a director at Standard Chartered Bank in the Middle East, one of the core geographies for the global emerging-markets-focused bank. His team managed a portfolio of over USD 2 billion. He has worked with various types of corporate organizations and of various sizes spanning a wide range of industries, including energy, infrastructure, construction, retail and trading. Most recently, he led one of the international-creditor syndicates through a successful debt restructuring for a major UAE real estate developer. Dominic is also known for driving initiatives through to conclusion, including coordinating the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s adoption of a revised accounting methodology and playing a central role in the establishment of Standard Chartered Bank’s first financial advisor panel for stressed asset services.

Mr. Tomislav Šunjka is a founder and principal of ŠunjkaLaw, independent, specialized and focused law firm in Serbia.

His background is business law. Tomislav represented clients who purchase and sell companies in complex cross-border transactions for residents and non-residents as well.

He is a leading authority, unrivaled for complex issues, strategy thinker and focused professional. His knowledge of foreign laws, ex-territorial laws and resources for working internationally has valuated his position as an upper class player.

Tomislav is an extraordinary case manager and supervisor in multi-jurisdictions cases and clients want him in that role even if Serbia is not one of the jurisdictions.

As an upgrade of his strong business law background, and having in mind that this background gives him in - depth understanding of the business structures and transactions, Tomislav is an exceptional authority in anti – corruption and anti – bribery and integrity, risk assessment, strong tailored strategy and program and Code of Conduct, compliance program and identify gaps, policies and procedures in response to corporations’ risks, prioritization of high risk operations. He is a certified auditor for ISO Standard 19600 – Compliance management systems and ISO 37001 Standard on Anti-Bribery Management System and a Lead Auditor for the ISO 37301 Standard on Compliance Management Systems. In connection with the above, his practice also includes FCPA, UKBA, SAPIN II compliance and investigation cases and works, anti – fraud and worldwide civil and criminal asset tracing and asset recovery. When corporate investigation is in question, he is praised for his pragmatic and responsive approach, with strong commitment to find the right solutions for the client. He developed deep practice of corruption in sport, integrity in sport, compliance in Sport, investigations in sport, complex disputes between leagues and clubs and stakeholders interests.

With his experience, he is unavoidable client`s choice in civil and commercial complex litigation and white collar cases.

When clients have crises, they deliver managing of crises and damage control in his hands with full confidence. In CRISES he will always find RESOLUTIONS and EXIT. When they need background and prior analyses, they rely on his findings.

In Sanction and International trade cases Tomislav is first choice for Clients from Russia, to bridge and be a case preparator and manager of team, together with our strategic partner in Washington DC, in different procedures before USA authorities.

As a founder member and Council member of BRILA, he supports interest of Chinese clients on Belt and Road and opposite western clients on Chinese market.

Tomislav is the current Senior Vice chair of the IBA Asset Recovery Subcommittee and former Europe representative of the IBA Anti-Corruption Committee. He is a member of the ICC FraudNet, top tier asset tracing and asset recovery network in civil fraud section of Chambers Global and a Council member of BRILA.

Ali, is a Partner and Head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution team in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Having worked for a period of time in the Dubai office he is familiar with the common law, DOFC law and UAE law. Being fluent in Arabic and English, his practice revolves around the Middle East.L and he has a diverse clientele. Ali specialises in complex disputes, encompassing commercial and civil litigation, arbitration, ADR, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.  Given his time in both the Bahrain and Dubai offices of KBH, he is well versed in western insolvency regimes. 

As a licensed private bailiff certified by the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs in Bahrain, Ali brings profound expertise in the law of execution. 

Beyond his litigation acumen, Ali boasts a rich background in corporate transactions, offering counsel on various corporate and commercial matters to a diverse range of international and local clients.

Prateek Bagaria is a specialist practitioner in international disputes.

He brings forth over a decade of experience in complex commercial cross-border disputes with strong focus on international arbitration, complex litigation, white-collar crime litigation, global enforcement and recovery.

He also represents athletes & sports federations in matters of anti doping and other disputes. Legal 500 describes him as "responsive and dynamic" and "a very driven individual and a good lawyer who handles clients well".

He is licensed to plead before the courts in India and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). A prominent speaker across leading forums and a sought after advisor & thought leader in matters across the globe, his robust legal knowledge coupled with a unique approach to problem solving continues to be recognized widely.

Iain Jones is an associate managing director in the Forensic Investigations and Intelligence practice, based in Dubai.

Iain has over 15 years of investigative experience. He specializes in complex cross-border investigations. Iain has worked on numerous forensic investigations, multi-jurisdictional litigation support and asset tracing assignments, and investigative due diligence projects for financial institutions, law firms, multinational corporations, and regulatory agencies and prosecutorial authorities.

Paul Key is recognised as one of the leading silks at the Commercial Bar, specializing in complex, cross-border and high-value disputes. He was recently awarded “International Arbitration Silk of the Year” in The Legal 500 UK Awards 2019.

He wins praise from clients for combining strong analytical skills (“intellect of an Einstein”, “you bring him in when you have a case which needs a lot of the grey matter to be applied to it”, “incredibly bright and hard-working”, “incisive and insightful”, “supremely intelligent”) with powerful advocacy (“astonishingly good advocate”, “the go-to advocate for important cases”, “amazing ability to get the most difficult tribunal on his side”) and a teamwork ethic (“a definite inclusion when compiling a dream team for a case”, “approachable and responsive”, “seamlessly slots into the wider team and provides spot-on insights”, “a team player who is very switched-on, very good with clients, and user-friendly”).

As well as appearing as sole counsel in Courts and in arbitrations, Paul also acts as a member of larger teams in heavyweight disputes, including 14 separate cases in recent years valued at over US$1billion. In addition to acting for and against high net-worth individuals and companies, Paul regularly acts for and against States and State-entities (e.g. China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore and the USA).

Paul’s litigation work has seen him win complex and very substantial cases for his clients at all levels of the English Court system, including the Supreme Court (“secured a huge victory for us in a very difficult case”, “superb courtroom advocate”, “having an extremely high-profile year”, “his knowledge of English law is phenomenal”, “clear, concise, confident and easy to work with”).

Paul has been widely recognized for his specialism in arbitration, both international commercial arbitration (including ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, SCC and ARIAS) and investment treaty arbitration (including ICSID). He has been ranked in the top-tier (band 1) rankings for arbitration for over 10 years and has consistently been identified as one of the leading figures in that field (“a real arbitration expert”, “few can rival his expertise, ability and knowledge in the field of investment arbitration”, “he has established an impressive case portfolio”, “the first port of call for important arbitration disputes”, “an arbitration guru”, “when working on a huge international arbitration, he seamlessly slots into the wider team and provides spot-on insights”). He has appeared as advocate in over 300 major international arbitrations worldwide, as well as appearing regularly before the English Courts (at all levels) and foreign Courts on arbitration matters. In addition to his extensive experience in international commercial arbitration, he is one of the very few English Silks to have real expertise in investment arbitration. He has been lead counsel in a very large number of BIT / investment arbitrations, acting both for and against States.

He is Visiting Professor in international arbitration law at King’s College, London, and has lectured and published widely in this field. He has been a long-standing representative of the UK on the ILA International Commercial Arbitration Committee and is also a delegate for the UNCITRAL Working Group on Arbitration.

His practice spans a vast array of fields in international and domestic law, including very substantial experience in each of the following subject-matter areas: foreign investment; international trade; civil fraud; energy; joint ventures; power and other large scale infrastructure projects; offshore disputes; oil & gas; telecommunications; shipping; agency and distribution (including commercial agency); conflict of laws; and public international law (largely in the investment context).

Prior to taking Silk, Paul won the Chambers & Partners Award for “International Arbitration Junior Barrister of the Year” and was also nominated for this award in commercial dispute resolution. He was recently nominated (as one of three) for Silk of the Year in Projects and Energy.

Ghazanfar (Ghaz) Shah is a senior managing director heading K2 Integrity’s Investigations and Disputes practice in the Middle East with more than 20 years of experience performing complex investigations across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Ghaz is an experienced fraud investigator and forensic accountant who assists clients with forensic accounting investigations, financial and forensic reviews, and disputes across multijurisdictional borders. He has routinely been involved in helping multinational companies deal with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and UK Bribery Act violations by their subsidiaries, partners, or distributors/agents within the Middle East, Asia, and Africa region.

Justina Stewart’s practice encompasses the full range of commercial litigation, with a particular focus on banking and financial services, civil fraud, fintech and digital assets, insolvency and international arbitration.

She is ranked in the key legal directories in numerous practice areas:  commercial litigation/commercial dispute resolution; banking and finance; cryptoassets; financial services regulation and insolvency. She is ranked in Chambers UK Bar, Chambers Global, Legal 500 and Legal 500 Middle East.

Comments in legal directories have included “phenomenally bright”, “an absolute delight to work with”, “a hard-hitting litigator.  She is able to parachute into a dispute and turn it 180 degrees in favour of her clients” “brilliant for banking litigation”, “no matter how stressful the situation, Justina has a way of calming matters so that the focus is always on the issues at hand”, “impressive”, “strong, dynamic and commercial”, “great to use on difficult insolvency claims”, “a highly intelligent and tenacious litigator, she is also far more financially literate than most barristers”, “incredibly impressive and a force to be reckoned with” and “a fantastic communicator”, “a phenomenal addition to any team when you have claims against banks” with “outstanding legal acumen”.

Justina’s cases frequently involve multi-jurisdictional elements and matters which are notable for their complexity and novelty.

Before coming to the Bar, Justina was an international investment banker, working with top-ranked corporate finance teams on complex transactions.  This, together with her economics degrees, gives her a level of financial acumen and familiarity with financial products that is rare at the Bar.

She has been appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown for many years, and is registered with both the DIFC (Part II registration) and ADGM Courts.

Peter is an experienced lawyer and adviser. With almost two decades’ experience in resolving complex disputes and advising on white-collar crime matters, Peter is also frequently asked to advise on non-contentious matters. Of particular note, Peter is currently involved in providing assistance for projects in a number of sectors across Africa.

Peter is highly recommended by clients for his commercial, efficient and friendly approach.

A Cambridge University graduate, Peter trained at the Bar before starting his practicing career at LeBoeuf Lamb (later Dewey & LeBoeuf) in the City of London. Having moved to Dubai in 2010, he set up Kingsgrove Partners in 2015. Seeking to combine deep regional knowledge with an international mindset, and provide clients with exceptional UAE legal services, he established ADG with Mohammed Al Dahbashi.

Published in leading journals, Peter is often a keynote speaker at international conferences, including the Cambridge Symposium and C5.

Much of Peter’s career has been focused on the Middle East and Africa. Recognizing that most significant conversations and decisions depend upon personal relationships, Peter spends a great deal of time traveling throughout the Middle East and Africa to help clients achieve their goals. Always seeking innovative and proactive solutions for clients, Peter has a reputation for taking the time to understand his clients’ businesses and for being “commercially minded and cost-sensitive”. One client noted that “Peter is the lawyer every good CEO would like to have, especially when facing difficult structuring decisions.”

Luke co-founded Keidan Harrison LLP in May 2020, having formerly led a substantial and esteemed team at a mid-sized firm.

He is recognised by the leading legal directories as a “very commercial litigator with a real eye for detail” and “especially adept at insolvency-related commercial disputes” (Chambers 2019).

Luke’s practice covers a broad spectrum of commercial disputes, but he has particular expertise in contentious insolvency and restructuring advisory, fraud and asset recovery, banking and financial services, company and partnership, professional negligence claims and technology disputes. He also has substantial expertise in media, data protection and defamation claims. Luke has acted for large corporates as well as for small- to medium-sized enterprises and office holders (directors, trustees and insolvency practitioners). He works across all sectors, but has particular experience in recruitment, litigation funding, alternative lending, technology, construction and private equity.

Andrew Spink KC is a highly respected advocate with 38 years’ experience at the Bar and over 20 years as a successful silk (QC/KC). He is a recent Chair of the Commercial Bar Association of England and Wales, was one of the Heads of Outer Temple Chambers for 9 years until October 2022 and is a part-time judge who has sat as a Deputy High Court Judge in the King’s Bench and Chancery Divisions of the English High Court and is a Justice of the Astana International Financial Centre Court in Kazakhstan. He also sits as an arbitrator.

Andrew has an extensive business law practice, specialising particularly in disputes or advisory work relating to the interpretation or breach of most types of commercial contract and trust deed, claims for breach of fiduciary duty, freezing injunctions & asset recovery, cross-jurisdictional issues, claims for damages & other relief in the context of pensions & other commercial trusts, banking & financial services, fintech & a wide range of other commercial contracts, professional negligence claims and company law and insolvency issues. Andrew was nominated as Legal 500 technology, data & crypto Silk of the Year 2023 (in which OTC also won “set of the year“).

As well as appearing as a leading advocate, he is highly sought after for the provision of expert technical and strategic advice to clients early in proposed litigation or arbitration and in non-contentious situations (such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate insolvency or regulatory issues) in all of the above areas.

Benedict’s practice is focused on high-value commercial litigation and arbitration, specialising in civil fraud, banking and finance, and both commercial and investment arbitration across a range of sectors. He is recognised in the legal directories as “technically excellent” and “very easy to work with”.

Benedict has acted in proceedings at all levels of the English courts, and increasingly takes on significant advocacy roles as junior counsel.

He is also developing a practice in offshore work focussed on fraud and asset recovery, and has experience both at first instance in the Commercial Division of the BVI High Court and on appeal before the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal.

In arbitration, he has appeared in or advised on proceedings under the ICSID, ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, SIAC, LMAA, ICDR and UNCITRAL Rules, seated both in London and abroad.

Benedict also welcomes appointment as arbitrator, and has sat under the ICC and UNCITRAL Rules.

Prior to joining Essex Court Chambers Benedict qualified in New Zealand, where he prosecuted serious criminal cases before moving to commercial practice. He graduated first in his year from the Universities of Auckland and Cambridge.

Robert is the global head of Ankura’s Asset Tracing and Corporate Intelligence business.

Ankura is a leading provider of expert services across a range of investigative, legal, regulatory and economic issues. With over 2,000 practitioners in 35 offices across 11 jurisdictions, we combine global coverage with local knowledge. The Asset Tracing and Corporate Intelligence practice spans Ankura’s US, UK and UAE offices.

Robert’s clients include banks, investment funds, multinational companies and various international Government agencies. A particular focus of the team is high-value asset recovery cases involving sovereign states and former political leaders as well as collapsed investment funds and non-performing loan portfolios.

Prior to joining Ankura, Robert lead the consultancy asset tracing team at Burford Capital, the world’s largest litigation funder. Robert began his career with eight years working for the British Intelligence Services.

He has post graduate degrees from the University of Bristol and the University of Edinburgh.

David Russell KC commenced legal practice in 1974. He is admitted to practise in Australia, England and Wales (Lincoln’s Inn), the Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre, New York (as a Legal Consultant), New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

He currently practises in Dubai, London, and Abu Dhabi (Outer Temple Chambers), Sydney (Ground Floor Wentworth Chambers) and Brisbane (Sir Harry Gibbs Chambers). He has acted for Commonwealth and State Governments as well as individuals and corporations. David was President of the Taxation Institute of Australia from 1993 to 1995, and of the Asia Oceania Tax Consultants’ Association from 1996 to 2000.

Michael is a Partner and Expert Witness in Grant Thornton UK LLP’s Forensic and Investigation Services team, leading its Disputes Advisory practice in the UK.

He has specialised in forensic accounting since 2003, with a particular focus on complex cross-border disputes and investigations, often involving matters in the Middle East, Africa and CIS.

Michael has given expert testimony in arbitration and litigation – advising clients and their legal advisers on forensic accounting matters across many sectors, including banking, telecoms and extractive industries. His work typically requires a combined investigative and expert witness skillset, and collaboration with specialists from multiple disciplines across jurisdictions and industries.

Michael is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA).

Shams is a bilingual lawyer with wide and various expertise as he has worked with law firms from different jurisdictions.

He works on dispute resolution through litigation and arbitration under different jurisdictions, and he handles complex disputes that involve major multinational companies and cover a wide range of practice areas including international commercial transactions, maritime, insurance, enforcement of arbitration awards, foreign judgments, and labor law.

He has worked with prestigious multinational clients both in the UAE and Egypt.

Fatma has more than 22 years experience in corporate law, energy and renewables, cross-border transactions, and dispute resolution. She represents local and international corporations and financial institutions from the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia as well as governmental entities. She also provides legal advices and represents clients in high profile litigation trade investigations in a broad spectrum of business sectors.

Fatma is a professor of law at the School of Law, Cairo University since 2010. She teaches courses of business law, international commercial arbitration and evidence law.

Sergejs is a Senior Counsel at the Dispute Resolution department of the firm’s Dubai office.

Sergejs is a dual-qualified lawyer, he is admitted as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales and admitted to practice as an Attorney and Counselor of Law in the courts of the State of New York. He has more than 14 years of experience in advising and representing multinational companies and high-net-worth individuals in a wide range of complex institutional (ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, LMAA, SCC, SCIA, DIAC, GCC CAC) and ad hoc international and domestic arbitration proceedings, and litigation proceedings at DIFC Courts.  His experience covers a wide range of industries, sectors, and types of disputes, including commerce, real estate, transportation, energy, construction, and franchise and distribution agreements.

Prior to joining Galadari, Sergejs practiced at one of the top-tier leading law firms in the MENA region. Sergejs brings a wealth of experience by acting, throughout his career, as counsel and arbitrator in multiple international arbitration proceedings relating to international commercial and investment disputes.

Sergejs has authored multiple publications offering insights on the trends and developments in international law and international arbitration.

An advertising executive turned barrister (called to the Bar in 2004), Stuart has pioneered a new kind of advisory role which combines both aspects of his background. Specialising in reputation management, Stuart helps to manage the communications around complex litigation, helping to guide and protect his clients during the most challenging of circumstances.

He has led a whole new approach to litigation communications and crisis management for major corporate clients drawing on his experience in international PR, eight years with Pump Court Chambers as a barrister and as a senior account handler with several top advertising agencies.

Katherine Nixon is Senior Vice President at the Dubai International Financial Centre. She has been based in the UAE for ten years, previously practising in international law firms as a transaction corporate lawyer. Katherine has substantial local law experience in UAE corporate and commercial matters and has worked closely with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department in delivering CLPD training on a range of local law topics

Nicolas Stallworthy KC is an advocate whose practice involves the interaction of trust law, contract law, insolvency and professional negligence at the highest levels of complexity and value.

In particular, Nick undertakes cases concerning the interpretation of trusts, contracts, financial instruments & legislation; and the application of trust principles in the broader commercial context.  His professional negligence practice focuses on solicitors, insurance companies, benefits consultants, professional trustees, actuaries & investment advisers.

Illustratively, Nick appeared in Granada UK and ITV v Pensions Regulator [2019] EWCA Civ 1032; Barnardo’s v Buckinghamshire [2018] UKSC 55; and Re: Nortel and Re Lehman Brothers [2013] UKSC 52.

Chambers & Partners ranks Nick for Chancery Commercial, Professional Negligence and Pensions, referring to “brilliance in his powers of analysis” and describing him as “very clever in court”.  Legal 500 lists him for Professional Negligence and Pensions, saying “amazing brain; finds solutions to problems” and “very bright”.