This event will be conducted in English and according to UAE Local Time (GMT +4)

With the pandemic still in force, Legal Plus has taken the annual event online in 2021.  The Dubai & Middle East: 7th Annual International Arbitration Virtual Summit is scheduled on Wednesday, 30 June 2021, from 9am to 12:20pm (UAE local time – GMT+4).  

The conference will be joined by a group of international and local experts to share experience covering hot topics on UAE & Middle East arbitration as well as international arbitration which are affecting more and more companies throughout the world due to pandemic.

Registration is now open. This event is complimentary for inhouse/corporate counsel, offering delegates the latest news to aide them in protecting their companies and keeping abreast of updates.  Law firm and Consulting firm will be offered a special rate to join the event.  

Program
The organiser reserves the right to change the program without prior notice.

• Welcome Message by Chairman
  Paul Key QC, Essex Court Chambers London
• Opening Address
  Robert Stephen, Registrar, DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre (DIFC-LCIA)
• Navigating Complex Shareholder / JV Disputes
  Stuart Paterson, Managing Partner, Middle East and Head of Middle East Dispute Resolution, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
• Cross-Border Disputes and Asset Recovery in the Region
  Philip Allister, Senior Director, FTI Consulting
  
• Effective Management of Construction Disputes in a Virtual Age: Practical Experiences and Tips?
  Julian Cohen, Barrister, Resolution Chambers International
  
• The challenges of Digital Evidence in ‘Formal Proceedings’ — From Bias to Cyber Threats
  Darren Mullins, Partner and Head of Forensic Technology, Accuracy
  Paul Wright, Senior Advisor, Accuracy
  
• “Relax, Nothing is Under Control”. Leading for an Unfair Advantage in Business Disputes
  Shai Braitner, Founder & CEO, BICI Intelligence & Solutions
  
• The Virtual Reality, Seeking New Opportunities in a Changing International Arbitration World
  Sangyub (Sean) Lee, Deputy Director, KCAB INTERNATIONAL
• Live Grand Panel — Can Arbitrations Be Done Quickly and Fairly: Understanding Expedited
  Procedures, Emergency Arbitration & Mediation as Your Best Dispute Fix
  Moderator: Sara Aranjo, MENA Director, ArbitralWomen; Partner, Al Tamimi & Company
  Panellists: Arran Dowling-Hussey, Barrister, 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square
                    Parnika Chaturvedi, Of Counsel, King & Wood Mallesons
                    Dr. Dania Fahs, Deputy Director, Arbitration and ADR-MENA, ICC International Court of Arbitration
  
• Closing Remarks by Chairman
  Paul Key QC, Essex Court Chambers London

For more details about our speakers and program, please download the flyer Download

Registration Enquiry: bettina.yan@legalplus-asia.com
Speaking / sponsor Enquiry: jason.sinclair@legalplus-asia.com

Presenters

Paul Key QC, Conference Chairman

Essex Court Chambers London

Paul Key Q.C. is recognised as one of the leading QCs at the English Commercial Bar. He has particular expertise and specialism in arbitration, both international commercial arbitration and investment treaty arbitration (including ICSID). He also regularly appears in arbitration-related Court matters, including appearing in the English Supreme Court in Jivraj v Hashwani. 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 arbitration”, “the first port of call for important arbitration disputes”, “an arbitration guru”). 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 QCs 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 longstanding representative of the UK on the ILA International Commercial Arbitration Committee and is also a delegate for the UNCITRAL Working Group on Arbitration.

Biography

Robert Stephen

Registrar, DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre (DIFC-LCIA)

Robert Stephen is the Registrar of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre (DIFC-LCIA). He is an arbitration specialist who has been based in the UAE since January 2011 and practised with Herbert Smith Freehills for more than 10 years before joining the DIFC-LCIA on 1 May 2017. From its base in the Dubai International Financial Centre, the DIFC-LCIA provides alternative dispute resolution services for those doing business in and with the Gulf and Arab states and for those looking for an arbitration and mediation centre with world class capabilities, situated in a neutral and highly connected jurisdiction. During his time at Herbert Smith Freehills, Robert advised and represented clients on international disputes across a wide range of industry sectors, including the oil and gas, energy and natural resources, construction, real estate, and finance and banking sectors. He has advised and represented clients in international arbitrations under the DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, ICC, LCIA, and SIAC Rules as well as in adhoc proceedings and DIFC and English Commercial Court litigation.

Biography

Sara Aranjo, Live Panel Moderator

MENA Director, ArbitralWomen; Partner, Al Tamimi & Company

Sara Aranjo is a partner at Al-Tamimi & Company. Sara regularly advises and represents clients in arbitration and arbitration-related court proceedings across the MENA region arising out of inbound and outbound investments with a particular focus on real estate, projects and corporate transactions. In addition to her work as counsel, Sara regulary sits as an arbitrator and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Université Paris II – Panthéon-Assas where she lectures on comparative judicial systems: civil law, common law and Islamic law. Sara is a member of several professional organizations. She is appointed as a Member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration & ADR and its Task Force on Arbitration & ADR, the IBA Subcommittee on International Arbitration Case Law and the DIFC Courts’ Arbitration Division Working Group. Sara is admitted to the New York, Paris and Beirut Bars. She speaks English, French and Arabic.

Biography

Philip Allister

Senior Director, FTI Consulting

Philip Allister is a Senior Director at FTI Consulting based in Dubai. Philip leads FTI Consulting’s Business Intelligence and Investigations team in the Middle East. He has over 10 years’ experience of helping clients identify hard to find information across the MENA region and offshore jurisdictions. He has presented his results to a number of esteemed international agencies, including the World Bank. Philip has lived in the Middle East for over 5 years, leading investigation teams in the UAE and Lebanon. He has spent his career focusing on managing complex business intelligence and asset tracing investigations across the globe, having worked for a multi-national bank in New York, the “big four” in Europe and boutique investigation teams to help clients find information upon which they can rely. Now based in the Middle East, Philip is particularly experienced in procuring sources to provide the intelligence to unlock hard to find information across the MENA region and offshore jurisdictions. Philip has helped hundreds of public and private clients across the region, most commonly in support of litigation or arbitration proceedings. As an asset tracing and recovery specialist, he regularly works alongside counsel to provide the intelligence required to enhance and support legal strategy. As a forensic accountant, Philip has contributed to a number of expert witness reports and managed many complex financial investigations across Europe and the Middle East.

Biography

Stuart Paterson

Managing Partner, Middle East and Head of Middle East Dispute Resolution, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

Stuart is the Middle East Managing Partner for Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and Head of the Middle East Dispute Resolution team. He has expertise in litigation, arbitration, investigations and alternative dispute resolution such as mediation. Stuart has 12 years of experience in the Middle East and has acted on some of the most high profile and valuable disputes in the UAE and GCC region. He is a solicitor advocate with rights of audience in the UK and DIFC courts and regularly appears before arbitral tribunals. Stuart has substantial general commercial litigation experience including shareholder and joint venture matters, distributorship disputes, professional negligence, financial services, energy, real estate and hospitality matters. In addition to his experience in commercial dispute resolution Stuart also has expertise in corporate crime. Stuart is recognised for Dispute Resolution (UAE) by Chambers Global 2021 and receives praise from clients for being a “technically brilliant lawyer” and an “extremely safe pair of hands.” He has also been listed as a leading individual in Who’s Who Legal: Litigation 2020.

Biography

Julian Cohen

Barrister, Resolution Chambers International

Julian has 30 years of specialist experience of heavyweight international, and domestic, disputes. Sums in dispute in his cases vary from small to in excess of USD 2 billion. In addition to acting as counsel, he also regularly sits as an arbitrator. Julian has over 10 years’ experience in the MENA region, including 2 years based full time in Dubai, and an ongoing long-term commitment to the region. Julian has been involved in projects and disputes in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Oman, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Benin, Sierra Leone and Mali. Julian was called to the Bar in England & Wales in 1990. He was with Pinsent Masons’ Construction Disputes practice in London and Hong Kong from 1993 to 2009. He left Pinsent Masons as a partner in 2009 and was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 2010. Julian is particularly well known for his heavy weight practice in relation to the Construction and Engineering sectors; the Energy, Oil and Gas sectors; and International and domestic arbitrations.

Biography

Sangyub (Sean) Lee

Deputy Director, KCAB INTERNATIONAL

Sangyub (Sean) Lee, the Deputy Director of KCAB INTERNATIONAL, is mainly in charge of promotion of institution by managing diverse networks of the international arbitration community, also administering arbitration cases in English and Korean as a case manager. Before joining KCAB, he had worked as a journalist and an in-house counsel for the Korea Economic Daily, one of the most influential local newspaper companies. He had a role in trying to keep the public informed of KCAB’s achievements and potential through writing a variety of articles, especially covering international arbitration.

Biography

Arran Dowling-Hussey Barrister

4-5 Gray’s Inn Square

Arran is an experienced barrister, adjudicator, arbitrator and mediator. He is called in London (2007), Belfast (2006) and Dublin (2003), has rights of audience in the Courts of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) (2020), registered in the Falkland Islands and at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Courts (2020). Arran is also based at the Law Library, Dublin. His practice includes advocacy, drafting statements of case, contractual documents and advising on commercial, chancery, construction, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and international matters. Arran is a member of a number of London based legal/construction and/ or ADR committees including the Council of the Society of Construction Law, Board of Trustees of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the committee of the Adjudication Society. Arran has been recognised for his work as counsel with a number of awards including from Finance Monthly. He is comfortable working for a range of clients from individual litigants to large businesses. Arran looks to help clients effectively resolve disputes where appropriate making use of Alternative Dispute Resolution processes. He regularly works to tight timelines to help best progress disputes. Aside from his core professional work Arran enjoys writing and speaking on legal issues. He is the co-author of 3 editions of Arbitration Law (Round Hall, Dublin 2008, 2014 and 2018. He also co-edits the Construction, Engineering and Energy Law Journal of Ireland. Arran has significant experience lecturing in a range of legal subjects including but not limited to arbitration. He is a visiting professor at the School of Business and Law in Lahore.

Biography

Parnika Chaturvedi

Of Counsel, King & Wood Mallesons

Parnika is a tri-qualified lawyer, England and Wales, India and California with about eleven years of experience, of which have more than eight been spent in the Middle East. Parnika specialises in dispute resolution with focus on international commercial arbitration, often with a multijurisdictional element. She has managed arbitration under a variety of rules, including DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, QICCA, LCIA and ICC. Parnika has also acted for clients in many cases before the DIFC Courts and the Courts of England and Wales, particularly involving enforcement of arbitral awards and works closely with local counsel on matters arising before the UAE Courts. Parnika represents clients in a wide range of financial and commercial disputes, including complex joint venture and shareholder arrangements and distribution agreements. She also has extensive experience in the construction sector, representing various high-profile owners and developers in the Middle East market (UAE and Qatar), particularly on contracts governed by the FIDIC Books.

Biography

Darren Mullins

Partner and Head of Forensic Technology, Accuracy

Darren Mullins, who is a Partner and Head of Forensic Technology for Accuracy in the Middle East, has 16 years of experience in the fields of Digital Forensics, Electronic Discovery, Fraud Analytics, and more recently Cyber Forensics and Incident Response. Acting as an expert, he provides the understanding and insights into digital evidence uncovered during cyber and fraud-related investigations and disputes, delivering defensible solutions that take critical evidence from identification and preservation through to presentation and disclosure in the support of internal matters and litigation around the globe. He has provided confidential expertise to clients operating in the Middle East region for over 10 years and has provided expert testimony in successful litigation and arbitration cases in the DIFC and UK. Prior to joining Accuracy, Darren was a Partner at KPMG Lower Gulf and led both Deloitte and EY’s Forensic Technology practices in the Middle East.

Biography

Dania Fahs

Deputy Director, Arbitration and ADR-MENA, ICC International Court of Arbitration

Before joining ICC in 2018, Dania had a (13 +) years of mixed experience as attorney in private practice and in-house counseling. She is specialized in transactional, commercial and IP law and has advised clients on a broad range of commercial contentious and non-contentious matters as well as assisted in negotiating complex cross border transactions in various sectors (pharmaceutical, technology, FMCG, luxury…) Prior to joining ICC, Dania was a senior legal counsel at Oracle Corp. She has an extensive international experience in advising multinational boards on a wide range of legal and strategic issues. Prior to relocating to UAE, Dania was a former lecturer in American Business Law (American University of Beirut), and in Intellectual Property Law (La Sagesse University) Dania holds a Phd in Contractual Law (2007 University Montpellier I -France) Dir. Prof. Jacques Raynard and an Executive MBA from INSEAD (2018). She also holds a post graduate microprogramme degree in IP and Alternative Dispute Resolution (University of Montreal). She is certified as Trainer of Trainers by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre, member of Arbitral Women and a certified CEDR mediator.

Biography

Shai Braitner

Founder & CEO, BICI Intelligence & Solutions

As a Business Dispute Management leader for the last 15 years, Shai has successfully consulted hundreds of clients with business disputes from all over the world. His customer-centric approach and vast network of international connections make him a valuable partner to every client that comes through our doors. Shai served as an officer in an Israeli elite unit and he holds a Master of Business Administration. Shai’s mission is to be a trusted partner, valuing the clients’ priorities and ensuring they will always achieve success, this by eliminating pitfalls, manage risks, and solve problems - so they will be free from worrying about them.

Biography

Paul Wright

Senior Advisor, Accuracy

An extremely accomplished and recognised expert in Cybercrime Investigations, Digital Forensics, Incident Response and Cyber Fraud Risk Assessments. With a public and private sector track record of successfully scoping, developing and delivering on investigative engagements for high profile clients across the globe. Paul has over 20 years’ experience within law enforcement and more recently within the Big-4, and has joined Accuracy as a special advisor.

Biography

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Complimentary Registration
for in-house / general counsel only

Please note: Complimentary is only applicable to in-house / general counsel from non law / non consulting firm.  If your company is not applicable, payment will be required. Limited to 2 complimentary seat per company, based on first-come first-served basis