Partner, Head of International Arbitration - Dubai, Mayer Brown

Alain Farhad has acted as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator or Chairman in over 50 arbitration proceedings conducted under the rules of various international institutions. He has also advised and represented corporations, States and State-owned entities in commercial, construction and investment disputes for over 15 years. He is currently based in Dubai and heads Mayer Brown’s International Arbitration practice in the Middle East. Prior to relocating to the Middle East, he practiced international arbitration in Paris.

He has written extensively on various aspects of arbitration law, in French and in English and is regularly invited to speak at a variety of international arbitration conferences globally.

He is fluent in English, French and Farsi and proficient in Russian.

Partner, Regional Head of Dispute Resolution - Arbitration & Litigation, Al Tamimi & Company

Dr Hassan Arab is a leading dispute resolution expert in the UAE and wider Middle East with full rights of audience before all UAE courts. He regularly sits as an arbitrator and has extensive experience in providing expert opinions on the UAE laws before arbitration tribunals and foreign courts. He has spent his career building one of the strongest litigation teams in the Middle East which Legal 500 has recognised as “having a great reputation for local court work with a number of really good practitioners”. Chambers Global has commended Dr Arab as a “real winner who gives excellent advice and solutions” and has been recognised as a highly recommended leading lawyer in Dispute Resolution Eminent Practitioner in the UAE.

Dr Arab is the Chair of Steering Committee of the ICC - UAE Commission on Arbitration & ADR; Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; Member of Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) Board of Trustees; Member of the DIFC Court User’s Committee; Member of the Advisory Council Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC); Member of The Future Arbitration Court of the Casablanca International Mediation & Arbitration Centre (CIMAC); and member of Board Advisor of Delos Dispute Resolution.
Dr Arab has authored several articles and publications on arbitration and dispute resolution, including books on the Civil Procedures Law, A Guide to Arbitration in the UAE, Summaries of UAE Courts’ Decisions on Arbitration (Vol.1 & 2). In addition, he has lectured extensively on various topics, which include arbitration, dispute resolution, enforcement of judgments, Specialized Court and Committees in UAE.

Soraya Corm-Bakhos is an experienced disputes lawyer and arbitration practitioner with almost 20 years’ experience, including over 13 years in the UAE. Prior to joining Watson Farley & Williams (Middle East) LLP as Counsel, she practiced in the Dispute Resolution teams of Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla and DWF (Middle East) LLP.

Before coming to the UAE in 2008, she practised in Paris in the law firm of J.P. Karsenty & Associés where she gained extensive experience advising on all types of civil, commercial and corporate transactions and representing clients before the French Courts in a variety of commercial disputes.

Soraya has wide-ranging experience in all types of international commercial arbitrations, having acted as advising counsel under major institutional arbitration rules (including ICC, LCIA, SCC, former DIFC-LCIA, CRCICA and DIAC) and ad hoc in arbitrations seated in Europe and the Middle East in relation to a wide variety of industry sectors, including real estate/construction, oil & gas and banking and finance.

Soraya is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and regularly sits as arbitrator (sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and chair) in arbitrations mainly related to real estate, construction, sale and purchase disputes and commercial disputes.

Soraya is fluent in English and French and has good knowledge of Arabic. She has authored numerous publications on middle eastern arbitration related topics.

Cheryl Cairns is a partner in Trowers and Hamlins' International Construction Team and has been based in the region since 2007, working across the firm's Middle East offices, which include the UAE, Bahrain and Oman.

Cheryl advises clients on all aspects of engineering and construction infrastructure disputes including amicable settlement assistance, drafting settlement agreements, mediation, dispute adjudication boards and arbitration proceedings conducted under various arbitration rules as well as being regularly appointed to sit as an arbitrator. Cheryl also holds a Masters Degree in Construction Law and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Benjamin is a Partner & Regional CEO in Asia Pacific with 20 years’ experience in engineering, claims and arbitration. Benjamin is regularly quoted in the industry press and advises clients on commercial and contractual matters as well as claims management and dispute resolution.

Benjamin is a chartered civil engineer, a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Beau is a partner and head of Simmons & Simmons’ Middle East Construction practice. He advises clients on major construction and infrastructure projects and complex construction and commercial disputes. He also sits as an arbitrator and mediator and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Beau has over 15 years' experience in the region and has been based permanently in the UAE since 2007. Beau advises parties at every level of the supply chain, from procurement through to contract management, and has significant experience of a wide variety of project contractual arrangements.

In addition to his front-end work, Beau also advises clients on bringing and defending claims arising out of construction and development projects, as well as commercial disputes. Beau has experience of all common forms of dispute resolution, such as mediation, dispute adjudication boards (DABs) and court litigation, but has a particular focus on construction-related arbitration. He regularly represents his clients in international and domestic arbitration proceedings and has extensive experience of most institutional rules.

Beau is recognised in the leading legal directories for his expertise and has authored a number of articles in a variety of industry journals, including a guide to construction projects in the UAE.

Anne K. Hoffmann is an internationally recognised arbitration practitioner with two decades of experience in international commercial and investment arbitration during which she acted in arbitrations seated around the globe and governed by a great variety of laws. She is dual qualified in both Germany and England & Wales and practiced at leading international law firms in London, Geneva and Dubai before focusing on her practice as an independent arbitrator.

To date, Anne has acted as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and chair in commercial arbitrations, both institutional under all major rules (including ICC, LCIA, Swiss Rules, DIFC-LCIA, SIAC, HKIAC, SCC, VIAC, DIAC, CRCICA and DIS) as well as ad hoc, including UNCITRAL. She has also been appointed in investment arbitration proceedings under the ICSID Rules.

Anne conducts arbitrations in English and German and has good knowledge of French and Russian.

In addition to her membership in various arbitration organisations, Anne is on the panel of arbitrators of SIAC, HKIAC, KCAB and AIAC. She is also a member of the SIAC Users Council.

Anne regularly speaks and publishes on topics of international arbitration.

She has been recognized as a Global Leader Arbitration in all editions of Who is Who Legal since 2014 and is listed by Chambers Global as “Most in Demand Arbitrator” based in the UAE.

Anne is also a visiting lecturer at Humboldt University Berlin.

Dr. Mahmoud Hussein is the Founding Partner at Dr. Mahmood Hussain Advocates & Legal Consultancy LLC and has over 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors. In his role as a litigator at Dubai Courts, Dr. Mahmoud has achieved many favorable judgments in several high-profile cases. Dr. Mahmoud through his niche practice of being an arguing Counsel before the Honorable Judges at Dubai Courts, has set up a benchmark for effective representation involving complex legal issues.

Dr. Mahmoud’s focus areas are: Dispute Resolution and International Commercial Arbitrations, Civil & Commercial Litigation and Corporate Governance.

He has further been accredited as International Arbitrator at DIAC (Dubai International Arbitration Centre) and Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Center. Dr. Mahmoud has acted in more than 50 International Arbitration proceedings under the ICC, LCIA, ADCCAC and DIAC rules. He is often appointed as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator or chairman of arbitral tribunals in International Arbitration proceedings. He has frequently provided expert legal opinion on a UAE Laws on matters before High Courts of Justice, UK Queens Bench Division, DIFC, Paris Courts of Appeal, Hamm Court of Appeal and other International Courts and Arbitral Tribunals.

In addition, he is also a visiting faculty at the University of East Anglia where his taught program is Law and Practice of Sharia Arbitration.

Kirsten O’Connell is a partner in Allen & Overy’s International Arbitration Group. She has 20 years’ experience in international arbitration and has been based in the Middle East for 10 years. She has extensive experience representing clients in disputes arising from complex contracts and projects, including in the energy and infrastructure sectors. She is also experienced in investor-state disputes, having defended host States against significant claims in ICSID proceedings, and having advised both States and investors in connection with potential claims and defences. She also has substantial experience in both institutional and ad hoc arbitrations in both common and civil law jurisdictions across a range of different market sectors. She regularly appears as advocate before international tribunals arguing complex cases with large sums at stake. She also sits as arbitrator.

Olena Shyrokova is a licensed attorney. She has done Bachelor and Master in Law in Taras Shevchenko National University (is ranked 1st in Ukraine) and LLM Law in distinction from the University of Middlesex. She has 8 years of experience in Corporate and Contract Law including 4 years in the United Arab Emirates. She is the author of several articles on different subjects including "Pylyp Orlyk's Constitution is the first constitutional and legal memorial of Ukrainian law", "Autonomous Republic of Crimea as a territorial autonomy". She has been mostly involved in arbitration and corporate matters. She holds extensive knowledge in Corporate and Contract Law.

Olena Shyrokova has been elected the Vice Chairman of ICC UAE Commission on Trade & Investment in 2022.

Currently, she is the Head of Corporate Department at Araa Group Advocates & Legal Consultancy and the Head of Legal Affairs / Board Member at the Ukrainian Business Council.

Robert is a Barrister, Chartered Arbitrator, Mediator and Dispute Board Member with 35+ years’ experience of the construction and engineering industries, having initially qualified as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, and is able to provide a unique view of the worldwide ADR arena today.

Robert is associated with Alsuwaidi & Company (Advocates and Legal Consultants) based in Dubai, acting as independent legal Counsel representing clients in both domestic and international disputes.

Through ArbDB Chambers in London Robert acts as Arbitrator, Mediator, Adjudicator and Dispute Board Member. He has been involved in wide range of commercial and contractual disputes within the fields of construction, civil engineering, process plant, etc as well as general commercial disputes.

Robert is the current Chair of the UAE branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and works hard to promote all forms of ARD in the region.