(Panel Moderator)

Arun is the Chairperson of the CIArb UAE Young Members Group and is also the Middle East Representative of the LCIA YIAG. He is a Senior Associate at Clifford Chance and has been based in Dubai since 2012 having previously trained with the firm in London and Singapore. Arun specialises in international commercial arbitration and litigation and has acted on complex multi-jurisdictional disputes across a wide range of sectors. He also co-leads Clifford Chance's technology practice in the Middle East.

Arun is licensed to appear before the DIFC Courts and has conducted advocacy before the DIFC Court of Appeal and also arbitration and dispute adjudication proceedings in various forums.  Arun has edited the authorised commentary on the DIFC Law of Obligations (2nd edition) published by LexisNexis.  He is a solicitor of England & Wales and holds a law degree from Kings College London and is also a qualified engineer.

President of the CIArb

Ann Robertson is the President of the CIArb and a Partner at Locke Lord LLP.

Ann holds a J.D. and a LL.M in International Economic Law and acts as arbitrator and advocate in international and domestic arbitrations. She is experienced in cross-border commercial disputes involving a variety of oil and gas issues, franchise law, partnerships, sales contracts (including those governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods), and commercial contracts pertaining to manufacturing, supply, warranties and project development.

Ann is recognised as a leading disputes lawyer having been named in Global Arbitration Review’s “Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration” since 2015, named in The Best Lawyers in America, International Arbitration-Governmental since 2014, and in 2014 and 2017 named Lawyer of the Year, International Arbitration –Governmental (Houston) by The Best Lawyers in America. In 2020, the Association of Women Attorneys Foundation recognized Ann as a “Premier Woman in the Law” and in 2008, she was named one of 30 “Extraordinary Women in Texas Law” by Texas Lawyer. In 2016, she was the recipient of the University of Houston Law Center’s “Private Sector Achievement Award.”

Ann is a member of the Council for the American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution, Chair of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution’s Task Force on Rule Revisions, a member of the Executive Committee of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (Co-chair of the Strategic Planning Committee), a member of the American Law Institute, a Founding Member of ArbitralWomen and a former member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration.

She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center teaching advocacy in international arbitration, an instructor for the A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center, University of Houston Law Center and for 18 years was the coach for the University of Houston Law Center’s Willem C. Vis Moot team.

Senior Legal Counsel, ADNOC

Lara Hammoud has been practicing international arbitration for two decades. She is qualified in France and has worked at the ICC International Court of Arbitration and practiced in the International Arbitration Group of Shearman & Sterling before joining the disputes team at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as senior legal counsel.

Lara acts as chair of tribunals, sole arbitrator or party-appointed arbitrator in construction and commercial arbitrations in both common and civil law jurisdictions under the rules of arbitration of UNCITRAL, DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, ADCCAC and ICC in arbitrations seated in Europe and the Middle East.

Lara speaks Arabic, English, French and Italian and is the writer and editor of numerous articles and books relating to international arbitration. She also regularly appears as speaker in international conferences and arbitration workshops. Lara is also a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

Partner, Clifford Chance

Paul Coates is a partner in Clifford Chance's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group and has spent eight years practicing in Dubai.  He has also spent time in Clifford Chance's offices in London and Singapore.  He advises on a wide range of international and investment treaty arbitrations, both on an ad hoc and institutional basis, and has experience of advising on the rules of many of the major institutions, including the DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, LCIA, ICC, LMAA, AAA and ICSID.

Paul's work spans many jurisdictions and economic sectors, with a particular focus on disputes arising out of large-scale construction and energy projects.  He heads Clifford Chance's construction disputes practice in the Middle East and is also a member of the DIFC Court's Arbitration Working Group.

3 Verulam Buildings

Tom Montagu-Smith QC is one of the most experienced advocates appearing in the Middle East. He acts in arbitrations across the MENA region and has appeared regularly in the DIFC Courts since their creation, in addition to his London practice. He drafted the Rules of the DIFC Court, the Rules of the Dubai World Tribunal and the Rules of both the Court and Arbitration Centre in the Astana International Financial Centre. He has appeared in many of the leading cases in the DIFC Courts, including most of the initial conduit enforcement cases for both arbitration awards and judgments, such as DNB Bank v Gulf Eyadah.

Other notable instructions include Pearl Petroleum v Kurdistan (USD2bn enforcement; state immunity) and SKAT v Elysium (USD2bn cum ex fraud claim), acting for the Danish state. Tom sits as a judge of the Astana International Financial Centre Courts and is a panel member at the ADGM arbitration centre. He is co-editor of DIFC Courts Practice (2020), the leading text on DIFC law and procedure.

Managing Director, Secretariat

Conrad Bromley is a Managing Director with Secretariat and leads its quantum offering from their Dubai office. Conrad is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Quantum Expert specialising in matters of quantity surveying practice including the valuation of damages, disruption and loss of productivity, variations, defects, and claims for acceleration and mitigation.

His 20+ years of experience has been gained across a variety of sectors and on projects spanning the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Australasia. Conrad is regularly appointed as a Quantum Expert on complex domestic and international construction and engineering projects and is looking forward to sharing his experience and thoughts on how the arbitration landscape has changed in the last decade.

Partner, Al Tamimi & Co.

Sara Koleilat-Aranjo is a partner at Al Tamimi & Company in Dubai and regularly advises and represents clients in arbitration and arbitration-related court proceedings across the MENA region arising out of inbound and outbound investments. In addition to her work as counsel, Sara also sits as an arbitrator and acts as mediator and counsel in mediation proceedings.

Sara is a member of several professional organizations and an expert member of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court’s Arbitration Division Working Group, the IBA Subcommittee on International Arbitration Case Law and is a Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and serves as a Track Leader of the ICC Task Force on Arbitration & ADR.

Sara is also 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 listed in Who’s Who Legal for her experience in arbitration and has been awarded the Middle East Rising Star Lawyer for 2019 by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), the American Lawyer and the Legal Week (UK).

Sara holds an LL.B. in French and Lebanese law from the University of Saint Joseph, a Master (M.A) in international business law from the University of Paris, a Master (M.S) in Strategic Management and Finance from the ESSEC Business School in Paris and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School. She is admitted to the New York, Paris and Beirut Bars and is a registered legal consultant in the Emirate of Dubai.

Serle Court

Zoe O’Sullivan QC is senior counsel specialising in international commercial arbitration and litigation at Serle Court Chambers in London.   As counsel, she is recommended as a Leading Silk in Commercial Dispute Resolution (Chambers UK Bar and Legal 500), Information Technology (Chambers UK) and International Arbitration as Counsel (Legal 500). Zoe is also regularly appointed as a sole, presiding and co-arbitrator in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations under the LCIA, ICC and UNCITRAL rules.  Her subject matter expertise extends to joint ventures and shareholder disputes, banking and finance, oil and gas and IT/outsourcing disputes, and she is comfortable dealing with disputes of a technical nature.

Senior Associate, DLA Piper

Peter Anagnostou MCIArb is a Senior Construction Lawyer at DLA Piper based in Dubai, UAE. He advises a variety of clients on construction and engineering disputes arising out of major projects, infrastructure and residential developments with experience acting in international and domestic arbitration, commercial litigation, adjudications and mediation.

He is an active member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Chartered Institute of Building and is listed as a Rising Star in Expert Guides.

 (Debate Moderator)

Managing Director, Kroll

Ian Greenhough, managing director at Kroll, is a quantum expert witness with 20 years of experience in the construction industry as a quantity surveyor.  He has been based in the Middle East since 2008 and has extensive experience in construction disputes, and the cost and commercial management of infrastructure, energy, aviation and construction projects including major infrastructure, airports, hotels and energy/power projects. 

Ian has testifying experience and has been appointed on nine occasions as a quantum expert witness under ADCCAC, DIAC, ICC and LCIA arbitration rules on projects in the Middle East and Europe on disputes in excess of USD 200m.

Ian holds a BSc from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, a Graduate Diploma in Law, RICS Advanced Professional Award in Expert Witness Evidence, memberships of the Chartered Institute of Building and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and is chairman of the Lighthouse Club Dubai.

Head of Litigation, Airbus

Karl is the Senior Vice President of Litigation, Investigations & Regulatory Affairs at Airbus, where he leads the Group’s global activities in these areas.  Separately, he occasionally sits as arbitrator and serves on the board of directors of companies and non-profits.  Until July, 2019, he also served as Chairman of the Governing Body of the ICC Court of International Arbitration and is now a member of the HKIAC Council.  Mr Hennessee has previously practiced law in Germany and in the United States on behalf of institutions including the German Government, companies, and private law firms. Educated at the University of Göttingen, Germany, the London School of Economics and SMU Law School (where he was Managing Editor of the Journal of Air Law and Commerce), he holds degrees in history, economics/econometrics, and law.  He is a trustee of Houston Grand Opera, a cancer survivor-mentor, Fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation and Phi Beta Kappa. He lectures at Paris Assas, Sciences Po, Toulouse Capitole University, Versailles and Hong Kong University and has published over 100 articles on various legal subjects.  He is a frequent speaker on law, technology, aviation, and public policy.

Principal, Greenwood Arbitration

Lucy Greenwood is an independent international arbitrator specializing in commercial and investment disputes. She has practised international arbitration since 1998 and has acted as arbitrator in over 60 arbitrations since becoming a full-time arbitrator in 2017.  She is highly regarded for her prompt, efficient resolution of disputes and active case management of arbitrations and is particularly in demand as a chair for major energy disputes.

Lucy is a Chartered Arbitrator, a Texas attorney and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.  She is a Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Past Chair, International Committee, Dispute Resolution Section, American Bar Association, Past Chair, North America Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators. She is the founder of the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations, an initiative to reduce the environmental impact of international arbitrations.

M & O Advocates

Mercy Okiro is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and Accredited Tutor and Assessor of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London) and the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA). Mercy holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the University of Nairobi and is currently writing her dissertation for the award of a Master of Laws degree with Queen Mary University of London. She holds professional qualifications in legal audits, procurement law amongst other areas of law.

She is on the panel of neutrals of at least 4 regional and international panels. Mercy is the Vice Chairperson of the KEPSA Gender Sector Board and is a Director of the National Construction Authority in Kenya.

She was feted in 2019 as the “The Young African Arbitration Practitioner of the year 2019” and was listed as one of Africa’s Most Promising Young Arbitrators 2020 by the Association of Young Arbitrators. She publishes articles on sports law, procurement law, legal audits and compliance, gender and youth empowerment, mediation and arbitration regularly and has spoken in numerous conferences regionally and internationally on these areas. She has also handled at least 60 mediations and regularly sits as Sole Arbitrator in domestic arbitrations and has acted as Counsel in international arbitration matters under the ICC, LCIA and other Rules.

Head of Marketing, Jus Mundi

Sneha is Head of Marketing at Jus Mundi. Before starting a career in legal tech, Sneha was an associate at a well-known international law firm in Paris, France. She has studied law in two countries, India (Mumbai) & France (Paris), and holds a master’s degree in international arbitration from Sciences Po, Paris. Sneha is admitted to practice law in India. Sneha is a co-host of the show Arbitration Happy Hour featuring unexplored topics in arbitration with speakers worldwide. She is also Director of social media & engagement of the non-profit Racial Equality for Arbitration Lawyers (R.E.A.L.).  Sneha loves talking about legal tech, legal marketing for lawyers, career switch, & foreign languages.

About Jus Mundi: Building the rule of law internationally is everyone’s responsibility. Jus Mundi democratizes access to global legal information with unprecedented efficiency, thanks to a multilingual search engine that combines international legal expertise with artificial intelligence. Based in Paris and NYC, Jus Mundi works globally with law firms, governments, corporate companies, and universities. To learn about Jus Mundi’s mission, visit https://jusmundi.com/en/about.

(Panel Moderator)

Mohamed is a Professor of International Arbitration, Private International Law and English Contract Law (Cairo University); Founding Partner and Head of International Arbitration, Construction and Energy Groups at Zulficar&Partners Law Firm (Egypt); ICCA Treasurer&Member of the Governing Board; Dean of the Africa Arbitration Academy; Senior Vice-Chair, IBA Arab Regional Forum; Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee (CRCICA); Member of the Court (CIMAC); Member of the Advisory Board of the MIAC; Member of the Court (LACIAC); Member of the Board of Trustees (CIArb); Chair of the International Expert Committee (Permanent Forum for China Construction Law); Member of the ITA Academic Council; Member of the Court (PCA); Member of the Governing Board (ICODR).

He served as ‘Arbitrator’, ‘Legal Expert’ and ‘Counsel’ in more than 235 cases, involving parties from the Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. He featured in Who’s Who Global Elite Thought Leaders: International Arbitration; in the Legal500 Africa Powerlist and the AYA’s Africa’s Top 30 Powerlist. He is  regularly ranked and recognised as a leading international arbitration practitioner by WWL, Chambers, Legal500 and Client Choice Awards. In 2021, he was shortlisted among the top five arbitrators for the GAR award for the best prepared and responsive arbitrator.

Senior Associate, Pinsent Masons

Seema Bono is a Senior Associate at Pinsent Masons in Dubai and specialises in complex international arbitration and commercial dispute resolution.

She is ranked as "Rising Star" by Legal 500. Seema is an English qualified lawyer and practised at Mayer Brown in London before joining Freshfields’ dispute resolution team in Dubai in 2014 where she practised until 2019.  She has extensive experience of advising clients in various sectors, including hospitality, real estate, financial services, telecoms, energy and logistics.  Seema also advises clients on internal investigations, cyber, data privacy and compliance matters.  Seema is the Chair of her firm’s Middle East Diversity Committee and also sits on the MENA Sub-Committee for the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations. Seema studied Law with French Law at University College London and Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II).

Associate, Beale & Co

Sadaff is an Associate with Beale & Co Middle East in Dubai. Originally from Kenya, her practice area includes international arbitration and dispute resolution with a focus on construction disputes. She acts both as counsel and as arbitrator. As counsel she has represented large scale developers, contractors and subcontractors.

As arbitrator she is proficient in the procedural aspects of arbitration and has significant experience in conducting arbitration proceedings efficiently whether under institutional rules or as ad hoc arbitrations. Sadaff is also the General Editor of the Africa Construction Law Blog and is on the UAE CIArb Branch Committee. Sadaff is recognised as a Rising Star and a Recommended Lawyer in the Legal 500 Middle East Construction. She is also a recipient of Africa’s 50 Most Promising Young Arbitration Practitioners 2020 Award and was shortlisted for the Middle East Legal Rising Star Award 2021 and was a finalist for the Big 5 Women in Construction Next-Gen Woman of the Year Award.

Head of Publishing and Legal Technology, LexisNexis Middle East.

Hussain Hadi heads the Middle East publishing arm of LexisNexis, which provides online access to legislation, regulatory news, case law, and practical guidance from across the MENA region. His 18 years of legal publishing and technology experience includes roles at Oxford University Press and the Informa Group, where he managed a portfolio of arbitration law journals and books.

Hussain is a lecturer with the Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department CLPD programme and the Association of Corporate Counsel Certification programme; covering legal technology as well as operational efficiency and value measurement within in-house legal teams.

Hussain has overseen the publication of over 200 leading practitioner works on commercial and international law, as well as managing a portfolio of business magazines including the first dedicated monthly legal magazine in the Middle East. Having advised government and industry associations such as the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and the General Arab Insurance Federation, Hussain has chaired and spoken at conferences in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, UK and Kazakhstan.

Partner, Addleshaw Goddard

Shane Jury is a commercial disputes partner, and has been practicing in the Middle East region for over eight years. Shane specialises in complex commercial disputes with a particular focus on joint venture disputes, shareholders’ disputes, banking and financial disputes and investigations, and professional negligence and fraud claims, often involving a multi-jurisdictional angle.

Shane's practice straddles both litigation in the DIFC and ADGM Courts and arbitration under all of the major institutional rules and also sits as an arbitrator.  He is a member of the DIFC Courts Rules Committee and a member of the ADGM Courts Private Law Firms Liaison Group. 

Prior to joining Addleshaw Goddard, Shane practiced in the Dubai offices of a global US law firm and a magic circle law firm.

(Debate Moderator)

Melissa McLaren MCIArb is the Vice-Chair of the CIArb YMG Committee and a Senior Disputes Lawyer with over 13 years of experience practising law. Melissa has been working in the United Arab Emirates since April 2008, specialising in international and domestic arbitration and commercial litigation.

Melissa gained extensive disputes experience as a Senior Associate and spent over a decade in the disputes teams of two magic circle law firms in Dubai before becoming the Senior Practice Development Lawyer for Pinsent Masons LLP’s Risk and Advisory Services Team in Dubai. Her contentious practice has covered a broad range of areas including construction, shareholder, financial services, property development and employment disputes. Melissa's current role includes knowledge management, training, innovation, efficient delivery of legal services and business development for Pinsent Masons LLP’s contentious practice in the Gulf region.