Personal bio
OVERVIEW Anja is an independent arbitrator based in the United Arab Emirates. She has extensive experience of both civil and common law jurisdictions and has an in-depth understanding of the legal systems of the MENA/GCC region. Anja was recently appointed as one of only 500 global Chartered Arbitrators by the Chartered Arbitrators. The C.Arb designation was awarded to her as ‘a Fellow of CIArb who has demonstrated to a peer interview panel an advanced knowledge and understanding of arbitration and its practical application, evidencing a professional approach to parties.’ Anja has over thirty years of experience working with leading regional and international law firms on corporate, commercial, real estate, shareholder and construction disputes. She is regularly appointed by both institutes and parties and is commended as ‘an excellent practitioner who excels at managing efficient and cost-effective processes’. Anja is particularly noted for ‘combining practical commercial understanding with a wealth of legal experience and arbitration expertise’ and her Awards are considered ‘models of clarity’ by peer review. Anja is a Panel Arbitrator at the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC); the International Chamber of Commerce UAE (ICC); the Abu Dhabi ADGM Arbitration Centre (ADGMAC); the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution (AIADR) and the Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) and is also a List Arbitrator with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) Anja is a German national and native English and German speaker. She is also proficient in French, Spanish and Dutch. Anja is a UK qualified solicitor admitted to the Law Society of the United Kingdom and in addition to her common law qualification, has extensive and in-depth experience of the civil law jurisdictions of the Middle East. Anja is a Cambridge University graduate holding both BA and MA in Modern and Mediaeval Languages as well as an MA in European Business from Cranfield University. Anja further holds postgraduate degrees in Law from the University of Law in London (CPE and LPC). Anja trained and worked with City Magic Circle firm HoganLovells for a decade before spending the last 17 years in the UAE and GCC/MENA in both in-house and private practice roles. ARBITRATION EXPERIENCE Since 2009, Anja has worked on nearly thirty international and GCC/MENA arbitration cases. She has sat as Tribunal Chairman, Sole Arbitrator, Party Representative and has acted as Lead Counsel in arbitrations spanning the corporate, commercial, agency, property, real estate and construction sectors mainly in the UAE and the wider MENA and GCC region. Her experience as in-house Counsel and exposure to a full range of contentious and non-contentious legal matters in combination with her long business and legal experience, has given Anja a deep understanding of regional legal and business issues and disputes