Laurence Simons and Baker Botts LLP produce this survey as part of their General Counsel event in November 2013

1. Regional
Dispute
Resolution
Options and observations from the front line

2. Contents
3
Introduction
4
Commentary
5-6
Survey results
7
Key talking points and Agenda
8
Speaker and Moderator biographies
- Julian Hicks
9
- Rajaee Rouhani
10
- Dean Stelfox
11
- Edward Sunna
12
- Ravinder Bhullar
13
- Philip Punwar
14
- Jonathan Sutcliffe
15
Laurence Simons, Baker Botts
- Disclaimer
2

3. Introduction
Baker Botts LLP and Laurence Simons conducted a survey
regarding ‘Regional Dispute Resolution – Options and
Observations from the front line’. This report provides an
overview of lawyers’ experiences with disputes and arbitration
in the Middle East and a synopsis of the survey findings.
3

4. Commentary
Over the last decade, the dispute resolution landscape in the Middle
East region has developed significantly.
Perhaps the most noteworthy innovation is the establishment of new
legal jurisdictions and English language, common law courts, namely
the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the DIFC Courts,
and the Qatar International Court in the Qatar Financial Centre. The
bench of these courts is staffed by prominent judges both based
locally and from around the common law world. They offer many of
the features that were previously found only in international arbitration
proceedings in this region, but with the potential advantages of lower
cost and greater power and authority. In 2011, the jurisdiction of the
DIFC Courts was unexpectedly expanded. Through the new “opt-in”
framework, it is now possible for parties from anywhere to submit
their disputes to the DIFC Courts.
Despite these developments, there remains wide
support for international arbitration in the region. While
this support varies from one industry to another, the
neutrality and flexibility that arbitration offers appear
to be its principal attractions. There is, furthermore,
a perception that the prospects of enforcing arbitral
awards are better regionally than they are for judgments
of the English language courts. However, ageing
arbitration laws across the region mean that arbitration
proceedings and awards remain vulnerable to legal
challenge, with the risk of increased or wasted costs,
delay, and even worse, unenforceability. In contrast, the
DIFC has enacted a modern arbitration law based on the
UNCITRAL Model Law and the English Arbitration Act
1996. Parties and practitioners often fail to appreciate
that DIFC law imposes no restrictions on who can
choose the DIFC as their seat of arbitration.
The factors that ultimately influence the choice of dispute
resolution method vary greatly. Much depends on the
identity of the parties, their respective bargaining power
and the nature of the transaction or project concerned.
The panel will explore these factors, and share their own
experiences and opinions during the panel discussion.
4

5. Survey results
5
To the extent that you have been
involved in disputes in the region,
what form did these take?*
In how many dispute proceedings
(court or arbitration) in the region
have you been involved over the
last five years?
74%
12%
23%
23%
7%
0
1-3
4-6
7-9
26%
Local courts
35%
52%
Common law
courts
(DIFC or QIC)
Arbitration
10 or more
*Respondents could tick all that were appropriate.
In general, where you are able to insist on the form of dispute
resolution in agreements, which is your preferred choice?
52%
20%
12%
16%
Arbitration
DIFC Courts
Local courts
Other
Please state the primary reason for your answer to the
previous question
64%
20%
8%
8%
Quality of
judgement /
award
Enforceability of
judgements /
awards
Speed
Cost
Dubai Law No. 16 of 2011 has made it possible for parties with
no connection to the DIFC to agree to submit their disputes to
the jurisdiction of the DIFC Courts. To the extent that this law has
enabled your organisation to access the DIFC Courts, have you
agreed (whether in a dispute resolution clause in an agreement
or after a dispute has arisen) to submit any disputes to the DIFC
Courts?
Yes
56%
No
44%

6. 6
Have you ever agreed to submit small value, or less complex, disputes to the Small
Claims Tribunal of the DIFC Courts?
Yes
8%
No
92%
With regard to arbitration in this region, which is more important to you: having
the choice of arbitral rules or the choice of seat (legal place) of the arbitration?
Arbitration rules
38%
Seat (legal place)
of the arbitration
62%
Have you ever chosen the DIFC as a seat (legal place) of
arbitration in your arbitration clauses
54%
Yes
46%
No
Have you tried to enforce a DIFC Courts judgment or DIFC
arbitral award elsewhere in the UAE?
Yes
4%
No
96%
In selecting an arbitrator, the most important
factor for you is usually:
77%
23%
0%
0%
Experience
in the subject
matter of the
dispute
Experience
in the law
governing the
dispute
Physical location Nationality of
of the arbitrator the arbitrator
in the country of
the seat of
arbitration
0%
Age of the
arbitrator

7. Key talking points
7
Common law courts in the region: Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi?
The gateways to jurisdiction: A simple matter of agreement?
Added value or added cost: Small claims; interim relief; summary disposal and appeals?
The DIFC experience: Slow and steady?
The extra-territorial enforcement of orders and judgments: long arm or tall order?
Institutional arbitration and arbitration institutions: what really matters?
The good, the bad and the ugly: Why the Arbitration Rules matter.
Good Law / Bad Law: What difference does the arbitration law of the seat/place
of arbitration really make?
The DIFC experience: a model seat?
Selecting your tribunal: The how and the where.
The Proof of the Pudding is in the eating
Only good on paper or truly good?
Cheap at half the price: Is dispute resolution in the UAE
value for money?
Go forth? The pros and cons of selecting the dispute resolution
venue in the “traditional” centres in the US and Europe.
Agenda
Dispute Resolution: Options and observations from
the front line
5:00pm - Registration
5:30pm - Seminar: Panel discussion and survey results
6:30pm - Drinks reception, The Vault Bar
Panel
Mr. Julian Hicks
General Counsel, Dragon Oil
Mr. Rajaee Rouhani
Associate General Counsel, HSBC
Mr. Dean Stelfox
Senior Legal Advisor, Dubai World Central
Mr. Edward Sunna
Chief Legal Counsel, Meraas Holding
Mr. Ravinder Bhullar
Special Counsel, Baker Botts
Moderator
Mr. Philip Punwar
Partner, Baker Botts
Mr. Jonathan Sutcliffe
Partner, Baker Botts

8. Speaker and Moderator biographies
Julian Hicks
General Counsel, Dragon Oil
Julian trained as a solicitor with a leading London law
firm. Following several years in private practice Julian
joined one of his Oil and Gas clients (Amerada Hess
Limited) as an in-house counsel with a wide range of UK
and international responsibilities. In 2001, Julian joined
Shell International and was rapidly made responsible for
Shell’s legal issues in Russia and the CIS, firstly as Head
of Legal but then being appointed as Regional General
Counsel. In 2007, Julian transferred from Moscow to
Dubai to become Associate General Counsel for Shell’s
upstream business in the Middle East and North Africa.
In these roles Julian was responsible for the creation and
management of multi-cultural legal teams dealing with all
aspects of Shell’s operated and non-operated interests
in the respective regions during periods of rapid change.
In 2013, Julian became General Counsel and Corporate
Secretary for Dragon Oil plc. Julian’s current role includes
overseeing all legal, contractual and corporate aspects
of Dragon Oil’s business and ensuring that appropriate
corporate governance and risk management measures
are adopted to ensure the efficient operation of the
Dragon Oil group. He works closely with the Board of
Directors.
Julian is a member of the Law Society of England &
Wales and the Association of International Petroleum
Negotiators.
8

9. 9
Rajaee Rouhani
Associate General Counsel, HSBC
Rajaee Rouhani is an Associate General Counsel at
HSBC Bank Middle East. He heads up the litigation,
dispute management and investigations team covering
MENA. In addition, a significant part of Rajaee’s remit is
to identify, control and monitor significant legal risks that
may impact the Bank.
Rajaee worked with two international law firms for 10
years (four years in Australia and six years in the UAE)
before joining HSBC in 2012. Rajaee is qualified in
England & Wales, Western Australia and has rights of
audience before the DIFC Courts.
Rajaee has broad litigation experience. During his time in
private practice he acted for clients in respect of cross
border disputes, regulatory and internal investigations,
international arbitration and fraud/white collar crime. He
has experience in handling litigation in England, France,
North America, Middle East, Asia, Australia and North
Africa. Rajaee has sat as an arbitrator appointed by the
ICC and DIAC.

10. 10
Dean Stelfox
Senior Legal Advisor, Dubai World Central
Dean Stelfox is the Senior Legal Advisor at Dubai
Aviation City Corporation (DACC). Dean is responsible
for overseeing all legal aspects related to commerce,
operations and sales at Dubai World Central (DWC). A
multi-phased urban infrastructure development covering
140 square kilometers, DWC is an aerotropolis designed
to meet the present and future needs of aviation,
commercial, exhibition and logistics businesses. At the
heart of the development lies the Al Maktoum International
Airport which, once complete, will have the capacity to
handle up to 12 million tonnes of cargo and 120 million
passengers annually. Furthermore, seven integrated
districts designed for logistics, residential, humanitarian,
commercial, exhibition, leisure and aviation requirements
will position DWC as a self-contained economic platform
and center of commerce.
Before joining DACC in 2008, Mr. Stelfox held the position
of Legal Counsel to the Emirates National Oil Company
Limited (ENOC) LLC, a Dubai-based oil company
engaged in crude production, LPG processing and other
petroleum products & services.
He joined ENOC from Kemp Little LLP in London where
he served in the position of Solicitor.

11. 11
Edward Sunna
Chief Legal Officer, Meraas Holdings
Responsible for all legal functions of Meraas, Edward
Sunna was instrumental in the setup of the complete
legal infrastructure and function, and most of the Meraas
legal entities ensuring license requirement and licensing
compliance, trade license renewal, arranging financing
for projects and capital raisings for acquisition funding.
Edward developed his legal expertise in Australia in the
construction and real estate sectors. His expertise in
areas of law cover construction, Engineering, Utilities,
Real Estate Development, Corporate, Tourism, CapitalIPOs, financial markets and Banking, Commercial, and
Insurance.
Prior to joining Meraas he headed up Al Tamimi &
Company’s construction practice in Dubai.
Edward’s qualifications include Bachelor of Arts Degree
(major in Political Science & Industrial Relations) from
the University of New South Wales, and a Bachelor of
Law with Honors the University of Technology, Sydney.
Edward held an academic position as a part-time
Associate Professor at Heriot Watt University, Dubai
Campus, lecturing in International Planning and Property
Law for the Masters program for the School of the Built
Environment, and is also a part-lecturer and advisor
in law with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA)
training college, the Dubai Real Estate Institute and
author of a number of real estate publications.
Edward is also a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators sitting on the panel
with the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC);
the Singapore International Arbitration Center and the
list of Arbitrators with the London Court of International
Arbitration.

12. 12
Ravinder Bhullar
Special Counsel, Baker Botts
+971.4.436.3640
ravinder.bhullar@bakerbotts.com
Ravinder Bhullar has substantial experience of
international arbitration concerning disputes in the
construction, infrastructure and energy sectors. He
has advised owners, contractors, governments,
professionals and insurers on a diverse range of projects,
including railways, roads, high-rise developments,
marine structures, land reclamation, power generation,
petrochemicals, oil and gas (onshore and offshore) and
mining. In addition, he has significant experience of
commercial disputes involving real estate, international
trade, insurance and financial institutions.
Rav has represented clients in arbitrations seated
around the world conducted under the rules of many
of the prominent arbitral institutes, including the ICC,
SCC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA and DIAC, as well as ad hoc and
UNICITRAL rules. Such disputes have been resolved
under a variety of national laws.
Aside from representing parties in arbitration proceedings,
Rav sits as an arbitrator.
Since 2006, he has held the position of Treasurer of the
Society of Construction Law (Gulf). Rav was admitted as
a Barrister and Solicitor in Victoria, Australia in 2002. He
is also a registered practitioner of the DIFC Courts.

13. 13
Philip Punwar
Partner, Baker Botts
+971.4.436.3690
philip.punwar@bakerbotts.com
Philip Punwar is a partner in the international arbitration and
dispute resolution group of Baker Botts LLP. Philip was
called to the Bar of England & Wales by the Honourable
Society of the Inner Temple in 1989. He was elected a
Master of the Bench of the Inner Temple in 2013.
Philip has extensive DIFC Courts experience. He obtained
the first Freezing Order from the DIFC Court of First
Instance in 2007 and appeared in the first appeal to the
DIFC Court of Appeal in 2008. In 2008 Philip was counsel
for the successful Claimant in the second trial to be heard
by the DIFC Court of First Instance. In 2009 he appeared
in the first case concerning the DIFC Arbitration Law 2008
to come before the DIFC Court of First Instance. Philip
is the author of the official Commentary to the Rules of
the DIFC Courts (Thomson Reuters, 2011) and currently
Chairman of the Education Sub-Committee of the DIFC
Courts Users’ Committee and Course Director of the
DIFC Courts’ Advocacy Course 2013.
Philip has been heavily involved in initiatives to modernize
the UAE’s arbitration laws. Throughout 2007 he worked
closely with the UAE Ministry of Economy on the drafting
of a new Federal Arbitration Law, which was released for
public consultation in February 2008. As a member of the
Dubai International Financial Centre’s 2008 Arbitration Law
Steering Committee, Philip has also been influential in the
development of arbitration in the DIFC. He is a member
of the ICC Arbitration Commission and represented the
ICC UAE at meetings of the Arbitration Commission held
in Paris to debate and vote on the draft provisions of the
ICC Arbitration Rules 2012.

14. 14
Jonathan Sutcliffe
Partner, Baker Botts
+971.4.436.3635
jonathan.sutcliffe@bakerbotts.com
Jonathan Sutcliffe has significant experience in
international arbitration and dispute resolution and
has acted for numerous clients on a diverse range of
international commercial arbitration, ADR and litigation
matters in the energy, construction, hospitality, real
estate, defense, insurance, international joint venture and
film sectors and on investor-state disputes. Jonathan
also sits as an arbitrator.
Jonathan is qualified in England and Wales and in
New York and is registered as an advocate in the DIFC
Courts. He is recommended for international arbitration
and projects and energy disputes by various leading
legal guides, including Chambers, The Legal 500 and
The International Who’s Who of Commercial Arbitration.

15. Laurence Simons
15
Founded in 1988, Laurence Simons is a specialist international legal and
compliance recruitment consultancy. Our clearly stated vision is: ‘To be the
world’s leading company in legal recruitment by quality of service, market
reputation, calibre of employees and global coverage’.
Operating across Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Asia, North America and
Latin America, Laurence Simons truly is an international recruiter.
Our network of offices is unique in the field of legal and compliance recruitment
and we have been pioneering in serving new markets, in particular across
Europe and Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and India.
For more information, visit www.laurencesimons.com
Baker Botts
Baker Botts LLP is an international law firm with 700 lawyers
and a network of 15 offices around the globe. Based on our
broad experience and our in-depth knowledge of our clients’
industries, we are recognized as a leading firm in the energy,
technology and life sciences sectors. We have three offices
in the Middle East: Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh. As client
demand for legal counsel in energy and related fields continues
to grow, we continue to expand the resources of our Middle
East team. In 2013, we added 14 lawyers, including eight
partners, to our offices in the region. This group of talented
and experienced lawyers cements our position as one of the
dominant legal forces in the Middle East and adds significant
strength and depth to our already established team.
We have one of the region’s leading teams of dispute
resolution lawyers, with extensive experience of disputes in the
construction, infrastructure, energy and general commercial
sectors.
For more information, visit www.bakerbotts.com
Disclaimer
This research was carried out by means of an electronic questionnaire.
The results are provided as generic market information only. Laurence
Simons and Baker Botts L.L.P do not make any warranties regarding the
use, validity, accuracy or reliability of the results and information obtained.
Laurence Simons and Baker Botts L.L.P will not be liable for any damages
of any kind arising out of or relating to use of this information.