The third edition of The Legal 500 Middle East Disputes Summit was held on September 28 at the fabulous Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Dubai, bringing together more than 175 corporate lawyers from the region’s most influential companies.

The event began with a keynote presentation from Dominik Engel, vice president and global lead counsel for digital & cybersecurity at ABB. Dominik spoke with great knowledge and experience on the active role that general counsel can play in dispute resolution.

During the course of the day, we heard insights from leading private practice practitioners from Al Tamimi, K&L Gates, Charles Russell Speechlys, Hadef & Partners, Afridi & Angell and Horizons & Co as well as the thoughts and opinions of senior in-house counsel from companies including Standard Chartered Bank, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Engie, Etihad Rail, Citi, Besix Construct, Al Ghurair, Aujan Group Holding, Yas Holding and Lixil. Further contributions came from Dubai International Arbitration Centre and Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration.

Topics discussed included the rise of dispute resolution in the region; is regional arbitration on the verge of extinction; unmasking tech fraud and cyber risks in the UAE; good faith and break-ups in relationships; the financial outlook in dispute resolution, bankruptcy, restructuring and the weaponisation of such elements; regional litigation outlook: Saudi Arabia – UAE; experiencing the new era of commercial agency disputes.

The event concluded with a revealing discussion between Irina Kovalchuk, group general counsel at ZMI Holdings, Donia Droubi, head of legal (coastal Arabia cluster), Nestle and Shaharya Nashat, senior legal counsel GCC, Engie. The panellists conveyed their major takeaways from the day and outlined the role of in-house counsel in the dispute resolution process and how to best manage the expectations of their organisation.

We are grateful for the excellent response from sponsors, speakers and delegates.

Finally, we’d like to thank the steering committee members who helped construct a great program that ensured the summit’s success and enabled all of you to attend.

Until the next time, take care.