Essa Al Sulaiti Law Firm

Chairman

Mr. Essa Mohammad Al Sulaiti is a Qatari Attorney admitted by Qatar Lawyers Admission Committee, Court of Cassation. An active Board Member of Qatar Lawyers Association (QLA) as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Experts and Arbitrators Association for Cultural and Awareness (QEAACA).

Drawing on his prior education and experience in Wales and reputable law firms in Qatar, Mr. Al Sulaiti founded Essa Al Sulaiti Law Firm in 2015 to effectively align his practice with a personal mission: addressing the emerging legal demands of local and international businesses operating in the State of Qatar.

Mr. Al Sulaiti is also an arbitrator certified by the GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre (GCC-CAC), Qatar International Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA), Kuwait Commercial Arbitration Center (KCAC), Oman Commercial Arbitration Center (OCAC), and Arbitrator at Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA). As well as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).

Mr. Al Sulaiti has represented clients and served as counsel in international arbitration proceedings held under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA). As an arbitrator, he has been appointed in several disputes as both a sole arbitrator and as a member of a tribunal, including as a president of an arbitral tribunal. Throughout his arbitral experience, he has also advised clients on disputes concerning arbitration clauses, governing law, jurisdiction, the enforcement of arbitration awards, and international judgment enforcement.

Mr. Al Sulaiti’s experience includes a broad range of corporate services with a focus on dispute resolution. He also works closely with various local and international clients advising on mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, leveraged buyouts and joint ventures, and has represented several companies, shareholders and directors in corporate/commercial disputes in court and arbitration. Mr. Al Sulaiti’s practice emphasizes counseling clients on company formation/establishment, foreign investment across a full range of industries and a broad variance of corporate governance matters, including structuring, directors’ duties, shareholders’ responsibilities, general meetings/assemblies, corporate compliance matters, legal auditing and due diligence. He was also recognized as a “Recommended Lawyer” for the year 2023 by The Legal 500 EMEA Edition.

Mr. Al Sulaiti’s background couples extensive academic experience and hands-on practice in the legal sector of the construction industry. His practice emphasizes resolving complex construction disputes through mediation, and when necessary, arbitration and litigation in relation to projects in Qatar and internationally.

Mr. Al Sulaiti frequently addresses construction claims and has handled hundred-million-dollar litigations and arbitrations involving breach of contract, construction and design defect, delays/damages, variations and impact, default, and termination matters. Given his depth of experience, he has provided an impressive range of services to his clients, including advising on FIDIC, EPC, design/build, design and construction contracts as well as risk management, negotiation of contracts, project legal counseling/guidance and preparation of claims. In this field, Mr. Essa Al Sulaiti was recognized as “Lawyer of the Year” by the LegalCommunity MENA Awards 2022.

Mr. Al Sulaiti represents and regularly counsels main and sub-contractors, project managers, engineers, employers and other members of the construction and government contract industries. This includes the representation of contractors and owners in connection with some of the most prominent projects built throughout the State of Qatar, both public and private.

In the public arena, he has extensive experience counseling, litigating, and arbitrating complex disputes regarding high profile facilities, government construction/civil works and projects pertaining to museums, sport stadiums, rails, bridges, plants, and highways.

In the private sector, Mr. Al Sulaiti has ample experience providing counsel, litigating, arbitrating, and mediating substantial claims concerning private assets including hotels, malls, residential/commercial towers, and medical and manufacturing facilities.

Inspired by Qatar’s growth in the field of sports - and as an avid sports enthusiast himself - Mr. Essa Al Sulaiti has earned an interdisciplinary master’s degree in Sports Law to offer his expertise in the legal and commercial sides of sports. Mr. Al Sulaiti is also a member of the Asian Football Confederation Legal Committee (AFC), as well as an Arbitrator at Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS/CAS), Qatar Sports Arbitration Foundation (QSAF), National Sports Arbitration Tribunal (NSAT), In addition to his membership in the Saudi Sports Arbitration Center (SSAC), which led to his appointment as a member of a temporary technical committee in 2023. This committee consists of a distinguished group of legal experts and leaders in the field, specializing in reviewing and scrutinizing proposed amendments to the center's procedural rules and providing the necessary recommendations for its enhancement and development. With his understanding of Qatari law, local culture, and international sports law, he is able to offer the ideal intersection for meeting the legal demands of the sports sector, He also got admission as an Arbitrator at The Saudi Games 2023.  In addition to Mr. Essa’s achievements in the Sport field, he received the distinguished "Best Practice International Sport Arbitration” Award at the LegalcommunityMENA Awards 2023.

Arabic English

Board Member of Qatar Lawyers Association (QLA). Member of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Experts and Arbitrators Association for Cultural and Awareness (QEAACA). Arbitrator at Qatar International Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA). Arbitrator at Qatar Sports Arbitration Foundation (QSAF). Arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS/CAS). Arbitrator at National Sports Arbitration Tribunal (NSAT). Arbitrator at Saudi Sport Arbitration Center (SSAC). Arbitrator at Kuwait Commercial Arbitration Center (KCAC). Arbitrator at Oman Commercial Arbitration Center (OCAC). Member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). Member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration & ADR (ICC). Member of the International Chamber of Commerce – Qatar (ICC). Member of the International BAR Association (IBA). Member of the Asian Football Confederation Legal Committee (AFC). Member of the Medical Affairs Committee – Qatar Red Crescent.

Executive Masters (LLM) in Sports Law from Qatar Olympic Academy (Certified by the Olympic Council of Asia, ANOC, Olympic Solidarity, TAS/CAS) – Qatar. Bachelor's degree in law (LLB) from Swansea University - UK.