Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

Arbitration, Hotels & Leisure

Partner, Head of Arbitration

Tom is a Partner and the firm’s Head of Arbitration based in the Dubai office. He is experienced in international commercial arbitration, international investment disputes, state-to-state arbitration, and foreign sovereign immunity issues. His experience covers a wide range of industries, sectors, and types of disputes, including oil-and-gas, telecommunications, automobile manufacturing, shareholder disputes, and joint-venture disputes. 

From 2001 to 2009, Tom was a member of the legal team representing the Ethiopian Government before the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, an international arbitral tribunal that adjudicated claims for loss, damage and injury arising during an international armed conflict. In this context, he worked as a resident attorney in Addis Ababa for three years.

Tom frequently writes on topics involving international law and dispute resolution. Prior to relocating to Dubai, he was a professorial lecturer in law at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC.  Tom was recently recognised in the inaugural edition of Who’s Who Legal’s Future Leaders – Arbitration, a listing of the world’s leading international arbitration practitioners under the age of 45.

English

2007 – Practice before the U.S. Supreme Court

2006 – Practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

2000 – Juris Doctor, Harvard Law School

1997 – Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude), University of Notre Dame