Zahra Rose Khawaja

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Arbitration

Zahra Rose Khawaja is a senior associate specializing in commercial dispute resolution in Dentons' Dubai office. She has seven years' experience (five of which in the Middle East) working on a wide range of international arbitration and commercial dispute resolution matters.

Zahra's international arbitration portfolio includes acting for both claimants and respondents in claims valued between US$1 million and US$500 million, conducted under the rules of many major arbitral institutions. She also conducts litigation in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) courts. Zahra has acted as advisor to a prominent financial institution in longstanding DIFC Court proceedings (presently in the Court of Appeal) seeking recovery of a US$30 million debt arising out of an alleged trade finance fraud. She also acts alongside local counsel to advise clients in respect of proceedings in the onshore UAE courts, and has significant experience in commercial agency disputes, contractual disputes, debt recovery and enforcement proceedings. Zahra is also experienced in handling mediation and negotiation processes.

Zahra's experience spans a range of different sectors including telecommunications, manufacturing, financial services and technology, and she has a keen interest in the hotels and hospitality sector, having acted for a number of clients in recent high-value disputes between hotel owners and operators arising out of hotel management agreements in the Middle East region.

Prior to joining Dentons, Zahra trained and practiced at an international law firm in London, where she focused on international arbitration and conducted litigation in the High Court and Court of Appeal. During her training contract, she spent six months on secondment to a client in Hong Kong. Zahra also served for two years as Assistant Editor for the MENA Region at Kluwer Arbitration Blog, which reports on the latest developments, awards and forthcoming events in international arbitration.

Kaplan Law School, 2014, Legal Practice Course and Graduate LLB Qatar University, 2013, Arabic for Non-Native Speakers Program University of Law, 2012, Graduate Diploma in Law London School of Economics and Political Science, 2011, BA, Social Anthropology