Arshad Ghaffar

Arshad Ghaffar is a highly regarded and trusted commercial dispute resolution lawyer. His experience encompasses the full spectrum of the business cycle. His clients are based in numerous jurisdictions, earning him unrivalled experience of cross-jurisdictional matters as well as different, and often challenging, bodies of law. He represents his clients in a broad array of resolution forums, from the English commercial chancery high court and appellate courts through to domestic and international arbitrations, and frequently receives nominations to sit as an arbitrator and as a mediator in areas of his expertise.

In addition to his persuasive oral advocacy skills, Arshad is renowned for his commendable written advocacy. His pen is said to be mightier than a sword, and he uses it precisely to state in writing the basis of his arguments, subsequently to be brought to life before a court or arbitration panel. His clients regard him as “exceptionally proactive” during the life of a dispute resolution process and “remarkable” in his ability to identify and present solutions that are intellectually creative, legally robust and commercially sound. Whilst maintaining a firm grasp of the strict legal aspects of a case, Arshad ensures he also works to achieve his clients’ ancillary commercial and strategic objectives.

The disputes in which he is instructed often involve the interplay between the interpretation of complex commercial contracts and their technical underpinnings, such as is the case with large infrastructure projects, and involve the laws of multiple jurisdictions. With arbitration becoming the prevailing forum to address such disputes, his more recent instructions have built up a catalogue of experience in international and domestic commercial and corporate disputes through the process of arbitration at both institutional and ad hoc levels. He has conducted arbitrations under most of the most frequently used institutional rules, including those of the ICC and the LCIA and is also familiar with the UNCITRAL rules.

Arshad also has a non-contentious branch to his practise in which he is often called upon to opine on questions concerning the interpretation of laws and regulations in various jurisdictions and the application of treaties and laws with extra-territorial reach such as trade treaties, AML and sanctions.

Arshad’s international practice is incredibly wide-ranging and diverse. It has ranged from advising on anti-corruption legislation internationally to questions concerning sanctions against individuals in Zimbabwe. He has been instructed by lawyers from a variety of jurisdictions, including Nigeria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman, the UAE, India and Pakistan. The range of Arshad’s work and the number of jurisdictions he has worked in truly reflect him to be a global citizen comfortable wherever he is and sensitive to issues of cultural and geographical diversity.