England - London • Dispute resolution
Stephenson Harwood
‘Well versed in international arbitration’, Stephenson Harwood has a strong market reputation for its disputes expertise concerning Africa, the Middle East and India. The team is also increasingly active in Southeast and North Asia-related mandates. Global international arbitration head Rovine Chandrasekera works across the firm's London and Dubai offices; Kamal Shah 'deservedly has a strong reputation'; and recently-promoted partner Jide Adesokan has significant experience in Africa-related claims. At managing associate level, Charlotte Welsh and Charlotte Murphy are active team members.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team is very professional and well versed in international arbitration.’
'Excellent teams with the right level of seniority allocated to the work in hand.'
‘Rovine Chandrasekera stands out for his excellent knowledge of international award/judgment enforcement, which is based on genuine practical experience in successful enforcement actions across the globe.’
‘Rovine Chandrasekera is a pragmatic and smart thinker.'
‘Kamal Shah is well connected and a seasoned figure on the arbitration market.'
‘Kamal Shah deservedly has a strong reputation. He is commercially astute and understands the importance of local context.’
'Jide Adesokan is a new and energetic partner with excellent strategic sense.’
'Afolarin Awosika deserves praise for his standout dedication and judgement - he goes above and beyond for clients consistently.’
Key clients
- IBL Group
- NNPC
- Republic of Iraq
- Ministry of Electricity, Iraq
- Petronas
- Sapura Energy
- Guaranty Trust Bank
Work highlights
- Assisting an Asian oil and gas company with a dispute against another Asian oil and gas company (with European links), as a result of sanctions imposed by Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
- Acting for a major Asian joint venture in a construction dispute concerning a project in East Africa, with the arbitration seated in Paris under ICC rules.
- Representing the Republic of Iraq, as co-counsel, in an ICSID arbitration that was brought by Orange under the France-Iraq bilateral investment treaty.
Lawyers
Rising stars
Leading individuals
Kamal is the head of Stephenson Harwood's Africa and India groups. He specialises in complex, cross-border international arbitration, litigation and fraud and asset recovery. Kamal is highly regarded by his peers and clients in his abilities in multi-jurisdictional disputes. Kamal acts for governments, government entities, banks, private corporations and high net worth individuals in a range of matters including those relating to projects and infrastructure, joint ventures, banking and finance, shareholder arrangements, energy and a range of schemes commonly used to defraud individuals and corporations. Kamal is highly ranked in the legal directories including The Legal 500 UK, Chambers (UK, global and Asia Pacific) and IFLR1000. “Kamal Shah is highly experienced in Africa and India-related arbitrations” (Chambers UK 2020, international arbitration) and “he understands the continent” (Chambers Global 2019, Dispute resolution Africa-wide). He was named as a leading international arbitration practitioner in "Who's Who Legal: Future Leaders 2017 - 2020" and has been recognised in Africa’s 30 Arbitration Powerlist 2020 and The Legal 500's Powerlists for arbitration and Africa for 2019. In addition to being a LCIA Court Member, Kamal is currently the president of the LCIA African Users Council. He has also been listed in India Business Law Journal's top 100 international lawyers for India-related matters. The Legal 500 UK 2021 notes that "Kamal Shah stands out as the most outstanding personality at Stephenson Harwood. His demeanour and responses are always insightful and full of solution thinking and that makes him a leader." Kamal co-published the text of the ‘African Promise’, which seeks to tackle the under-representation of Africans on international arbitration tribunals. He is also the co-author of the leading text "Arbitration in Africa: A Review of Key Jurisdictions".
Next Generation Partners
Jide is a partner in our international arbitration team. Jide's practice is focussed on arbitration and litigation, across a broad range of sectors including: share purchase agreements, asset acquisitions, shareholder disputes and offshore oil and gas. Born and raised in Nigeria, Jide has significant experience of African disputes and is also involved in transactions on the Continent. He has acted as counsel in arbitral proceedings under various institutional rules as well as in ad hoc proceedings. He enjoys finding practical solutions to complex disputes. Jide is dual qualified as a solicitor and barrister in England and in Nigeria, where he worked for a leading arbitration practice. Jide also worked for two years at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, providing legal support to arbitral tribunals in disputes involving states and state entities. Jide is ranked as a 'Next Generation' partner in the Legal 500 2023 UK directories for international arbitration, they describe him as an 'up-and-coming new partner with great energy' and that he has ' excellent international experience, particularly in African disputes.'
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Rovine Chandrasekera, Kamal Shah