Middle East - Middle East: The English Bar

Chambers of Ewan McQuater KC and David Quest KC

A market leading set for commercial litigation in the Middle East, 3 Verulam Buildings’ members regularly appear in high value banking claims in the DIFC Courts, as well as complex commercial arbitration as both counsel and arbitrators. Tom Montagu-Smith KC led Matthew Watson in Emirates NBD Bank v Advanced Facilities Management, successfully convincing the DIFC Court of Appeal to dismiss a claim against a judgement for a $540 million loan facility under both conventional and Islamic lending. Nicholas Craig KC was also successful in September 2023 before the DIFC Court of First Instance in Union Insurance PJSC v International Precious Metals Refiners, with the issues around jurisdiction of the court being developed from previous decisions in Horizon Energy v Al Buhaira and AIG v Qatar Insurance. Saima Hanif KC continues to offer extensive expertise in matters concerning regulatory investigations by the likes of the DFSA.

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