Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Profile of the Company:
Freshfields is a leading international law firm with over 2,500 lawyers, located across 28 offices in 16 countries across the world. Around 30 per cent of our activity involves countries where we do not have an office including in some of the world’s most hostile legal environments. Through a combination of our own offices and our exceptional local counsel relationships internationally we have worked in nearly every country in the world, touching almost 200 countries in each of the past three years.
We have been advising clients in the Middle East and wider MENA region for over 30 years. With four offices in - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, and Riyadh (through an association with the Law Firm of Salah Al Hejailan which also has offices in Jeddah and Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia) - we understand what it means for clients doing business in the region, its business culture and etiquette and importantly, the region’s key commercial drivers, legislative frameworks and regulatory authorities. We have over 40 lawyers across the Middle East and our teams work in both Arabic and English.
Our MENA disputes and arbitration team is part of our International Arbitration Group which is widely recognised as the world’s leading practice. This is reflected in the fact that last year alone, our team of 120 arbitration specialists, handled cases with a total amount at stake of over $80bn. In 2013 we were again ranked as the number one law firm in the Global Arbitration Review's prestigious 'GAR 30' survey of the leading international arbitration practices. This is the sixth consecutive year that we have topped the table, with GAR concluding that our success is a result of a number of factors including a 'widely spread yet close-knit network' having 'dotted their best people around the world' as well as 'cohesion within the practice'.
The demand for risk management and dispute advice has changed fundamentally in recent years. Our disputes and arbitration practice in MENA regularly advises clients from across a range of sectors, including real estate and construction, energy and infrastructure, telecoms and the finance sector, in the following areas:
- Commercial and treaty arbitration
- DIFC court litigation
- Investigations and sanctions
Our dispute resolution team also has a significant focus on construction matters, both contentious and non-contentious.
Erin Miller Rankin
Erin specialises in advising on contentious and non-contentious construction matters in the energy and transport sectors. She also leads Freshfields' construction practice in Asia and the Middle East.
Erin advises owners, developers, general contractors, engineering firms and various sub-trades on all aspects of their projects, including tendering, procurement strategies and contract documentation for major infrastructure and construction projects in south Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
She regularly advises on resolving projects-related disputes, and represents clients in ad-hoc, ICC, LCIA, ICSID, UNCITRAL, SIAC, KLRCA, ADCCAC and DIAC arbitration proceedings. In addition, she sits as an arbitrator on projects-related disputes.
Sami Tannous
Sami specialises in investor-state and international commercial arbitration.
He has represented clients under all major arbitration rules, including the ICC, LCIA, ICSID, DIAC, SCC and UNCITRAL rules, with seats in London, Paris, Dubai, Geneva, The Hague and Washington. He has also sat as arbitrator.
Sami focuses on matters arising in the oil and gas industry, although he also has experience of arbitration in the banking, real estate, defence, travel, media, and technology sectors.
In addition, Sami is a member of Freshfields’ global investigations group, advising clients in internal corporate and regulatory investigations.
Amani Khalifa
Amani is a counsel in the dispute resolution group and an arbitration specialist.
She has handled several large and complex disputes in the construction industry relating to projects throughout the MENA region and involving major real-estate developments for housing, retail, education, leisure, airfields and radar stations. She has been recognised in Legal 500 as a 'thorough, impressive and superb lawyer' who 'digs deep and never disappoints'. The directory also highlighted her 'exceptional ability to translate procedural and cultural issues'. She has been recognised as a future leader in arbitration by Who's Who Legal.
Amani sits frequently as arbitrator in infrastructure disputes throughout the MENA region.
Matei Purice
Matei is a senior associate in our dispute resolution practice based in Dubai.
After joining the firm in 2008 as an intern in our Paris office, Matei worked as an associate in the arbitration practice group of a leading Romanian law firm and qualified as advocate with the Bucharest Bar in 2009. During that time, Matei was also an external assistant lecturer in public international law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Bucharest in Romania.
Matei focuses his practice on investment treaty arbitrations as well as real-estate, engineering, construction and other major commercial disputes.
He has acted as counsel in matters before ICSID, ICC, DIAC and the Court of International Commercial Arbitration of Bucharest.
Matei also acts as an arbitrator or administrative secretary to arbitral tribunals in ICC and DIAC arbitration proceedings.
Matei is a regular external lecturer in dispute resolution in the construction sector for the International Arbitration LLM at the University of Bucharest.
Bryan Dayton
Bryan has extensive experience in international arbitration and litigation.
He has represented clients in disputes before the DIAC, LCIA and ICC, along with US state and federal courts and administrative agencies.
Bryan has also advised clients on construction disputes, international trade, and issues relating to public and private international law, investment, trade policy and corruption.
