Abdulhay Sayed
Managing Partner, Sayed & Sayed SAS, Member, ICC International Court of Arbitration

ABDULHAY SAYED, is an independent arbitrator and legal counsel. He is a graduate of the universities of Damascus, Geneva and Harvard, and is admitted at the Syrian Bar. Dr. Sayed is a member of the ICC Court of Arbitration, the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, the Board of Reporters of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration, and the Swiss Arbitration Association. He acts as arbitrator, legal counsel and legal expert appearing before arbitral tribunals and domestic courts on a variety of international, investments and commercial law matters involving many Middle Eastern legal jurisdictions. Between 2005 and 2011 he taught international arbitration at the Faculty of Law of the University of Damascus, in cooperation with Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas. He is currently a visiting professor at the MIDS Program of the Center for International Dispute Settlement - the University of Geneva.

Alex Bevan
Global International Arbitration Practice Group Leader and Head of the Abu Dhabi office, Shearman & Sterling

Alex Bevan is Shearman & Sterling’s Global International Arbitration Practice Group Leader and Head of the Abu Dhabi office. He also leads the firm’s Construction practice.

Alex specializes in complex international arbitration proceedings arising out of construction and development projects, investments, acquisitions and joint ventures. These disputes arise in a range of industries, in particular infrastructure, power, oil and gas and telecoms. He also regularly serves as Arbitrator in international arbitration proceedings.

Chambers Global notes that clients and peers have described Alex as “widely noted for his broad construction practice. He has regional experience of representing both contractors and developers in significant arbitrations, most notably in the energy and oil and gas industries. One client observed: ‘He is a tenacious advocate and the go-to guy for big-ticket disputes in the Middle East’”. He is also noted for having “extensive experience in international arbitrations, regularly representing major oil and gas clients”. Previous editions note that he is “extremely able” a “go-to guy for major international arbitrations”, and “a strategic thinker and a persuasive advocate” with “excellent relationship-building skills”. Chambers UK describes him as a “clinical cross-examiner” with “invaluable strategic thinking”. He has also been described as “outstanding – shrewd, hardworking and able”. Alex is recommended in The Legal 500 EMEA and The Legal 500 UK.

Alex Bevan is also recognized as a Thought Leader in Who’s Who Legal – Construction 2020, which reports that “Alex Bevan ranks as one of the go-to construction lawyers in the UAE. Market commentators laud him as ‘a top-tier lawyer’ and ‘one of the premier practitioners in international construction arbitration’”. Who’s Who Legal – Arbitration 2020 recognizes him as a Global Leader, the publication notes that he “enjoys ‘a very good reputation’ in the international arbitration market. One peer says, ‘He gets some of the biggest instructions and is experienced beyond his years in mega-project disputes’”. Previous editions note that Alex Bevan is “‘an outstanding lawyer’ who is recognised as ‘a top name’ for construction-related arbitration” (2019), and that “Peers widely regard Alex Bevan as ‘one of the best construction arbitration specialists’ in the space who they consider ‘a natural born leader’” (2018).

Dania Fahs
Director of Arbitration and ADR Middle East – DRS -ICC MENA, Abu Dhabi

Before joining ICC in 2018, Dania had a (13 +) years of mixed experience as attorney in private practice and in-house counseling. She is specialized in transactional, commercial and IP law and has advised clients on a broad range of commercial contentious and non-contentious matters as well as assisted in negotiating complex cross border transactions in various sectors (pharmaceutical, technology, FMCG, luxury…)

Prior to joining ICC, Dania was a senior legal counsel at Oracle Corp. She has an extensive international experience in advising multinational boards on a wide range of legal and strategic issues.

A former lecturer in American Business Law (American University of Beirut), and in Intellectual Property Law (La Sagesse University)

Dania holds a PhD in Contractual Law (University Montpellier I -France) Dir. Prof. Jacques Raynard and an Executive MBA from INSEAD (2018). She also holds a post graduate microprogramme degree in IP and Alternative Dispute Resolution (University of Montreal).

She is certified as Trainer of Trainers by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre, member of Arbitral Women and a certified CEDR mediator.

Ercüment Erdem
Founder and Senior Partner, Erdem & Erdem, ICC International Court member and Member of the ICC Institute for World Business law, Istanbul

Prof. Dr. H. Ercüment Erdem is the founder and senior partner of Erdem & Erdem. He has more than 35 years of experience in arbitration, international commercial law, competition & antitrust, mergers & acquisitions, privatizations and corporate finance. He serves international and national clients in a variety of industries including energy, construction, finance, retail, real estate, aviation and aerospace as well as healthcare and insurance.

He has acted as chairman and sole or party-appointed arbitrator in many international and national arbitrations under different rules including ICC Arbitration, Swiss Arbitration, Moscow Arbitration, UNCITRAL Arbitration, Tehran Arbitration and ad hoc arbitrations and is, furthermore, distinguished in this field.

He is a commercial law professor lecturing in leading universities such as Galatasaray University in Turkey and Fribourg University in Switzerland. He has over 35 years of experience as a scholar and is the author of reference books on international trade law, competition law, mergers and acquisitions, commercial enterprise law, CIF sales, bonds, contracts etc. He is fluent in English, French and Turkish.

He has been a long-time active member of the ICC CLP Commission, participating in many working groups over the years before taking on the role of vice chair in 2010, the co-chair in 2016 and chair since 2018. Moreover, Professor Erdem is an esteemed member of International Bar Association, Istanbul Bar Association, ICC Arbitration Commission, ICC International Court of Arbitration, ICC Institute Council, ICC Turkish National Committee Arbitration Council and Association Suisse de l’Arbitrage (ASA). Also, he is advisory board member of Istanbul Arbitration Centre (ISTAC).

He has been selected as one of the leading individuals in dispute resolution by Legal 500 since 2016.

Dr. Hassan Arab
Chair, ICC UAE Commission on Arbitration & ADR Partner, Regional Head of Dispute Resolution Arbitration & Litigation, Tamimi & Company, Member, ICC International Court of Arbitration Dubai, UAE

Dr Hassan Arab is a leading dispute resolution expert in the UAE and wider Middle East with full rights of audience before all UAE courts. He regularly sits as an arbitrator and has extensive experience in providing expert opinions on the UAE laws before arbitration tribunals and foreign courts. He has spent his career building one of the strongest litigation teams in the Middle East which Legal 500 has recognised as “having a great reputation for local court work with a number of really good practitioners”. Chambers Global has commended Dr Arab as a “real winner who gives excellent advice and solutions” and has been recognised as a highly recommended leading lawyer in Dispute Resolution Eminent Practitioner in the UAE.

Dr Arab is the Chair of Steering Committee of the ICC - UAE Commission on Arbitration & ADR; Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; Member of Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) Board of Trustees; Member of the DIFC Court User’s Committee; Member of the Advisory Council Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC); Member of The Future Arbitration Court of the Casablanca International Mediation & Arbitration Centre (CIMAC); and member of Board Advisor of Delos Dispute Resolution.

Dr Arab has authored several articles and publications on arbitration and dispute resolution, including books on the Civil Procedures Law, A Guide to Arbitration in the UAE, Summaries of UAE Courts’ Decisions on Arbitration (Vol.1 & 2). In addition, he has lectured extensively on various topics, which include arbitration, dispute resolution, enforcement of judgments, Specialized Court and Committees in UAE.

Lara Hammoud
Independent Arbitrator, Senior Legal Counsel, ADNOC, Abu Dhabi, Member, ICC International Court of Arbitration

Lara Hammoud has been practicing international arbitration for two decades. She is qualified in France and has worked at the ICC International Court of Arbitration and practiced in the International Arbitration Group of Shearman & Sterling before joining the disputes team at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as senior legal counsel.

Lara acts as chair of tribunals, sole arbitrator or party-appointed arbitrator in construction and commercial arbitrations in both common and civil law jurisdictions under the rules of arbitration of UNCITRAL, DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, ADCCAC and ICC in arbitrations seated in Europe and the Middle East.

Lara speaks Arabic, English, French and Italian and is the writer and editor of numerous articles and books relating to international arbitration. She also regularly appears as speaker in international conferences and arbitration workshops.

Lara is also a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

Othmane Saadani
Counsel- Dispute Resolution Services- ICC MENA, Abu Dhabi

Othmane Saadani is an attorney admitted in New York. He has a dual training in civil law (University Paris Nanterre) and common law (UCLA Law).

Before joining the ICC in June 2022 as Counsel in charge of the MENA case management team, Othmane practiced international arbitration mainly in Morocco where he was associate with Mayer Brown affiliate office in Casablanca (Afrique Advisors) and then founded in 2018 a Casablanca based international arbitration boutique (Saadani & Associates). When he was in private practice Othmane represented private companies, states and state entities in construction and commercial law disputes as well as in investor-state disputes. Othmane has taught international arbitration at the Université Catholique de Lille (France) and he is since 2018 a member of the editorial board of the ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin.

He is fluent in Arabic, French and English.

Sabrina Ainouz
Partner, Squire Patton Boggs, International Dispute Resolution, Member, ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris

Sabrina Aïnouz is a partner in the International Dispute Resolution group of Squire Patton Boggs in Paris. She represents States, state-owned entities and private sector companies in investor-State and commercial arbitrations in a variety of fields, with a focus on oil and gas, mining, construction, telecommunications and general commercial disputes. She has represented clients in arbitrations under all major arbitration rules, including ICC, ICSID, SCC and UNCITRAL rules. She also acts as counsel in proceedings for the enforcement and annulment of international arbitral awards before French courts.

Sabrina is a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, representing Algeria, and an ambassador of the ICC Africa Commission. Since December 2021, Sabrina is also vice-president of the Paris Arbitration Week association.