9 - 13 November 2026
Regional disruption is testing the Gulf’s construction industry like never before. So why is Dubai proving more resilient than many of its neighbours?
Join leading voices from the worlds of economics, development and dispute resolution for a timely discussion on what’s keeping projects moving, supply chains flowing and investor confidence alive amid ongoing regional uncertainty.
Armed conflict leaves investors with real losses and raises a hard question: who bears these losses?
This panel examines how investment arbitration is being used to answer it, and whether it can offer a neutral way to resolving disputes that arise in times of war. Speakers will look at state responsibility and attribution, the difficulty of proving causation when damage results from hostilities, and the protections investors and states rely on, including full protection and security and war-loss clauses.
Moderator: Steven Perian KC (2 King’s Bench Walk)
Speakers:
– Değer Boden (Founding Partner, Boden Law)
– Dr. Faris Nasrallah (Head of Arbitration, Crescent Petroleum)
– Khawar Qureshi KC (Head, McNair International)
– Gustavo Laborde (Founding Partner, Laborde Law)
Agenda:
13:30-14:00 – Lunch: Guests are invited to arrive from 13:30 for a welcome lunch before the event begins.
14:00-15:15 – Panel Discussion: Who bears investor losses in armed conflict? State responsibility, causation and treaty protection, and what arbitration can offer in and after war.
15:15-15:30 – Q&A Session: Following the panel, we will open the floor for a Q&A session where attendees can engage with the panelists and delve deeper into key topics.
15:30-16:30 – Networking coffee: After the formal sessions, join us for a closing reception to network with professionals from the legal, business, and arbitration fields
Mediation is playing an increasingly prominent role in resolving commercial disputes across the region, yet many lawyers remain far more comfortable advocating in an arbitral tribunal or a courtroom than in a mediation room. The skills that win in an adversarial forum — combative framing, positional bargaining, playing every card close to the chest — can actively work against a client in mediation. Effective mediation advocacy requires a different toolkit, and lawyers who master it are able to secure better, faster, and more durable outcomes for their clients.
This seminar is designed for practising lawyers who advise clients in commercial disputes and want to sharpen their mediation advocacy skills. Drawing on real-world examples — including the particularly high-stakes and emotionally complex world of family business disputes — the session will equip attendees with practical, transferable techniques they can apply across their commercial practice.
Topics will include:
The advocate’s role in mediation: how it differs from advocacy in arbitration or litigation, and why the same tactics don’t translate
Preparing clients for mediation: managing expectations, identifying real interests behind stated positions, and building settlement authority
Persuasion techniques for joint sessions and private caucuses
Common tactical errors that stall or derail settlement — and how to avoid them
Case study focus: mediating commercial disputes involving family-owned businesses — where shareholder, governance and succession issues intersect with commercial claims, and where relationships (not just remedies) are often at stake
Practical takeaways lawyers can apply in their next mediation, regardless of sector
Timing:
Registration: 10:30
Panel Discussion: 11:00
Networking & refreshments: 12:15 onwards
Format: Interactive panel discussion with practitioner insights, case study and networking reception.
Chair:
Aseel Zimmo, Mediator
Speakers:
Nicole Buncher, Counsel, Clifford Chance
Christine Maksoud, Mediator
Henrietta Jackson-Stops, Mediator, IPOS Mediation
Walid Chiniaria, Family Business Advisor
Ahmad Chit, Partner, Grant Thornton