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10 - 14 NOVEMBER 2025

Format: In Person

Addressing Disputes on Russian Energy Interests in the Middle East: Practical Strategies for Lawyers and Experts

Russia’s energy sector is critical to global markets, but disputes in this space have grown more complex amid sanctions and shifting geopolitical dynamics.

This panel will explore key legal, contractual, and enforcement challenges in resolving energy disputes involving Russian entities — with practical insights for legal and industry stakeholders.

Speakers:

  • Dmitry Dyakin, Partner, DG Partners
  • Evgeny Raschevsky, Partner, EPAM
  • Faris Nasrallah, Head of Arbitration, Crescent Petroleum
  • Paul Key KC, Essex Court Chambers
  • Rohit Singhal, CEO, Masin
  • Moderator- Himanshu Batra, Associate Partner, Masin

Enforcement of Foreign and Local Interim Orders Made by Arbitral Tribunals or by Courts in Support of Arbitration Proceedings – A Comparison between the Practice of the DIFC Courts and Onshore UAE Courts

This panel will explore the enforcement of foreign and local interim orders in arbitration, comparing approaches of the DIFC Courts and onshore UAE Courts. Expect sharp insights and practical takeaways from leading practitioners at NHB Legal, Serle Court Chambers, and Simmons & Simmons LLP, followed by a networking reception over drinks.

What Arbitrators Wish In-House Counsel Knew

Join Reed Smith for a rare opportunity for in-house counsel to hear directly from seasoned arbitrators in the Middle East about the inner workings of tribunals. This session offers a behind-the-scenes look at what influences arbitral decision-making – beyond the legal arguments. With a focus on how in-house strategy, coordination, and communication shape the outcome of cases, the panel will shed light on the most common pitfalls and overlooked opportunities from the tribunal’s perspective.

Topics will include:

  • Behind-the-scenes perspectives on advocacy and credibility:
  • Arbitrators discuss what makes a party’s position persuasive, and how procedural conduct influences decision-making.
  • What frustrates tribunals:
  • Overly aggressive tactics by counsel
  • Incoherent presentation of arguments, repetition, and excessive length of submissions
  • Poor organisation of documents and evidence
  • Underprepared or overly coached witnesses
  • Inconsistent messaging or delayed decisions
  • Failure to tailor submissions to the tribunal
  • How to brief external counsel more effectively:
  • What to prioritise internally before external instructions are issued
  • How to handle weaknesses in the case
  • How to present the case file coherently and strategically
  • Managing privilege and document flow without chaos
  • The panel discussion will be followed by a series of rapid-fire mini debates, each exploring both sides of key questions that often divide counsel and tribunals:
  • Does aggressive advocacy help or hinder a party’s credibility?
  • Can the testimony of fact witnesses meaningfully influence the tribunal’s final decision?
  • Do dilatory or guerrilla tactics ever produce strategic advantages—or do they backfire?

EU Law and International Arbitration in Focus: Overview of 2025 Developments

The event is a continuation of a series of events at 2024 Dubai Arbitration Week, where the experts of LGP, together with a group of fellow practitioners, discussed main takeaways of 2024 from the field of sanctions in EU, Switzerland, UK, US.

This year, the focus of the panel is arbitration, investment and commercial, including the following issues:

  • 18th EU sanctions package, as well as previous EU sanctions regulations’ impact on arbitration, investment and commercial.
  • 2025 court practice of CJEU and national courts of EU Member States, new requests for preliminary ruling to CJEU, (non)-recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in sanctions disputes.
  • 2025 updates in intra-EU BIT arbitrations, inter alia anti-arbitration injunctions, resistance to enforcement of the intra-EU BIT awards, infringement proceedings against EU Member States.

Developments in Arbitration in 2025: Regional and Global Perspectives.

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer’s disputes teams invite you to join our dynamic speed-networking format during Dubai Arbitration Week. Building on the positive feedback from last year, we will examine key trends shaping the regional arbitration landscape in 2025, offering insights from our regional and international lawyers.

Participants will move around small group discussions led by our senior lawyers. This format provides a unique opportunity to connect with peers and contribute to conversations around the issues that matter most in arbitration today.

What lies beneath the surface of AI and the other technology that is changing our lives?

Join our experienced panel for a discussion on the disputes that arise when constructing and operating the infrastructure and energy that enables the technology that we rely on every day – the data centres, physical networks and IT systems, and the energy sources that power them. The panel will also examine the key regulatory and compliance risks that arise for technology providers and end-users that relate to the information flows enabled by this infrastructure under UAE law, including the UAE Cybercrime law.

AI’m Loving It

Innovation isn’t coming, it’s already here, and AI is changing the game faster than ever. This conversation brings together leaders at the forefront of the transformation to unpack what’s really happening behind the buzz. From cutting-edge developments in agentic AI to the real challenges and opportunities shaping firms, corporates, and institutions, this is where theory meets practice. If you want straight answers to the questions keeping you up at night and a clear view of what’s next, this is the session to join.

ICC YAAF: How to Get Appointed – And Win as Arbitration Counsel

4:00–4:05 pm – Welcome remarks – Sherif Akl, ICC MENA Regional Director and Zeina Obeid, ICC YAAF Dubai

4:05–4:15 pm – Keynote speech – Ahmed Ibrahim, Independent Arbitrator, Ibrahim ADR

4:15–5:00 pm – Panel discussion 1: Breaking In: Strategies for Securing Counsel Appointments

5:00–5:15 pm – Coffee break

5:15–6:00 pm – Panel discussion 2: Winning at the Table: Excellence in Arbitration Advocacy

6:00–6:05 pm – Closing remarks

6:05–7:00 pm – Drinks and canapés

Keynote speech – Ahmed Ibrahim, Independent Arbitrator, Ibrahim ADR

Panel discussion 1: Breaking In: Strategies for Securing Counsel Appointments

Moderator: May Khoury, Counsel at Chaffetz Lindsey LLP, New York

Panelists:

  1. Nasser Al Habsi, Partner, Addleshaw Goddard, Oman
  2. Eziz Allamov , VP legal, Aldar, Abu Dhabi, UAE
  3. Alexander Leventhal, Partner, Quinn Emanuel, Paris, France
  4. Ais Lidzhanova, Partner, Head of Dubai Office , TA Advisory, Dubai, UAE
  5. Baptiste Rigaudeau, Partner, Lead up Avocats, Paris

 

Panel Discussion 2: Winning at the Table: Excellence in Arbitration Advocacy

Moderator: Malak Nasreddine, Associate, Al Tamimi & Company, Dubai, UAE, ICC YAAF for Abu Dhabi

Panelists:

  1. Divyam Agarwal, Partner, JSA, New Delhi, India
  2. Sana Belaïd, Arbitrator & Mediator, Belaid Advisory & Management Consulting, Dubai UAE
  3. Ramy Chahine, Partner, Meltem Avocats, Marseilles, France
  4. Laetitia Rabbat, Deputy Counsel, ICC, Abu Dhabi
  5. Serena Salem, Counsel, DLA Piper, Paris

Closing Remarks: Zeina Obeid, Partner, Obeid & Partners, ICC YAAF Dubai