Nabeel Ikram

Nabeel serves as Head of International Disputes – MENA.

After qualifying as a lawyer in 2000, he initially focused solely on construction disputes but he also has a flourishing commercial disputes practice. His practice is centred on disputes arising throughout the MENA region (in particular, the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) and he has experience of across a range of governing laws. He has been based in Dubai since 2008, prior to which, he practiced in London.

He regularly represent developers, contractors and consultants on some of the largest projects in the region. These include airports, rail and metro projects, skyscrapers, hospitals, hotels, malls, leisure facilities, stadiums, residential, urban re-development projects, power plants, oil refineries, desalination plants, and renewable energy projects.

His commercial disputes practice encompasses a variety of sectors including banking, energy, leisure, hospitality, health, education, retail, telecoms, insurance and the tech sector. Among others, he has led disputes relating to shareholder agreements, Islamic finance transactions, SPAs, put options, franchise agreements, services agreements, distribution agreements, and commercial real estate transactions.

Most disputes Nabeel leads have International Arbitration as the forum but he also has significant litigation experience (in particular in the English, the DIFC and the ADGM Courts) and had conduct of the first construction case which went to trial before the DIFC Courts and the first ever case before the ADGM Courts. He also has extensive experience of all forms of ADR including mediation which is becoming increasingly popular in the region.

Although best known for his disputes practice he has drafted the contract documentation used by market-leading developers and negotiated construction contracts on their behalf for some of the largest projects in the region. He also acts as project counsel for clients, assisting them with risk management and claims preparation in order to achieve their commercial objectives while avoiding a formal dispute.

Having successfully represented clients on some of the largest and most complicated disputes the region has ever seen, it is little wonder Nabeel is highly regarded by his peers and considered as a leading authority on contentious matters across the Middle East.