Alain Farhad
United Arab Emirates
Mayer Brown
Dubai International Finance Centre
Floor 11, Office 1108
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 4 568 4950
Email:
afarhad@mayerbrown.com
Web:
www.mayerbrown.com
Alain Farhad is a partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice and head of the dispute resolution practice in the United Arab Emirates.
He acts as legal counsel or as an arbitrator in international arbitration proceedings arising out of commercial contracts, construction projects or investment protection treaties.
He has experience in resolving disputes relating to many different business sectors, with a focus on the oil and gas, infrastructure, trading and real estate industries. He has also represented a number of governments, as well as state-owned entities in commercial or investment treaty disputes. Alain has been based in Dubai since January 2011. Prior to relocating to the Middle East, he practised international arbitration in Paris. He is a French qualified Avocat à la Cour and a member of the New York Bar. He holds law degrees from Paris Sorbonne University and Cornell Law School.
Alain has been appointed to serve as a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the ICC UAE Arbitration Commission. He is regularly invited to speak at a variety of international arbitration conferences globally.
In 2021, the Legal 500 EMEA described Alain as “exceptionally competent and knowledgeable on disputes concerning construction and wider commercial issues” and “a standout individual who is a true expert in international arbitration”, whilst the 2022 guide quoted “Alain Farhad is one of the leading arbitration lawyers in the Dubai market. He has great technical expertise both from common law and civil law perspectives having qualified in both New York and Paris. He is clever and highly strategic in his thinking.”
Arbitration has become the most widely utilized means of resolving international disputes. Mayer Brown’s global team of international arbitration lawyers has a wealth of experience representing clients in arbitration matters. Our lawyers have acted in many of the world’s largest and most complex international arbitrations, including numerous commercial and investment treaty disputes worth many billions of dollars to our clients.
Our more than 80 arbitration lawyers are based in the key global arbitral centers including New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Beijing and Hong Kong. We have the geographical reach, cultural diversity and language skills to handle complex cases, where the majority of our lawyers are multi-lingual and are able to efficiently prepare bilingual documents. These include lawyers fluent in Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Danish, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hakka, Hebrew, Korean, Malay, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish and Ukrainian. We represent many of the largest corporations, partnerships, financial institutions, insurers and governmental entities before the world’s main international arbitration bodies, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre, as well as in ad hoc proceedings under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and other arbitral rules.
We are ranked in Global Arbitration Review 100, a guide to global specialist arbitration law firms, Legal 500 USA and Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and have a number of lawyers recognized in prestigious legal publications, including Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Who’s Who in International Arbitration.
With extensive reach across four continents, we are the only integrated law firm in the world with approximately 200 lawyers in each of the world’s three largest financial centers—New York, London and Hong Kong—the backbone of the global economy.
We have deep experience in high-stakes litigation and complex transactions across industry sectors, including our signature strength, the global financial services industry.
Our diverse teams of lawyers are recognized by our clients as strategic partners with deep commercial instincts and a commitment to creatively anticipating their needs and delivering excellence in everything we do.
Our “one-firm” culture—seamless and integrated across all practices and regions—ensures that our clients receive the best of our knowledge and experience.
“Alain Farhad has a strong focus on international arbitration and he is well accustomed to representing clients hailing from the construction, energy and real estate sectors. Based in Dubai, he heads the UAE disputes practice at Mayer Brown.”