Karen Mills

KarimSyah is universally recognized as Indonesia’s undisputed leading firm in domestic and international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. Karen Mills was the first, and remains the primary, practitioner of international arbitration in the country, invariably noted as one of Asia’s most “sought-after” arbitrators in Asia. She established Indonesia’s Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) over 20 years ago and remains their primary advisor, while she sits as arbitrator all over the region and also serves as counsel, both for the government and for private entities in many arbitrations in Indonesia and internationally. The late Iswahjudi Karim and Firmansyah also frequently serve(d) as arbitrator or   counsel in domestic cases, and Mr. Karim  established and lead some of the industry-specific finance-based dispute resolution institutions in Indonesia.  Partner Mirza Karim is the nation’s leading practitioner in Islamic Finance.  All frequently teach dispute resolution and other matters at a number of universities and private or CIArb courses in Indonesia.

Annually, we are ranked by just about every professional rating organisation as Indonesia’s dispute resolution firm of the year. KarimSyah has successfully represented the Indonesian government in several investor-state arbitrations, including one of the only cases ever brought by a government against an investor. We also often handle all nature of private commercial cases before all arbitral institutions and ad hoc under UNCITRAL Rules.

KarimSyah also specializes in other forms of alternative dispute resolution, such as negotiation, mediation, and adjudication, and Firmansyah was instrumental in drafting Indonesia’s user-friendly mediation legislation.

KarimSyah Law Firm was established in 1997 as one of very few Indonesian firms with both transactional and contentious practices, and has quickly become recognized as one of Indonesia’s premier law firms, in particular with respect to international dispute resolution.

KarimSyah is universally recognized as Indonesia’s market leader in dispute resolution, financing, and resources. Areas of specialisation on the transactional side include oil and gas, energy, mining and infrastructure matters, insurance, all manner of financing and restructuring, including Islamic financing and capital markets, information technology, land transactions, bankruptcy, joint ventures and other cross-border transactions and business structures, mergers and acquisition, and foreign and domestic investments. On the contentious side, the firm handles commercial litigation and both local and international arbitration and mediation, with unique specialisations in medical malpractice defense and aviation disaster settlements.

KarimSyah’s lawyers are qualified in both civil and common law, with long experience representing foreign companies doing business in Indonesia, and vice versa, and are well attuned to the cultural nuances necessary to make cross-border relationships succeed. Our lawyers use their legal skills and knowledge of Indonesian business practices to arrive at a customised legal solution for each client. Working as a team, both internally and together with external financial and other support-service organisations, KarimSyah can lead the client through all aspects of its transaction of business.