Salma Achour Khouaja

SALMA ACHOUR KHOUAJA

Senior Associate | HFW

Salma is a Senior Associate in the Dubai insurance and reinsurance team. She joined HFW as an Associate in the Dubai office in January 2016.

Before that, in 2012, Salma joined the legal and compliance department of a leading Abu Dhabi based national insurance company and gained significant experience working with Underwriting, Risk Management and Claims departments. She understands client’s expectations and needs.

Salma has completed a masters degree in professional liability insurance and has extensive experience in professionals liabilities insurance including medical malpractice and professional indemnity claims.

As well as handling litigation, coverage, regulatory and commercial matters, her duties also included participating in the Abu Dhabi Department of Health (previously HAAD) project for the standardisation of the group medical insurance policy. Salma worked also on a project of standardisation of the Arabic version of insurance policies for a leading Dubai based insurance company.

Salma’s practice focuses on insurance/re-insurance litigation, including subrogation/recovery claims, defence work, coverage disputes, civil and commercial litigation.

John Barlow

JOHN BARLOW

Partner | HFW

John heads the Middle East Financial Institutions and Regulatory Practice at HFW.

John advises banks, insurers and reinsurers of Financial Institutions in connection with their fidelity, computer crime, D&O, PI/Civil Liability and cyber liability programmes, and on claims that arise under these products. John has handled and settled many of the most significant global claims to find their way into the London insurance and reinsurance market over the last two decades.

As part of his practice, John advises the broad swathe of financial institutions, insurers and brokers in the Middle East region on all regulatory issues.

As head of HFW’s regulatory practice in Dubai, John assists insurers, brokers and MGAs wishing to establish a presence on the DIFC platform and in the broader region. John and his team’s work includes advising on set-ups and compliance and guides clients from the initial approach to the relevant regulatory authority (in whichever jurisdiction) to the obtaining of the required licence. John advises also on the selling of financial products, admission of insurers and the dealing of sophisticated financial instruments.

Philip Punwar

PHILIP PUNWAR

Independent Arbitrator | Outer Temple Chambers

Philip Punwar is an English qualified practitioner with more than twenty-five years’ arbitration experience.

His recent arbitral engagements have concerned real-estate Mega Projects in the Gulf, investment treaty claims arising out of the MENA and South Asia regions, aircraft charter agreements, concession agreements in the water sector and technology disputes in the finance and healthcare sectors.

Philip has appeared as counsel before all levels of court in England and the Dubai International Financial Centre, up to and including the Courts of Appeal of each jurisdiction. He was the first practitioner resident in the UAE to be registered as a DIFC Courts advocate, and the first DIFC Courts practitioner to be appointed by the DIFC Courts to the role of Supervising Legal Representative (SLR).

He was an International Dispute Resolution Partner at both Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (2009-2013) and Baker Botts LLP (2013 – 2022).

Philip has significant experience of the laws and practices of both civil and common law jurisdictions gained as counsel and arbitrator in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has a proven ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and when necessary to assemble and lead interdisciplinary teams of geographically dispersed professionals in the prosecution and defence of complex and high value disputes.

He is a member of the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) Panel of Arbitrators, the Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) Panel of Arbitrators and the International Panel of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA).

Peter Smith

PETER SMITH

Legal Director | Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

Peter is a Legal Director at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP based in the firm’s Dubai office.

Peter is barrister with experience of a wide range of civil and commercial disputes and sectors, including
arbitration, banking and finance, company, employment, insurance, insolvency, media, real estate, technology
and construction, and professional negligence.

In the Legal 500 (UAE Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and International Litigation), Peter was recommended as a
‘Rising Star’ in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and was described as “notable” in 2019. He was included in the
inaugural Legal 500 Arbitration Powerlist Middle East in 2022 and again in 2023.

Peter is admitted to practise in England and Wales (barrister), Dubai International Financial Centre (Part 1 and
Part 2 registered), and the Emirate of Dubai. He has appeared before the ADGM Court of First Instance and has
rights of audience at the Astana International Financial Centre Court (2019).

Miranda Fisher

Partner, Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

 

Miranda Fisher has been a specialist family lawyer for over 20 years. She is Head of the Charles Russell Speechlys Family Law practice and focuses primarily on international clients from across the Middle East, United States of America and East/Western Europe. She is a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL). She is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers and the Legal 500, and as one of the Spear’s 500 Top Flight family lawyers in the UK.  She won Family Lawyer of the Year at the Spear’s Awards in 2018.

Miranda is experienced in international family law cases involving financial issues and the relocation of/arrangements for children, applications to the English Court for financial settlement following divorce proceedings overseas, and jurisdiction disputes. Her financial cases often involve trusts, inherited wealth, family businesses, offshore asset structures, and the protection of family wealth through pre/post nuptial agreements.

 

Chambers UK comments that Miranda Fisher is held in high esteem for her specialism in high net worth cases involving the Middle East. One source says Fisher is “incredibly bright; she knows her law, but more importantly she has an incredibly nice manner and can make anyone feel at ease very quickly.”

Nima Moshggoo

Associate, Al Tamimi & Co

Nima has 9 years of experience advising on general corporate matters in the United States and the United Arab Emirates.  He has particular expertise in matters related to estate planning and trust structures, in particular wills-related matters, for non-Muslim clients at DIFC.

Nima also specializes on US Immigration laws and regulations.

Prior to joining Al Tamimi he was working for an immigration law firm in New York City for over 3 years and before that he was working for a general practice law firm in Dubai advising and attending clients in corporate matters as a whole, as well as all aspects of DIFC Wills and Probate. Nima also assisted the firm in representing clients in arbitration and litigation matters before DIFC courts. Nima is a Will practitioner on the DIFC Wills Draftsmen Register.

Izabella Szadkowska

Partner, Al Tamimi  & Co

Izabella is a Partner in the Corporate Structuring team and specialises in corporate and commercial work, particularly in foreign investment regime, cross-border corporate and regulatory structure design and implementation, capital restructuring work and trust structures advice and assistance.

Izabella’s areas of practice also include economic substance, ultimate/ real beneficial ownership assessment and advice, business formation and corporate services under law of the Dubai International Financial Centre. Her expertise also extends to providing day-to-day legal advice on matters of corporate commercial nature to corporate clients, particularly family businesses, as well as M&A transactions assistance and equity capital markets.

Prior to joining Al Tamimi, Izabella trained at Linklaters LLP and practiced at Clifford Chance LLP and White & Case LLP. She combines private practice and in-house experience, having acted as Head of Group Legal Department for a major UAE conglomerate, Al Rostamani Group.

Chatura Randeniya

Partner, Afridi & Angell

Chatura is a partner in the dispute resolution practice of Afridi & Angell. He is experienced in both institutional (i.e. DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, ADCCAC, ICC) and ad hoc arbitrations seated in civil and common law jurisdictions. In addition to representing clients in arbitration, he also sits as an arbitrator.

In litigation, Chatura works with local advocates on matters before the UAE Federal Courts, including the Federal Supreme Court in matters of national security.

Chatura regularly acts for clients in high value disputes in construction, maritime and shipping, banking, and employment, as well as in complex disputes relating to commercial transactions. Most of his work has a strong cross-border element. He is a regular speaker at workshops and conferences on dispute resolution in the UAE and is a regular contributor to publications on arbitration and dispute resolution in the UAE.

He has been practising in the UAE since 2008, shortly after completing his postgraduate studies at Harvard Law School under a Fulbright Scholarship. Prior to joining Afridi & Angell in 2008, Chatura was in the private bar of Sri Lanka practicing in the Law Chambers of Dr Harsha Cabral, President’s Counsel.  He was also a visiting lecturer in law at the Faculties of Law and Management at the University of Colombo.

Chatura is recommended and ranked as a practitioner in dispute resolution in Chambers Global and Legal 500 EMEA, and recognized as a leading practitioner in the MENA region by Asian Legal Business (a Thompson Reuters company).