Bashir Ahmed

Managing Partner, Afridi & Angell

Bashir is the managing partner of Afridi & Angell. He joined the firm in 1988 and became a partner in 1993. He advises clients on cross-border acquisitions and divestments, general corporate and commercial, private equity, banking, licensing and maritime matters.

Bashir has extensive experience in domestic and cross-border acquisitions where he advises buyers and sellers on the due diligence process, the deal structuring, and drafting of agreements in connections with acquiring and divesting of share interest in the UAE. He also advises international and domestic banks on a wide range of matters including loan and credit facilities, syndications and regulatory matters. He was seconded to the regional office of an international bank for a period of 18 months, and acted as counsel for the Middle East and South Asia operations.

Bashir has also advised on a number of mining, refinery and smelter projects as well as infrastructure projects. His maritime practice involves advising ship owners and P&I Clubs, dry docks and a number of ship repair companies on shipbuilding contracts, arrest of vessels, cargo claims, as well as advising on disputes. He represents a number of banks on ship financing transactions.

Justin Whelan

Partner, HFW

Justin leads our dedicated Middle East cyber and data privacy team. He is experienced in cyber-related claims and has spoken widely on cyber security, cyber insurance and data privacy to numerous risk carriers, policyholders and industry experts across the region and in the UK. Our Middle East cyber/data offering draws on the extensive skills and experience of our lawyers across our different sector groups and regional offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, KSA and Kuwait.

Adnan Mohammed Abul

Vice Chairman, Kuwait Bar Association and the Kuwait Association for Protecting Public

ADNAN MOHAMMED ABUL is currently the Vice Chairman of the Kuwait Bar Association and the Kuwait Association for Protecting Public Funds. He received his LLB Law Degree from Kuwait University in 2007. He is also licensed to appear before the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation. Adnan is a registered arbitrator in the Arbitration Center at the Kuwait Bar Association and the National Sports Arbitration Tribunal. He is also a member of Association Internationale des Avocats du Football (AIAF).

Dr. Mounirah Al-Namash

Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Law and College of Law, Kuwait University

DR. MOUNIRA AL-NAMASH is an Assistant Professor in the General Law Department at Kuwait University. Her specialisation is in Administrative and Constitutional Law. Dr. Al-Namash received her bachelor’s degree in Law from Kuwait University in 2007. She then went onto earn her Master of Public Law from Kuwait University in 2011, and the University of Lorraine in 2014. She earned her Doctorate in Administrative Public Law from the University of Lorraine. Prior to her current work, Dr. Al-Namash served as a legal researcher and an associate legal auditor.

Dr. Sami Al Hathal Al-Anzy

Assistant Professor of Civil Law, College of Business Studies, Public Authority for Applied Education

DR. SAMI AL-HATHAL AL-ANZY is an Assistant Professor of Civil Law at the College of Business at Public Authority for Applied Education. Previously, he worked with the Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority in Kuwait (CITRA) from 2017- 2021, providing legal support and advice in areas such as Telecommunications, E-Commerce, Information Security, Data Protection, Cloud Computing, and Domain Names. During his time at CITRA, he aided negotiations with corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft, Ali Baba, and Raytheon.

Dr. Al-Hathal Al-Anzy received his LLB from Kuwait University in 1996 and was admitted to the Kuwait Bar the same year. From there, he began practicing with a specialisation in Contract Law, Commercial Law, Corporate Law, IPR’S, Telecommunications Law, and IT Law. In 2001, he received his LLM degree from Strathclyde University in the United Kingdom. Between 2002-2006, he was the IPR Manager for the Gulf Region at Microsoft Gulf. In 2014, Dr. Al-Hathal Al-Anzy received his Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow.

Dr. Yousef Al-Sulaili

Partner and Head of Arbitration Department, Al-Yaqout and Al-Fouzan Legal Group

DR. YOUSEF AL-SULAILI currently serves as Partner and Head of Arbitration Department at Al-Yaqout and Al-Fouzan Legal Group. Previously, he was a member of the Board of Directors at Ooredoo and a Faculty Member of Kuwait University, with a specialisation in Civil and Commercial Law Pleadings. He was also a Faculty Member at the Kuwait International Law College in the Department of Private Law and a member of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Center for Commercial Arbitration.

In 1994, Dr. Al-Sulaili received his bachelor’s degree in Law from Kuwait University. He then earned his master’s degree in Law from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. In 2003, he received his Doctor of Law from the University of Glasgow. Dr. Al-Sulaili’s main specialisation is arbitration and he became a registered arbitrator at the Arbitration Center of the Kuwait Bar Association in 2007, and for the GCC Arbitration Center in 2013.

Abdullah Al-Terkait

Manager of the Listed Companies Supervision Division – Capital Markets Authority (CMA) / FinTech Project Manager

ABDULLAH KHALED AL-TERKAIT is a Division Manager and is currently managing the CMA Fintech Project as well as Implementation of XBRL in CMA. Abdullah has over thirteen years of experience, forming a specialty in risk-based supervision frameworks and local implementation of the Basel and IFRS Accords. Having received his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Kuwait University, Abdullah has worked in many important positions prior to his current occupation. He has previously worked for the Central Bank of Kuwait as a Financial Analyst, playing a key role in the development of a risk assessment model for banks. He is also a member of the groups XBRL International as a Direct Member Representative and the IOSCO Fintech Network.

Abdullah Albaker

Founder & CEO, Al Baker & Associates Law Firm

ABDULLAH AL-BAKER started his legal career more than eighteen years ago as a trainee within the Loyac training program. He completed his legal training at the law office of Meshari Al Ghazali. Upon his graduation from Kuwait University, he became a registered lawyer at the Kuwaiti Lawyers Association and continued working at Al Ghazali firm until founding Al Baker & Associates.

As part of his arbitration practice, he acted as an Arbitrator in front of the Commercial Arbitration Center and the National Sports Arbitration Tribunal (NSAT). Furthermore, he is also a registered arbitrator with the right to appear in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). He has held Arbitration courses in front of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and served as a board member of the Sports Arbitration Center, Kuwaiti Lawyers Association, for three years.

Abdullah has served his role as an arbitrator in front of the National Court of Arbitration (NCAS) as well as the Kuwaiti Lawyers Arbitration Center. He also held the title of General Secretary of the Kuwait Association for Protecting Public Funds (KAPPF).

Dr. Saleh A. Al-Aqely

Deputy Director General, Support Programs & Functions, Kuwait Foundation for Advancement in Science (KFAS)

Dr. Saleh A. Al-Aqely is the Deputy Director for the General Support Programs and Functions at the Kuwait Foundation for Advancement in Science. Dr. Al-Aqely received his J.S.D. in Public Law from the University of California at Berkeley in 2010. Prior to his current work, Dr. Al-Aqely served as an assistant undersecretary for the Companies Affairs & Commercial Licensing Sector at the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. He also worked as a Professor at Kuwait University. Dr. Al-Aqely is also a former member of the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Public Authority for Industry, and the Permanent Committee for the Improvement of Work Environment and Competitiveness, Mandated to Improve the Ranking of Kuwait in the World Bank Index “Ease of Doing Business”.

Dr. Mohammad Al-Wasmi

Assistant Professor of Commercial Law at the College of Law, Kuwait University

DR. MOHAMMAD AL-WASMI is an assistant professor of Commercial Law at the College of Law, Kuwait University. Prior to joining Kuwait University, he held a position at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation for three years. Dr. Al-Wasmi holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Law from Brunel University in the UK. He has attended the Global Governance Forum as well as a discussion seminar on the Kuwaiti Capital Markets Law, organised by Kuwait University.

Dr. Al-Wasmi has conducted various research, including a comparative analytical study on Non-profit companies, published in the Journal of Legal and Economic Research. His other work on the Maritime transport contract was also issued in the Journal of Legal Studies. Moreover, his research on Financial Crisis and Islamic Finance was published in the International Journal for The Semiotics of Law. His publication explaining the Kuwaiti Maritime Trade Law was issued in 2017, in partnership with Prof. AbdelFadil Mohamed Ahmed and d. Ahmed Hamad Al-Rashoud.