Benjamin Filaferro

Managing Director, LexisNexis Middle East & North Africa

As Managing Director – MENA, BENJAMIN FILAFERRO oversees LexisNexis’ activities in the Middle East and North Africa region. Prior to joining LexisNexis, Benjamin set up the Key Account Management teams of two start-ups providing B2B SaaS solutions. Earlier in his career, he was a strategy consultant leading the delivery of large marketing initiatives and customer-centric programs in the Middle East and North Africa region. Benjamin earned an Executive MBA from ESCP Europe and received a Master of Science degree in engineering from Arts et Métiers ParisTech.

Jarrah Al-Fouzan

Senior Partner, Al-Yaqout and Al-Fouzan Legal Group

JARRAH AL-FOUZAN is an attorney at law and a partner at Al-Yaqout and Al-Fouzan Legal Group in Kuwait. He has vast knowledge about the local laws, investment law, governmental procedures, real estate laws, and Islamic finance along with immense litigation experience.

Dr. Ahmed Ali Al-Kudair

Faculty member in the Private Law Department at the College of Law at Kuwait University

Dr. Ahmed Al-Khudair held many positions in various sectors in the State of Kuwait. He worked in the military sector at the Ministry of Interior, reaching the rank of captain in November 2010, then moved to work as an investigator in the General Department of Investigations at the Ministry of Interior until September 2012. After that, he moved to the academic sector and currently holds the position of a faculty member in the Private Law Department at the College of Law at Kuwait University. He was also one of the members member of the legal team to prepare the executive regulations for Law No. 125 of 2019 regarding the regulation of insurance.

Huda Al-Sawan

Chancellor, Department of Legal Advice & Legislation, Council of Ministers (Fatwa and Legislation)

HUDA AL-SAWAN has been in the Fatwa and Legislation Department since 1993, holding several positions, including a lawyer and the undersecretary of the administration under decrees. She currently holds the position of technical supervisor for the Fatwa Sector in the Fatwa and Legislation Department, where she specialises in all projects within the public-private partnership (PPP) system.

Huda holds a Master’s degree in Public Law from the University of Strasbourg and a Bachelor of Law from Kuwait University. She also has several diplomas from numerous accredited institutions.

Edward Butler

Partner, Hamad Al Sharji Peter Mansour & Co

EDWARD BUTLER specialises in Construction & Engineering Law and Arbitration. He has extensive dispute resolution experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors, including roads, ports, tunnels, airports, metro projects, power stations, water and wastewater projects, FPSOs and pipelines, and prestigious hotel and residential developments.

Edward leads teams in significant arbitrations and litigation. He is a Solicitor Advocate with Higher Rights of Audience. He regularly acts as counsel and co-counsel in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations under LCIA, ICC and UNCITRAL rules. He is also a Board Member of the Omani British Lawyers Association (OBLA). Edward was recently ranked in Chambers & Partners for his work in Dispute Resolution in Oman.

Said Al Shahry

Founder and Managing Partner, Said Al Shahry & Partners (SASLO)

Said Al-Shahry is Founder and Managing Partner of SASLO. He is also an active member of SASLO’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Team.

He has over 30 years of experiences as both legal advisor and an advocate at all courts throughout Oman at the primary and appellate levels, including before the Supreme Court. He has significant experience in dealing with “high-profile” cases representing various clients, including Government-owned entities as well as local and international corporates.

He is expert in handling complex disputes across a range of sectors and is well-known in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, with particular expertise in construction arbitration. He has guided clients through effective arbitrations, mediations and administrative hearings, achieved numerous court case victories and negotiated many favorable settlements.

Due to his vast knowledge of Oman’s judicial system, Said participated, as an expert advisor, in preparation of various laws and government regulations and drafting Royal Decrees and ministerial decisions, such as the Tender Law, Law of Commerce and the Electronic Transactions Law.

Mr. Al Shahry delivers lectures and participates extensively in conferences and training courses relating to the development and reform of laws in the Arab word. He has also been involved extensively with the development of the practice and the profession of advocacy inside the Sultanate of Oman and the GCC region.

Prior to starting his own practice in 1992, Said held the post of Director of the Legal Department at the Ministry of Oil and Minerals. He served as a Member of the Majlis Al-Shura, the elected chamber of the Omani parliament, representing Salalah, the capital city of Dhofar Governorate from 2003 till 2007. He has also several contributions in the public field such as memberships of the Omanisation committee, Unified Admission Center and the Consumer Protection Committee.

Omar Al Hashmi

Founding Partner, Al Hashmi Law

Omar Al Hashmi is an accomplished bilingual lawyer proficient in Arabic and English and is qualified in Oman.  His in-depth legal experience involves advising on a broad spectrum of contentious and non-contentious matters in all specialties for Omani and international clients.

He manages a strong team of legal professionals from different countries and has developed a strong legal network across the world with affiliations and work associations with several leading law firms, through which he provides expert legal services to his clients located in different parts of the world.

His office provides a full range of legal services, including corporate, commercial, dispute resolution (arbitration, mediation and local and international litigation) besides real estate, construction, tax, etc.

Ahmed Al Abri

Partner, Head of Insurance Law Practice and Head of Tax Practice, S&A Law Firm

Ahmed is a Founding Partner of S&A Law Firm, having qualified as an advocate in 2009.

Ahmed has acted for clients in numerous sectors such as energy, insurance and telecommunications and he has also represented clients in employment and partnership disputes. He is licensed to appear before the Courts of Appeal.

He leads the Firm’s tax practice, which is primarily a contentious practice, and the insurance practice.

Ahmed is the Firm’s Compliance Officer.

Abdullah Al Nabhani

Partner, Head of Criminal Law Practice and Head of Employment Law Practice, S&A Law Firm

Abdullah qualified as a lawyer in 2008 and subsequently worked with two global firms before establishing S&A Law Firm.

Abdullah is primarily a litigator; however, he also has experience in the corporate, consumer protection and property sectors (including integrated tourism complexes – ITCs), and he leads the Firm’s criminal law and employment law practices. His litigation practice includes construction, partnership, corporate, employment, consumer protection and property disputes.

He also has significant arbitration expertise and recently he acted for a client in the construction sector and was successful in cancelling an arbitration award against his client for an amount in excess of USD 54 million.

Abdullah is the Firm’s HR Partner.

Ali Al Rashdi

Partner, Head of Dispute Resolution Practice and Head of Maritime Law Practice, S & A Law Firm

Ali qualified as an attorney in 2006 and for the past 15 years he has gained extensive experience as a dispute resolution lawyer dealing with claims in the construction and maritime sectors and employment and shareholder disputes.

Ali also has significant experience advising clients in complex criminal cases involving issues ranging from alleged corruption to fraud.

Also Ali has advised and represented numerous clients in the maritime sector and in particular he has been involved in ship arrests, claims for negligence involving damage to port infrastructure and acting for the P&I Clubs and other insurers of ships and cargoes.

He has a growing reputation in the field of arbitration, acting both as a legal advisor and arbitrator.

Prior to founding S&A Law Firm, Ali worked as a senior associate at two global law firms in Oman from 2006 until August 2019.

Ali leads the Firm’s Dispute Resolution and Maritime Practices.