Amir Ghaffari inaugurates disputes boutique

Amir Ghaffari inaugurates disputes boutique

A new firm will specialize in international arbitration and dispute resolution in the Middle East and North Africa, according to Ghaffari Partners

In an effort to launch his own disputes practice, Amir Ghaffari, former managing partner of Vinson & Elkins in Dubai, has left the firm with his five-strong team.

As a global provider of high-end international arbitration and dispute resolution services, Ghaffari Partners will focus on clientele primarily from the Middle East and North Africa region.

Among his colleagues Ghaffari led the principal role along with counsel Zoya Bozhko and Emily Beirne, associate Louise Willneff, Laura Roberts, senior case manager and Leanne Stephen, the director of administration.

A former partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) legacy firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, Ghaffari joined Vinson in London followed by a relocation to Dubai in 2017. There he served as the firm's Middle East head of disputes, besides his office management duties. In December, 2021, he left the company.

In the United Arab Emirates, Ghaffari is qualified as an advocate of the DIFC Courts and a solicitor-advocate in England and Wales. Over 100 international commercial arbitrations across the major arbitral institutions have been handled by him in London, Dubai and Paris.

Besides his broad commercial experience, he specializes in construction arbitration, particularly in large, complex and valuable disputes involving infrastructure, energy, and construction. Contractors, developers, and owners of projects as well as EPC and EPCM contractors, architects, engineers and equipment suppliers, insurers and subcontractors comprise our client base.

He regularly represents clients before the Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and has handled disputes with the former DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre and other regional institutions, as well as conducting litigation in London and Paris.

Furthermore, Ghaffari is an arbitrator who has been appointed by the ICC, LCIA and DIFC-LCIA more than 30 times. As a former chair of the Young Members Group of the London Court of International Arbitration, as well as the ICC, he has been active in the international arbitration community.

In a period when Dubai's arbitral institutions are undergoing a period of reform and change, he is invited to be a member of the DIFC Court's arbitration working group.

"Throughout my career, I and my team have advised on some of the most complex international disputes and we strive to provide the best and most detail-oriented service possible. The new venture presents us with an opportunity to create a new model for providing legal services," mentioned Ghaffari.

Ghaffari explained that the new firm would focus on agility and innovation that was "difficult to provide in big law" to compliment high-quality client service, which he attributed to the firm's working practices, talent and technologies.

"[Clients] are increasingly looking for firms that minimize conflicts of interest and are more flexible with pricing," he continued. "We can able to meet those needs."

Raza Mithani, a former member of BCLP's Dubai office, opened his own specialist disputes and investigations firm, Conselis Law in January 2022. In June 2020, Mat Heywood, another ex-Clyde & Co construction partner, opened in Abu Dhabi dispute resolution boutique Mantle Law, which established a London office in November, 2021.

In the meantime, Vinson & Elkins is rumoured to be looking to expand its Dubai subsidiary. Rob Downey and Angus Rankin were recently hired from Hogan Lovells by the Houston-based firm in October 2021. The construction and energy infrastructure attorneys have handled significant projects across the Middle East, Latin America and the United Kingdom.

After closing its Beijing office earlier in the year, the company closed its Hong Kong office in December 2021.