Disputes partner Lovett joins Gibson Dunn

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP announced that Graham Lovett will join the Dubai office as a partner. Previously head of Clifford Chance’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice for the Middle East region, Lovett will continue handling litigation, arbitration and regulatory investigation matters.

Lovett’s practice covers a broad range of disputes, including regulatory investigations, arbitration and commercial litigation. He has significant experience in disputes related to fraud, breach of contract, joint ventures, financial services, accounting, insolvency, and construction/infrastructure. His investigations and compliance experience covers issues relating to sanctions, pre-insolvency conduct, fiduciary duties and employment. He also has experience in regulatory and enforcement actions by regulators in the UK, Europe and the Middle East, including actions involving money laundering, insider trading, market manipulation and the alleged misselling of financial products. He sits as an arbitrator in domestic and international arbitrations and has significant experience as an advocate in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court litigation. He is recognised as a top tier disputes resolutions practitioner in Chambers Global and Legal 500.

He is chairman of the DIFC Authority Legislative Committee and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), the Steering Committee for the ICC UAE, the DIFC Courts’ Users’ Committee and the Advisory Board of the IBA Arab Regional Forum. He is a former member of the DIFC’s Arbitration Committee. He also serves as an adviser to the Board of REACH, a not-for-profit established in the Dubai International Financial Centre with the objective of mentoring women in business.

He started his legal career with Clifford Chance in the London office in 1993. After becoming a partner in 2003, he transferred to the Dubai office in 2004 as head of the disputes practice. He also served as the Managing Partner of the Middle East region of Clifford Chance from 2005 to 2014. Lovett was admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales in 1995.

“Graham is a first-class lawyer who has built an impressive reputation for disputes resolution in the Gulf region and beyond,” said Paul Harter, partner in charge of the firm’s Dubai office. “His reputation and relationships will also serve us well as we grow our transactional practice in the Middle East and Asia.”