DLA Piper grows litigation and arbitration team with two key appointments

DLA Piper announced two appointments in its Middle East Litigation and Arbitration team to support an increased level of instructions, notably in the UAE and Qatar. Chris Wilcock joins as Legal Director and Sharif Hamadeh as Legal Consultant, bringing significant experience of construction and infrastructure disputes and international arbitration to the team. 

CHRIS WILCOCK joins from the Abu Dhabi office of Hill International, bringing with him more than 20 years’ experience of working in the construction sector, three of which have been spent in the Middle East. SHARIF HAMADEH joins from Clyde & Co where his practice focused on arbitration and commercial dispute resolution. He has nearly five years’ experience of working in the Middle East. Both will be based in DLA Piper’s Dubai office, working across the Middle  East region as well as Africa and India. Their appointments bring the total team number up to over 40, making it the largest dispute resolution team in the region. 

“For several years now the number of complex, multi-jurisdictional dispute resolution cases in the region has been growing, especially through the increased use of arbitration and growth of the construction sector. These exciting new appointments reflect our growing role as one of the leading firms in the region,” commented Henry Quinlan, Litigation and Arbitration Partner, DLA Piper Middle East. “We’re delighted that Chris and Sharif have joined the team. Chris brings unique insight into the construction sector and Sharif is an English-qualified barrister specialising in commercial disputes. They will be great additions to what is an already strong and highly motivated team.”