Gibson Dunn hires Dubai international arbitration attorney

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP has announced that KIRSTEN O’CONNELL has joined the firm’s Dubai office as an international arbitration associate. A US qualified attorney, she was previously with WilmerHale’s international arbitration group, based in the London office. 

O’Connell is a specialist in international commercial arbitration and international litigation. She has acted in cases under ICC, HKIAC, LCIA and UNCITRAL rules in both common and civil law jurisdictions. O’Connell’s practice focuses on oil and gas, telecom, computing, automotive, and aerospace and defence sectors, as well as complex litigation and investigations. Her appointment follows the recent addition of disputes partner Peter Gray, who joined the firm’s Dubai office earlier this year from Dewey & LeBoeuf. 

Prior to WilmerHale, O’Connell was an associate with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s New York office. She is fluent in French. She is also a member of the International Bar Association and the ICC’s Young Arbitrators Forum, and is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2004, where she was a member of Order of the Coif and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Journal of International Law. 

Kirsten O’Connell