Graham Lovett joins Akin Gump’s Dubai office

Akin Gump announced that Graham Lovett has joined the firm as a partner in the firm’s Dubai office. Lovett, who joins Akin Gump from Gibson Dunn, is one of the foremost disputes practitioners in Dubai and is top ranked by both Chambers and The Legal 500. He has extensive, market-leading commercial litigation and international arbitration experience covering a wide range of sectors and disputes and frequently represents clients before the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts. In October 2021, His Highness the Ruler of Dubai appointed Lovett as a director of the board of the recently expanded Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), the largest arbitration center in the Middle East. Lovett is the only non-Emirati to serve as a DIAC board director.

With a practice that is a mix of litigation and arbitration, Lovett handles complex, sensitive disputes involving joint ventures, shareholders, banking and finance, and fraud, as well as more technical matters involving high-end infrastructure disputes, project work, energy disputes and more.

Joining Lovett at Akin Gump in Dubai is an established disputes team comprising senior counsel Ryan Whelan and associates Michael Stewart and Sophia Cafoor-Camps.

“Graham and the team’s international arbitration and litigation practices are exceptionally highly regarded in the Middle East and internationally,” commented Akin Gump chairperson Kim Koopersmith. “They fit perfectly into our strategic priorities in experience and geography. We are highly focused on further investing in our international disputes capabilities, and Graham and the team are an outstanding complement to our established, top-tier litigation and international arbitration teams. They also fit squarely into the strategic commitment we have to growing in the Middle East, a region in which we are already among the strongest of any U.S. firm. I am delighted that they have joined the firm.”

Mahmoud (Mac) Fadlallah, partner in charge of Akin Gump’s Dubai office, added, “Graham is widely recognised as one of the leading disputes lawyers in the region. By welcoming his team, we are strategically building out our disputes and investigations practices not just in the UAE and throughout the Middle East, but around the world. Our clients will benefit immensely from Graham and his team’s deep experience and skills, and I could not be more excited that they have joined us.”

Added Lovett, “Akin Gump’s strong international disputes and investigations teams, its impressive global footprint and client base, and its unfettered commitment to continued growth in the Middle East combine to make this move a very attractive proposition for me and the team. I very much look forward to expanding the firm’s litigation, arbitration and investigations capabilities in the region, and I am keen to set to work with my new colleagues both in the UAE and around the firm.”