King & Wood Mallesons strengthens Middle East presence with new appointments

Joanne Strain & Parnika Chaturvedi

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is continuing to strengthen its Middle East practice with the appointment of Joanne Strain as the managing partner of the Dubai office and promotion of dispute resolution expert Parnika Chaturvedi to partner.

Strain has over fifteen years of dispute resolution experience, focused on international commercial arbitration and multi-jurisdictional litigation. Located in the Middle East for over a decade, Strain has strong connections within the Middle East legal and wider business community. Strain advises major corporates, financial institutions and high-net-worth individuals on a wide range of financial and commercial disputes, including complex joint venture and shareholder arrangements, with particular expertise in disputes emerging from large-scale Middle Eastern projects and financial settlements. Additionally, Strain regularly advises clients on compliance with international sanctions and anti-corruption legislation and is often appointed as an arbitrator.

Chaturvedi has more than a decade of experience in dispute resolution, specialising in complex, high value, multi-jurisdictional disputes. She is a specialist in international commercial arbitration, managing disputes under all major institutional rules. She also sepcialises in litigation, advising clients in disputes before common law courts in the UAE and England and Wales. Chaturvedi represents clients in a wide range of financial and commercial disputes, including complex joint venture and shareholder arrangements and distribution agreements. She also has extensive experience in the construction sector, representing various high-profile owners and developers in the Middle East market, particularly on contracts governed by the FIDIC books.

Commenting on the appointments, Sue Kench, KWM’s global chief executive said, “I’d like to congratulate Joanne and Parnika. With a depth of intra-regional experience, Joanne’s appointment aligns with our global growth strategy and commitment to supporting clients close to home and beyond their borders. Parnika will play a key role in further developing the firm’s Middle Eastern presence, in particular our dispute resolution practice, a key growth area for the firm.”

Wang Rongkang, EUME managing partner, commented: “On behalf of the EUME partnership, I congratulate Joanne and Parnika on this significant step in their careers. They have contributed greatly to building and strengthening KWM’s leading dispute resolution practice in the UAE, and we look forward to continuing to serve our clients in the region.”