Archives: Team Members

Mr. Vyapak Desai

Vyapak Desai heads the International Dispute Resolution and Investigation Practice at the multiskilled, research and strategy-driven international law firm, Nishith Desai Associates. A s a senior attorney with the firm, Vyapak specializes in bringing in the highest level of analytical arrangement in cross-border complex disputes while also leading the Corporate and Securities practice in the past at the firm. reasonable, pragmatic, and solution known for his oriented approach, Vyapak is also a trained Mediator and an experienced arbitrator in international commercial arbitrations. Vyapak’s vast experience in legislation includes representing clients as Counsel in a host of complex cases including investment treaty arbitrations, commercial disputes related to shareholders agreements, international trade a nd across industries such as oil & gas, infrastructure, construction, private equity funds, and TMT. The law has become more intricate and intertwined. Keeping in sync, Vyapak has cultivated expertise in insolvency and corporate law as well as in investigating Vyapak is Cochairtion/white collar crimes. council of MCIA, Director of CIArb India Branch, member of ICC India Group, member of IBA and IPBA. He has also been listed on the Panel of Arbitrators of SIAC, AIAC, LCIA, THIAC, BVI IAC and NCDEX (SEBI). law as a dynamic discipline, Vyapak has also highlighting authored a chapter in the book titled Enforcing Arbitral Awards in India published by LexisNexis 2017 in addition to writing several articles and speaking on various forums internationally

Mr. Duncan Bagshaw

Duncan Bagshaw is a barrister and a partner at Howard Kennedy LLP, based in London, where he is also the head of the international arbitration practice. He studied law in England and France and was called to the bar in 2003 by Lincoln’s Inn. Before joining Howard Kennedy, Duncan practiced at the independent bar for 8 years in the fields of international commercial litigation and arbitration, and lived in Mauritius for three years, where he worked as the first Registrar o f the former LCIAMIAC Arbitration Centre. He then worked at Stephenson Harwood, another large firm in London, until 2019. Duncan is a specialist in international arbitration. Most of his work involves advising governments and corporations in arbitrations and before the English Courts, particularly in cases concerning energy, infrastructure and development projects, and shareholder disputes. He is experienced in arbitration cases under the rules of the LCIA, ICC, LCIADIFC and UNCITRAL, as well as ad hoc a rbitrations. Much of his work is related to Africa and Duncan has acted in cases seated in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Mauritius, as well as many other jurisdictions. He has also advised several governments on revising their arbitration statutes, and cont inues to assist with the establishment of modern, neutral arbitral institutions in Africa. Duncan speaks English and French. Duncan has been recommended in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 directories for arbitration and energy specialist in Africa– related disputes, a nd is identified as a related cases. He was named as one of the “Who’s Who Legal”

Future Leaders 2017– 2019 in international arbitration, and has been recognised in the ‘Africa Powerlist’ and ‘International Arbitration Powerlist’ in 201 9. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Duncan accepts appointments as arbitrator under most institutional rules or in ad hoc cases

Mr. Mark Appel

Mark Appel is an independent, international Arbitrator, Mediator, Consultant, and Trainer. Mr. Appel has nearly 40 years of global arbitration and mediation experience, having served in both executive and senior executive positions at the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), leaving ICDR/AAA as Senior Vice President, EMEA in December of 2015. Mr. Appel is thoroughly familiar with arbitration practice and procedure, with 30 years of experience in training arbitrators on four continents on behalf of various arbitral institutions, government ministries, Courts, and NGOs. While serving as a Regional executive for AAA, M r. Appel personally administered or was responsible for the administration of thousands of commercial arbitrations. Mr. Appel has also managed arbitral prefiling and preliminary hearings, addressing issues including jurisdiction, arbitrator appointment/c conflicts, scheduling, and information exchange in a wide variety of commercial settings, with individual case claims up to 1 Billion USD.

In cooperation with industry experts, Mr. Appel has drafted multiple sets of arbitration and ADR procedures, including online, “desk” arbitration procedures for manufacturers and suppliers, and Dispute Review Board procedures. An experienced mediator and mediator trainer, Mr. Appel is a founding, now honorary, Director of the International Mediation Institute (IMI). Mr. A Chair of the IMI Investorppel currently serves as State Mediation Taskforce and is a member of the IMI Independent Standards Commission. Mr. Appel has consulted with individual companies and whole industries on dispute resolution design. Mr. Appel also participated in a series of groundbreaking ICDR corporate dispute resolution and conflict management benchmarking surveys of leading French corporations. At the request of several government ministries of justice and economic development and global NGOs, Mr. Appel has worked with community stakeholders including Bar Associations, Chambers of Commerce, and the Courts to build new Arbitration and Mediation Centers in the EMEA region. Mr. Appel has taught arbitration law and procedure and overview courses in resolution at the graduate and post-dispute graduate (law) levels in multiple jurisdictions. Mr. Appel provides Arbitration, Mediation, and Conflict Management Consultancy, and Training Services through Appel Dispute Resolution LLC. Mr. Appel is an International Member of ArbDB Chambers, London, and takes his arbitrator and mediator appointments through Chambers.

Ms. Sarah Grimmer

Sarah Grimmer is SecretaryGeneral of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. She was formerly Senior Legal Counsel at the PCA where she served as tribunal secretary interin multiple investorState arbitrations and was appointed registrar in several State arbitrations. Prior to joining the PCA, Sarah served for three years as Assistant Counsel at the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris. She was also a mem ber of the international arbitration group at Shearman & Sterling LLP in Paris, prior to which she worked in private practice in Auckland. In 2015, Sarah was appointed to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Disciplinary Board. She is a member of the ICCAASIL Task Force on Damages (2016), ICCA Publications Committee (2015), the IBA Investment Arbitration Subcommittee (2014), New Zealand ICC Arbitration Committee (2014), and the IBA Arb40 Steering Committee (2013). She has an LLM from Cambridge University and a n LLB/BA (Criminology) from Victoria University of Wellington. She is admitted to practice law in New Zealand.

Dr. Jalal El Ahdab

Dr. Jalal (Jil) El Ahdab is a partner in the Dispute Resolution practice of Bird & Bird, based in Paris and is the head of Bird & Bird’s arbitration department in France. Before joining Bird & Bird, Jil was a partner with GMPV. Jil’s practice covers international business law, notably related to the Arab world and Europe, and more specifically in the field of international disputes and foreign investments. Having acted as a counsel, arbitrator a nd expert in about 100 cases, Jil has strong experience in managing international disputes and particularly disputes regarding shareholders and securities suits, class actions, breach of negotiations, bank guarantees. The type of business his practice incl udes relates to the trade of commodities, telecom markets, port concessions, construction industry and sport; etc. With a solid academic background (degrees in law, finance and political science), he is well regarded from a scientific standpoint. He is Leb anon’s UNCITRAL Representative and a member of the ICC Court. Also, he chairs the European Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is the vicechair of the IBA Arab Regional Forum. A regular speaker at numerous international arbitration confer of various articles and the coences, Jalal is the author author of Arbitration with the Arab Countries (Kluwer, 2011). He is also managing editor of the International Journal of Arab Arbitration, available on www.kluwerarbitration.com and www.intljaa.com . In 2019, he will publish a book on Arbitration Law in France, with Professor Daniel Mainguy (LexisNexis). Jalal is also a lecturer in arbitration law at the Versail SciencesPo Paris (IEP). Jil holds a doctorate in law from Paris I les University and Sorbonne (2003) and also graduated in Political Sciences & International Finance from Sciences Po Paris (1998), in Business & Management from the Institut Supérieur de G from Columbia Law School (2002). estion (1995) and obtained his LLM He is admitted to practice in Paris (France), Beirut (Lebanon) and New York (USA) and is fluent in French, English and Arabic.