Outer Temple Chambers

Barrister; Year of Call 1989

Philip Punwar is an English qualified practitioner with more than twenty-five years’ arbitration experience.

His recent arbitral engagements have concerned real-estate Mega Projects in the Gulf, investment treaty claims arising out of the MENA and South Asia regions, aircraft charter agreements, concession agreements in the water sector and technology disputes in the finance and healthcare sectors.

Philip has appeared as counsel before all levels of court in England and the Dubai International Financial Centre, up to and including the Courts of Appeal of each jurisdiction. He was the first practitioner resident in the UAE to be registered as a DIFC Courts advocate, and the first DIFC Courts practitioner to be appointed by the DIFC Courts to the role of Supervising Legal Representative (SLR).

He was an International Dispute Resolution Partner at both Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (2009-2013) and Baker Botts LLP (2013 – 2022).

Philip has significant experience of the laws and practices of both civil and common law jurisdictions gained as counsel and arbitrator in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has a proven ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and when necessary to assemble and lead interdisciplinary teams of geographically dispersed professionals in the prosecution and defence of complex and high value disputes.

He is a member of the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) Panel of Arbitrators, the Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) Panel of Arbitrators and the International Panel of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA).

• Master of the Bench of the Inner Temple since 2013

• Honorary Overseas Member of the Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR) since 2010

• Former Vice Chairman of the UAE Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

• Former Vice-President of the Arbitration Steering Committee of the ICC UAE

• Past member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR

• Member of the DIFC Arbitration Law Steering Committee from 2006-2008

• Member of the DIFC Courts Users’ Committee from 2006 – 2009 and from 2011 – 2013

• Chairman of the DIFC Courts Code of Conduct Drafting Sub-Committee from 2009 – 2015 Chairman of the DIFC Courts Education Sub-Committee from 2013 – 2015

• Member of the DIFC Courts Rules Sub-Committee/Committee since 2009

• Director of the DIFC Courts Advocacy Training Programme from 2013 – 2015

• Member of the Board of Trustees of the Pegasus Scholarship Trust and former Pegasus Scholar to Hong Kong

• Member of the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) Panel of Arbitrators

• Member of the the Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) Panel of Arbitrators

• Member of the International Panel of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA)