Arbitration
In the UAE’s dynamic business environment, even well-drafted commercial agreements can give rise to disputes. Whether between corporations or individuals, disputes can carry significant financial, reputational, and operational consequences. At Horizons & Co we assist clients in navigating these challenges with strategic, commercially focused legal guidance, drawing on extensive experience managing complex, high-value disputes. Horizons & Co work across a number of sectors including construction, infrastructure, real estate, finance, white collar crime, cryptocurrency and cross-border investment.
Our arbitration practice is trusted by sovereign entities, multinationals, and regional powerhouses to handle proceedings with significant reputational and commercial implications. We manage multi-billion-dirham claims, regulatory-linked matters, and disputes that influence the interpretation and enforcement of contract law in the UAE and beyond. Experienced both as counsel and arbitrators, our team provides commercially driven advice under the world’s leading arbitral rules, including DIAC, arbitrateAD, ICC, IICRA, LCIA, HKIAC, and SCCA, and is often called upon for matters involving overlapping criminal, regulatory, or insolvency issues.
Representative Experience
- Horizons & Co’s excellence is recognised with Band 1 ranking in Chambers Global for Dispute Resolution and twice being named UAE Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year by Chambers Middle East, reflecting both our legal expertise and our consistent ability to deliver successful outcomes.
- Our arbitration team is one of our firm’s core strengths, lead Ali Al Zarooni, Founder and Managing Partner, and one of the UAE’s most respected arbitration specialists. With nearly 27 years of experience, Ali acts as both counsel and arbitrator in complex, high-value disputes, particularly in construction, infrastructure, and financial sectors. He is regularly appointed as arbitrator or legal expert under DIAC, ICC, ArbitrateAD, IICRA, and other leading institutions, and frequently leads cross-border strategies for sovereign and prominent corporate clients.
- Ali holds full rights of audience before all levels of the UAE courts whilst also being ranked Band 1 for Dispute Resolution: Domestic (Chambers Global), a Chartered Arbitrator Fellow (CArb) with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a registered arbitrator with DIAC, ADGM, SCCA, HKIAC and APIAC, as well as a registered legal practitioner before the DIFC Courts
- Paul Blakeway, Senior Counsel and Head of Arbitration at Horizons & Co, has a wealth of experience handling complex, high-value international disputes particularly in the construction and engineering sector, financial sector and tech sector. With more than a decade of experience in international arbitration he has representing clients in complex disputes across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. His expertise in cross-border and English law-governed matters significantly strengthens the firm’s arbitration practice.
- We are dedicated to shaping the arbitration landscape through thought leadership and active industry engagement. Our lawyers frequently speak at leading international forums, including the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, Riyadh International Disputes Week, and ICC ADR events. In addition, we both host and participate in sessions during Dubai Arbitration Week, collaborating with DIAC, ArbitrateAD, and other regional institutions. Our team also contributes regularly to arbitration training, professional forums, and academic-industry partnerships, sharing insights that help advance the profession.
- Clients rely on Horizons & Co not only for procedural expertise but for practical, commercially focused advice that secures strategically favourable outcomes. Our recent caseload includes some of the UAE’s most high-value, high-profile and precedent-setting arbitrations establishing Horizons & Co as a market-leading firm in the UAE and MENA region, committed to delivering clients’ objectives with precision and excellence.
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