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  • Farhan Shafi
Farhan Shafi
Farhan Shafi

Farhan Shafi

Associate

  • Dubai UAE
Contact Me Today
+971 43 09 10 00
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Farhan is a disputes lawyer with over six years’ experience advising domestic and international clients on complex commercial and construction disputes across the Middle East and South Asia. He represents clients in high-value, technically demanding disputes arising from major projects and commercial relationships.

Farhan is an arbitration specialist advising clients across the full lifecycle of proceedings, from early case strategy and arbitrator selection through to hearings and enforcement. He regularly acts in significant commercial and construction arbitrations under a range of leading institutional rules, including the ICC, LCIA and DIAC Rules, as well as in ad hoc proceedings. He has experience in arbitrations seated in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, the DIFC, Lahore and London and governed by English, UAE and Pakistani law.

A significant portion of Farhan’s practice is devoted to construction disputes, including claims relating to defects, delay, quantum and variations. He acts for stakeholders across the contractual chain, advising on case strategy, entitlement and quantum analysis. He formulates clear and commercially grounded positions in technically complex project disputes and regularly supports negotiated resolutions and pre-dispute strategy alongside formal proceedings.

In addition to arbitration, Farhan advises on disputes before the UAE onshore courts and is qualified to act in proceedings before the DIFC and ADGM Courts, including interim and enforcement applications. He regularly advises clients on cross-border strategy where disputes engage multiple jurisdictions.

Farhan has also advised on strategic commercial and risk matters, including for clients in the technology and energy sectors. This broader commercial exposure underpins his pragmatic approach to dispute resolution. 

Outside his practice, Farhan serves as a Committee Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UAE Branch) Young Members Group and as an International Alumni Leader for King’s College London in the UAE.

Expertise

Services and Groups

Disputes & investigations
Real estate & construction
Corporate crime & compliance
Private client
International arbitration
Technology disputes
Fraud & asset recovery
Investigations
Sanctions
Regulatory enforcement

Sectors

Aerospace & defence
Automotive & mobility
Consumer & retail
Energy & infrastructure
Hotels, hospitality & leisure
Real estate
Energy disputes

CV

Since 2026 Associate, Taylor Wessing
2022 - 2026 Associate, Blanke Arbitration
2022 - 2022 Research Assistant to Professor Renato Nazzini KC, Centre of Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, King's College London
2020 - 2021 Associate, MAR Law
2019 - 2020 Associate, KILAM Law
2022 LLM in International Dispute Resolution, King's College London
2019 LLB, University of London

Career

Since 2026 Associate, Taylor Wessing
2022 - 2026 Associate, Blanke Arbitration
2022 - 2022 Research Assistant to Professor Renato Nazzini KC, Centre of Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, King's College London
2020 - 2021 Associate, MAR Law
2019 - 2020 Associate, KILAM Law

Education

2022 LLM in International Dispute Resolution, King's College London
2019 LLB, University of London

Memberships & Associations

Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.

Advocate, Punjab Bar Council (Pakistan).

Associate, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Additional languages

English Urdu Hindu (Conversational)

Experience

Major GCC construction contractors, subcontractors and employers

Representing major construction contractors, subcontractors and employers in more than 15 DIAC and ICC arbitrations under various FIDIC forms of contract, involving claims relating to bond calls, defects, delay, payment, quantum, termination and variations.

Farhan Shafi

Emirati shareholder

Defending an Emirati shareholder in DIAC arbitration seated in the DIFC and governed by English law in relation to a dispute under a shareholders' agreement, involving cross-border elements in England and Wales, the Cayman Islands and the UAE.

Farhan Shafi

Major Saudi family business

Advising a major Saudi family business in the automobile industry in connection with a dispute under a distribution agreement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, involving potential arbitration under the CIETAC Rules and governed by Chinese law.

Farhan Shafi

Leading luxury food and beverage supplier

Advising a leading luxury food and beverage supplier in DIAC arbitration concerning the termination of a UAE distribution agreement.

Farhan Shafi

Saudi high net worth individual

Advising a Saudi high net worth individual in LCIA arbitration in relation to a partnership dispute in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Farhan Shafi

Developer engaged in a billion-dollar tourism complex development

Defending a developer in ICC arbitration concerning a dispute under a project management and quantity surveying services contract connected to the development of a billion-dollar tourism complex in Oman.

Farhan Shafi

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