Described as a “highly respected figurehead and operator” and a “very composed practitioner”, Robert is an internationally recognised arbitration expert. He is the Registrar of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre; a former Partner and Chief Operating Officer of specialist arbitration boutique, Ghaffari Partners; and the former Registrar of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre and Dubai Financial Services Authority’s Financial Markets Tribunal. Prior to that, he practiced with Herbert Smith Freehills in London, Paris, Moscow, and Dubai for more than a decade. He has been based in the United Arab Emirates since 2011.
As Registrar, he has a proven track record of putting users, party-counsel, and arbitrators first. He has been recognised in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions of Who’s Who Legal Arbitration and described as a “Future Leader”. Peers say he is “professional, thorough and meticulous” and “extremely good at explaining complex issues to people who do not have the detailed knowledge he possesses”. He is said to be “excellent to deal with”, possessing a “real depth of knowledge” and he is further described as a “leading figure” that is said to have “raised the standards of arbitration in the [MENA] region”.
