Rupert Reed KC is a distinguished Commercial barrister and arbitrator at Serle Court Chambers, with extensive litigation and arbitral practice in London, Dubai, and the broader Middle East. Having taken a double first in Law at Cambridge and attended Harvard Law School as a Kennedy scholar, he was called to the English Bar in 1996 and appointed to the Attorney General’s C Panel of Treasury Counsel in 2000. In 2014, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel, now known as King’s Counsel. Rupert has a strong interest in both Arab Civil and Islamic Law, and his writings on the application of Shari’a principles in English Law are well-regarded.
Rupert is a leading practitioner in the DIFC Courts, where he has been active for over 12 years. He co-edits and writes the leading text on DIFC law, the DIFC Courts Practice, soon to be published in its second edition. In the Gulf region, he has sat as an arbitrator in commercial and property disputes, with significant experience as a co-arbitrator, chair and sole arbitrator in DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, and LCIA arbitrations. Rupert has also served on the DIAC Rules Task Force and DIFC Court’s Arbitration Working Group.
Recognised as a leading practitioner in Commercial Chancery, Commercial, Banking and Finance, Property, and Civil Fraud by the UK’s and global directories of legal counsel, Rupert is regarded as one of the top two leading UK ‘silks’ active in the UAE by Chambers Global 2022.
