Philip Punwar

Philip Punwar is an international arbitration and dispute resolution partner at Baker Botts LLP. He has been resident in Dubai since November 2005.

Philip was born and brought up in Kent. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham, a post-graduate degree in Law from the City University (London) and a post-graduate degree in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS (the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University). He was called to the Bar of England & Wales by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in November 1989 and elected a Master of the Bench in October 2013. In addition to being an Advocate of the DIFC Courts and a Practising Barrister, Philip is a Chartered Arbitrator (CIArb) and an Accredited Mediator (CEDR).

Philip has been involved in a number of government initiatives in the UAE relating to arbitration. From 2007 to 2008 he worked with the UAE Ministry of Economy on the production of the 2008 draft Federal Arbitration Law. During the same period he was also a member of the Dubai International Financial Centre's 2008 Arbitration Law Steering Committee. Philip is a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration & ADR.

In the course of his practice before the DIFC Courts, Philip represented the first Claimant to succeed at trial before the Court of First Instance, obtained the first Freezing Order issued by the DIFC Courts and appeared in the first appeal to the DIFC Court of Appeal. In 2014 he was the first Supervising Lawyer appointed by the DIFC Courts and in 2015 he oversaw the execution of the DIFC Courts’ first Search Order.