Muhammad El Gawhary is an American-qualified, bilingual, construction arbitration and commercial disputes lawyer, with more than 14 years of international legal experience. Muhammad joins the firm from the Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department (DLAD), where he was an arbitration lawyer for the DLAD, and represented several Dubai government entities in arbitration proceedings in Dubai, with positive and successful results. He was acknowledged by the DLAD as a Distinguished Legal Counsel in the Arbitration Department in 2023.
Prior to that, Muhammad specialised in private practice for more than 10 years, working at top law firms in Washington DC, Doha and Dubai, where he worked for American, English, Canadian and local law firms. This provided Muhammad with extensive practical experience, diverse and invaluable legal skills, and a strong understanding of the best and most effective practices in legal defence, construction arbitration and commercial disputes.
During that time, Muhammad worked on several investor-state arbitration cases, arbitrated at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington DC and worked on dozens of construction arbitration cases, including cases conducted under the arbitration rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and UN Commission of International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
As part of his extensive legal experience, Muhammad also worked on numerous commercial litigation cases in the local courts of Dubai and Doha. His practical experience with local law firms in Dubai and Doha, together with his ability to read and understand Arabic jurisprudence, has given Muhammad firsthand knowledge of how local courts practice and operate, and invaluable insight into effective litigation strategies.
Muhammad is also an International Mediation Institute (IMI) certified mediator, with intensive practical training on amicable and effective settlement negotiations, who has helped amicably settle multiple arbitration cases and commercial disputes, on favourable terms for his clients.