Keith Hutchison

Practice Areas

Keith handles a wide range of commercial dispute resolution work, with a specialism in trade credit insurance matters (coverage and recoveries) and with a jurisdictional focus on representing clients in commercial litigation before the DIFC Courts (a common law financial free zone in Dubai) - where he has attained advocacy rights to appear as counsel - and in DIFC-LCIA arbitration.

Of particular note, Keith has successfully obtained for clients various forms of injunctive relief in the DIFC Courts and the ADGM Courts, including a number of ‘firsts’ as their jurisprudence develops.

In addition to his insurance work, Keith advises regularly on disputes involving the enforcement of judgment and awards, shareholder issues, education and healthcare, telecoms, banking and investments, trusts, commodities and other general commercial litigation. Keith also heads Clyde & Co's Middle East Debt Recovery team, which includes acting for many of the world's largest trade credit insurers and Export Credit Agencies.

Keith has experience of handling dispute resolution through:

- Litigation in various fora: the DIFC Courts and ADGM Courts (a common law financial free zone in Abu Dhabi), the 'onshore' UAE Courts, the Joint Judicial Committee for Jurisdictional Conflicts between the DIFC Courts and Dubai Courts, and the Dubai World Tribunal, as well as in the Courts of KSA, Bahrain and Qatar, the English Courts and Cayman Islands Courts;

- Arbitration (including under the Arbitration Rules of each of the DIFC-LCIA, ICC, LCIA and DIAC); and

- Mediation (including under the Mediation Rules of the DIFC-LCIA).

He acted for the claimants in the first successful enforcement of a foreign arbitration award in the Dubai Courts under the New York Convention (2012) and in the first successful 'conduit' jurisdiction case involving enforcement of an award through the DIFC Courts (2015).