Mark Lakin

Partner

Mark is a partner and leads our marine and international trade department for the Middle East region. He is a skilled litigator and solicitor advocate and he has a broad range of commercial litigation and arbitration experience with specialist expertise in the shipping and commodities sectors.  Mark also represents clients as counsel in arbitration matters.

Having spent several years located in both Dubai and London, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience assisting clients in resolving some of their most high-profile and commercially sensitive matters in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia regions.

Mark has acted in a wide range of arbitrations under the DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, LCIA, LMAA, UNCITRAL, GAFTA, FOSFA, ICC, SIAC and HKIAC Rules and in the first ever case before the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre ("EMAC") - the UAE’s new maritime arbitration centre. He also has a significant amount of litigation experience, regularly acting in matters before the DIFC Courts and the English High Court.

His reported Court cases in England include H&CS v RBRG Trading, Petrosaudi Oil Services v Novo Banco & Ors and Integral Petroleum SA v Perogat FZE & Ors. In Dubai he has recently acted in one of the leading cases on the enforcement of foreign judgments in the DIFC - Essar Global Fund Limited v Barclays Bank PLC & Ors.

He is also experienced on the transactional side of the shipping and commodities sectors, having been on secondment to leading trade finance houses, commodities traders and banks.