Partner, Head of Dispute Resolution at KBH Kaanuun, Dubai & Barrister at Ely Place Chambers, London

Bushra Ahmed is a Partner in the law firm KBH and a practicing barrister of more than 18 years standing. She is a litigation specialist focusing on commercial litigation and international arbitration across the full range of commercial, corporate, employment, financial services law and regulatory matters.  She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2001 and did her pupillage and became a tenant at Ely Place Chambers, London, Chambers of William McCormick QC.  She is currently a door tenant there.

She joined KBH in January 2013 and within a year of joining, she was made Head of Dispute Resolution overseeing and supervising the team.

Bushra has extensive experience of working in the United Kingdom and the Middle East and has advised, represented and acted in important employment cases in the United Kingdom as well as landmark and precedent setting cases in the DIFC. She has a reputable client led practice, which includes public and private entities across a broad spectrum of regulated commercial activity, focusing on cross border business issues and international dispute resolution, representing clients in arbitration centres including London, Paris, Dubai and Bahrain.

Bushra is one of the most active senior barristers in the DIFC. As well as appearing as the advocate in KBH’s cases, she has been instructed to act as Counsel by Stephenson Harwood, James Berry & Associates, and other local law firms such as Al Suwaidi & Company.  Her reputation as a skilled advocate coupled with her strategic thinking and commercial acumen saw her voted the DIFC Lawyers’ Lawyer of the Year 2015.  She is a Legal 500 EMEA Recommended Lawyer and is also a ranked lawyer in Chambers & Partners 2017 and 2018 in the field of dispute resolution and employment.

Prior to joining KBH, Bushra sat on the Bar Standards Board Disciplinary Tribunal and was often instructed to chair investigations on behalf of blue-chip companies and government authorities. As BSkyB’s Counsel of choice she was regularly called upon to advise on a number of legal and commercial issues affecting the business. She was a former visiting Lecturer in Law, Middlesex University, Dubai and is a regular speaker for the Academy of Law, DIFC. Bushra also regularly speaks on the DIFC Employment Courses hosted by Thomson Reuters.

As a CEDR accredited mediator since 2005, Bushra has been appointed as a mediator both in the UK and in Dubai. She also sits as a co-arbitrator in a number of DIAC arbitrations.

Bushra has contributed articles to Business Law Journal, PLC Magazine and the International Arbitration Review, on international dispute resolution and arbitration across the GCC. She also contributed the DIFC Employment Law Commentary, 2017 and has rsat on a panel with Jacques Vissar, the General Counsel of the DIFC Authority consulting on the proposed amendments to the new DIFC Employment Law.