Partner, Baker Botts LLP

Philip Punwar is a partner in the International Dispute Resolution group at Baker Botts LLP. He has been an Advocate of the DIFC Courts since June 2006.

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

Philip is author of “The Rules of the DIFC Courts with Commentary and Materials” (Sweet & Maxwell, 2011) and of the DIFC Academy of Law’s Commentaries on the DIFC’s Contract Law, Implied and Unfair Terms Law and Electronic Transactions Law (LexisNexis, 2017). He was a member of the DIFC Courts Users’ Committee from 2006 – 2009 and from 2011 – 2013. From 2009 – 2015, Philip was Chairman of the DIFC Courts Code of Conduct Drafting Sub-Committee, and from 2013 – 2015 he was Chairman of the DIFC Courts Education Sub-Committee. From 2013 – 2015, Philip was Director of the DIFC Courts Advocacy Training Programme. He has been a member of the DIFC Courts Rules Sub-Committee/Committee since 2009.