Thomas R. Snider

Biography

Tom is a Partner and the firm’s Head of Arbitration based in the Dubai office. He is experienced in international commercial arbitration, international investment disputes, state-to-state arbitration, and foreign sovereign immunity issues. His experience covers a wide range of industries, sectors, and types of disputes, including oil-and-gas, construction, hospitality, telecommunications, automobile manufacturing, distribution agreements, shareholder disputes, and joint-venture disputes.

From 2001 to 2009, Tom was a member of the legal team representing the Ethiopian Government before the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, an international arbitral tribunal that adjudicated claims for loss, damage and injury arising during an international armed conflict. In this context, he worked as a resident attorney in Addis Ababa for three years.

Tom is ranked for dispute resolution in Chambers United Arab Emirates (2021), which notes that “Tom’s knowledge and expertise is extremely impressive” and that “he has the ability to advise and write with an uncommon degree of precision and clarity.” In the Legal 500 United Arab Emirates (2020), Tom is described as having “cross-examination skills [that] are excellent. He listens hard, is polite to witnesses and yet wields an iron fist beneath his velvet glove.” He is also listed in Who’s Who Legal Future Leaders – Arbitration.

Tom has sat as an arbitrator and is on the panel of arbitrators of several arbitral institutions around the world. He is also a member of the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the Arbitration Committee of the Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA).

Tom frequently writes and speaks on topics involving international law and dispute resolution. Prior to relocating to Dubai, he was a professorial lecturer in law at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC.

Thought Leadership

Recent Speaking Engagements

Speaker, “New Powerhouses? Settling Disputes in a Global Arena”, India Disputes E-Conference, 20 November 2020
Speaker, “Can We Talk of an Arbitration Culture in Asia?”, Center on International Commercial Arbitration, Washington College of Law, American University, 18 November 2020
Speaker, “Techniques, Tips and Strategies for the Effective Management of International Construction Disputes”, SIAC Dubai Arbitration Week Webinar, 17 November 2020
Speaker, “Impact of Artificial Intelligence on International Arbitration”, Legaltech Webinars 2020, 2 July 2020
Moderator, “Post-COVID: The Future of International Arbitration”, SIAC Middle East Webinar, 25 June 2020
Speaker, “Transformation in the Legal Industry”, Knowledge Series 2020, Lagos Edition, 23 June 2020
Speaker, “Innovation and International Arbitration: Practice and Procedure – Assessment of Damages and Role of Experts,” 2^nd Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) Arbitration and ADR Conference, Mombasa, Kenya, 5 March 2020
Moderator, “Saving Time and Costs Under the SIAC Rules (Expedited Procedure, Emergency Arbitrator, Early Dismissal),” SIAC-ADGM Arbitration Conference 2020, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 5 February 2020
Speaker, “Recent Trends in BITs Dispute Resolution Schemes,” 2^nd ICC Kuwait Arbitration Day, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 15 January 2020
Moderator, “Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration: Prague Rules Versus IBA Rules,” 4^th Centre for Advanced Research & Training in Arbitration Law (CARTAL) Conference on International Arbitration, Jodhpur, India, October 5, 2019
Speaker, “China Africa Government Contracting, Trade and Dispute Resolution,” 7^th East Africa International Arbitration Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, 29 August 2019
Speaker, “Regional Growth: A Focus on Africa,” KNect365 Law Conference on the Future of International Arbitration, London, United Kingdom, 26 March 2019
Speaker, “Party-Appointed Arbitrators: Has the Time Come to Rethink?,” Center for Advanced Research in Dispute Resolution (CARDS) Tour de Arbitration, Paris, France, February 5, 2019
Speaker, “The Role of State Courts under the UAE Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 on Arbitration: Bringing the UAE in Line with International Norms” and “HEPI v. India: Stay Denied but Public Policy Prevents Enforcement,” Conference on the Role of State Courts in International Arbitration, Sharm El Sheikh VII, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, 10 December 2018
Speaker, “The ‘Backlash’ Against Investment Arbitration,” Panel on New Frontiers in International Arbitration: Environment, Climate Change, and Human Rights, Who’s Who Legal Future Leaders Arbitration Conference, Hong Kong, 2 November 2018
Speaker, “Arbitration in Free Economic Zones,” GIAC Arbitration Days, Tbilisi, Georgia, 5 October 2018

Selected Publications

Book

Litigating War: Mass Civil Injury and the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission (Oxford University Press 2013) (co-authored with Murphy and Kidane)

Articles

A Trap for the Unwary: Delineating Physical and Legal Protection Under Full Protection and Security Clauses, 9 Indian J. of Arb. 24 (2020) (co-authored with Nair)
Ten Years On: A Look at the Legacy of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, in Eth. Y.B. of Int’l Law 2018 (Zeray Yihdego, et al., eds, 2019) (co-authored with Nair)
The Relationship Between Fair and Equitable Treatment and the International Minimum Standard of Treatment: An Overview and a Link to Africa, Transnat’l Disp. Mngt., Vol. 16, Issue 4 (July 2019)
UAE Arbitration Users Look East, 10 Int’l J. of Arab Arb. 31 (2018) (co-authored with Shahdadpuri)
The Use of Experts in Construction Disputes in the Middle East, 4 BCDR Int’l Arb. Rev. 11 (2017) (co-authored with Adams)
Special Issue on Africa>, Transnat’l Disp. Mngt., Vol. 13, Issue 4 (October 2016) (co-edited with Kidane and Bechky)
Resolving Trans-Boundary Hydroelectric Power Project Disputes: The Indus Waters Kishenganga Arbitration, 17 Int’l Arb. L. Rev. 58 (2014)
Combating Corruption Through International Law in Africa: A Comparative Analysis, 40 Cornell Int’l L.J. 691 (2007)

Recent Experience

Sitting as the sole arbitrator in a SIAC arbitration seated in Singapore involving a dispute over a contract for installation works for the construction of a desalination facility in Oman.
Representing the Dubai-based subsidiary of a global electronics conglomerate in a DIFC-LCIA arbitration seated in the DIFC involving a dispute with its distributor in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire under UAE law.
Representing a hotel management company in a DIFC-LCIA arbitration involving a dispute with a hotel owner in East Africa over the termination of a hotel management agreement.
Representing a Singapore-based hospitality group in a DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre case seated in the DIFC involving a shareholder dispute over a hotel in East Africa.
Representing a global sports channel in a DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre case seated in the DIFC involving a dispute over the distribution of its products in Saudi Arabia.
Representing a Kuwaiti investor in a Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) arbitration involving a shareholder dispute with a UAE-based investment company.
Representing an African state in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration seated in Geneva involving a dispute in the amount of nearly US$1.5 billion over the termination of five petroleum production sharing agreements.
Representing an African state in an ad hoc investor-state arbitration arising from a taxation dispute in the oil-and-gas industry.