From early beginnings as a barrister in England to moving into General Counsel, Commercial Director and CEO roles of international companies, Gordon has a dual passion for both creating deals and resolving the inevitable issues arising from them. Gordon has witnessed first-hand what happens in projects when hidden agendas clash and how mediated diplomacy can be used to find resolution, particularly across borders and in multi-cultural and multi-party dispute environments.
As an independent neutral, Gordon has successfully managed and resolved many major international engineering, construction, energy, intellectual property and shipping disputes through negotiation, mediation and ultimately arbitration, bringing geographically and culturally diverse parties together.
- 20 years in senior international commercial roles resolving complex issues on major construction and concession projects in South East Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas
- 30 arbitrations completed over the past 10 years
- Disputes arising on diverse commercial matters including construction contracts, charterparties, franchising, agreements, joint ventures and property
- Unique understanding earned by direct experience of cross-cultural issues and differences affecting international business
Gordon’s specific areas of expertise are:
- Construction and Major Infrastructure Projects
- Joint Ventures (incorporated and unincorporated) particularly shareholder disputes
- Offshore Wind
- Hydroelectric Plants
- Desalination Projects
- Power Plants and distribution networks
- Process Plants of all types, especially water and wastewater effluent use and reuse
- Hospitals, Airports and Ports
- Franchise Agreements
- Aviation both ownership and operation
- Shipping and Marine Insurance
- PPP and Privatisation including all variations on BOT Schemes
- Project Finance
- Convention on the International Sale of Goods
Gordon is a passionate believer in mediation as a tool for promoting commercial settlements and successful outcomes. As a panel member of several arbitration institutions, he believes in making clear decisions in accordance with contract provisions based on the facts established by evidence.
Clients value the depth of his international commercial experience as well as his breadth of cultural experience. Understanding and respecting different cultures, languages and legal systems in arbitration, negotiation or mediation can considerably increase the chances of a successful outcome. Competence in managing complex high-value cross border arbitrations is indispensable.
Legal expertise:
International Arbitrator
- Commercial agreements, construction contracts, domestic and commercial infrastructure, franchising agreements, joint ventures, sale of property disputes, shipping contracts. Gordon has regularly acted as an arbitrator between Middle East developers and expats, dealing with foreign law such as the civil codes of the Gulf States, Saudi Sharia, the Civil Codes of Thailand and other ASEAN States and the Common Law approach of Malaysia, Singapore & Hong Kong
Mediator
- All forms of ADR including determinations, early neutral evaluations, evaluative mediations. Gordon specialises in cross-cultural commercial mediations, bringing parties of diverse nationalities to view settlement as the best option. These multi-party disputes usually involve delay claims, construction final account disputes and contract issues. Notable cases include leading a team of 23 people in a $1billion evaluative mediation to settlement after 18 months
Legal Advisor for international companies in English Law
- With both English and Foreign Law expertise, including in both Common Law & Civil Law systems, Gordon advises overseas companies directly on arbitration, contract drafting and interpretation, strategic relationship planning and dispute resolution, particularly for ventures involving project finance, JOA and joint ventures, engineering/construction and operations. Getting the right strategic legal advice at the start of a project or the onset of a dispute can make a significant difference to the outcome.
Global expertise
As an Independent Neutral and Consultant Gordon has successfully settled arbitration and mediations in many international disputes, including:
- Bahrain – Leading an expert team on a US$200m commercial arbitration, resisting contractor claims for loss and expense resulting from delay on an iconic housing project
- Kazakhstan – Advising Contractor on design build risks including local law Civil Code considerations
- Myanmar – Making recommendations on the introduction of modern arbitration laws and practice to the Union of Myanmar
- Qatar – Advising two International Contractors on pre-bid terms and contract conditions for an underground railway line, which lead to a rethink of harsh contract terms imposed by the Government
- Saudi Arabia – Advising two International Contractors on two projects to help refine claims against dominant Government Oil & Gas majors, leading to the early financial settlement of disputes
- Thailand – Acting as arbitrator and mediator in construction and commercial franchise cases
- UAE – Advising government entity and reviewing a proposed contract for major airfield terminal suggesting changes to contract form where necessary. Acted as Lead Mediator in a successful resolution of a 1 billion dollar dispute through an 18-month evaluative mediation.
- Acted as arbitrator in more than 20 commercial and construction cases for both DIAC and DIFC-LCIA.
Gordon has lectured in arbitration and mediation skills as a member of faculty for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He has also guest lectured on Mediation for the LLM Course at the British University in Dubai.
Gordon speaks French and has dual British and Irish nationality. After many years of living and working in Asia and the Middle East, Gordon has recently returned to England but still spends much of his time energetically working remotely on disputes in Asia and MENA regions.
