Abdulla specializes in international arbitration across multiple industries and jurisdictions, representing high-net-worth investors, appearing before arbitral tribunals, lobbying U.S. Congress, and is one of the few expert consultants in the space industry.

Abdulla is highly adept at navigating complex disputes across various industries, with a robust portfolio of cases. He served as counsel on investment arbitration disputes in the Middle East, representing high-net-worth investors against sovereign states concerning bilateral investment treaties. He has appeared before arbitral tribunals under the auspices of numerous arbitral institutes and has navigated the subsequent enforcement and set-aside of arbitral awards before various jurisdictions.

Abdulla is also a registered lobbyist with the District of Columbia and has appeared before the U.S. Congress to discuss commercial space-related policies. He possesses an impressive rolodex of connections at both the governmental and the commercial levels of the U.S. space industry.

He was a key author of The Washington Compact under the umbrella of The Hague Institute for Global Justice, an international treaty outlining norms of behavior for the commercial space industry, which boasts over a hundred and thirty signatories worldwide. Additionally, Abdulla has counseled on matters regarding commercial space tourism and has conducted discussions with several Embassies in D.C. on commercial space policy.

He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, an Associate of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, a Member of the Dispute Board Federation, a Member of the Young International Arbitration Group of the London Court of International Arbitration, a Member of the New York International Arbitration Center, and a Member of the Space Generation Advisory Council.

Abdulla also serves as the Secretary-General of the Jordan International Arbitration Centre and the Chief of Staff of The Hague Institute for Global Justice.

Admission

• Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• Certified legal technician by the American Bar Association
• Registered legal consultant in the UAE and the ADGM
• Licensed paralegal in the State of California

Education

• ICC Court of Arbitration, Arbitrator Training on Case Management Conduct
• ICC Court of Arbitration, Advanced Training in International Arbitration
• ACAMS, Certified BSA/AML Professional
• University of La Verne, Bachelor’s Degree, B.Sc (Legal Studies)

• ICC construction procurement arbitration between Canadian entity and Spanish / Korean consortium.
• ICC construction arbitration between Korean subcontractor and Chinese main contractor.
• Ad hoc insurance arbitration between UAE construction firm and global insurance provider.
• DIAC hotel development-related arbitration between HNW developer and Indian contracting firm.
• UNCITRAL proceedings under a BIT between an Indian manufacturer and an EMEA State.
• USD 40M vicarious liability dispute in the UAE courts between a UAE major retailer and a Korean MNC.
• Dispute Adjudication Board proceedings between a hotel fit-out subcontractor and the main contractor.
• USD 20M shareholder dispute between exiting shareholder and global engineering firm.
• Representing a shareholder of a Fin-Tech firm in pursuing allegations of breach of governance.
• Representing a Fin-Tech investor during regulatory investigations.