
Reema I. Ali
international litigation and arbitration
Specializing in Arabic Speaking Countries
Reema I. Ali is the founding and Managing Partner of the law firm Ali and Partners Consulting LLC, which specializes in international litigation and arbitration, as well as anti-corruption in Middle Eastern countries. Ms. Ali represents numerous US and multinational corporations in multiple jurisdictions in the Middle East and acts as co-counsel to numerous US and European law firms.
She also serves as an expert witness on the laws of Arab countries and has practiced law for over 40 years in the Middle East, working with major US, European and Japanese companies.
Experience as Counsel
Ms. Ali's practice focuses solely on the laws of Arab countries and in particular the laws of Kuwait. Ms Ali’s notable clients include:
- Export Import Bank of the United States in its due diligence for potential financing of the Equate project between Petrochemical Industries Company and Union Carbide Corporation (now a subsidiary of The Chemical Company ("Dow").
- Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Japan National Oil Corporation in the facilities they provided to the Arabian Oil Company to finance loans to Kuwait Gulf Oil Company as part of the surrender of the Arabian Oil Company's concession rights, one of KPC's subsidiaries. This transaction involved KPC and SPC and the Kuwait Ministry of Oil.
- EXXON Mobil in their bid for production sharing agreement in the northern fields. Counseled numerous suppliers and contractors in their bids to KPC and KPC subsidiaries such as ABB Vetro and Elsag Bailey; Battelle Memorial Institute; BGP; Black & Veatch and Textron's Union Pump.
- US and European financial institutions in financing various transactions and represent US companies in all aspects of their business activities in the region.
- Numerous companies on the Libyan legal system and authored several articles on various aspects of the laws of Libya and one of the first Articles in English to explain the Libyan legal system and oil sector after the lifting of sanctions in 2004.


Experience as Expert
In FCOF II UB Securities LLC vs. BNP Paribas in the High Court of Justice, Ms. Ali Served as an expert in a $650 Sukuk issuance case. Her testimony was dispositive in not only securing a victory for her client, but also establishing precedent in English legal history whereby a foreign bank owes a duty of care to a secondary financial market.
Ms. Ali has appeared as expert on Kuwaiti law in several arbitration proceedings, notably:
- Caribbean Agricultural Projects Inc. v. Bufete Industrial S.A.1999
- Sheikh Fahed Al Ahmed, Oriental Exchange Company v. UAE Bank 1987.
She has also made appearances as a legal expert in numerous cases, notably:
- Dow Chemicals v. Kuwait Petrochemical Industries ICC Arbitration 2009
- Alghanim v. Alghanim, et al. (2009, ongoing) US District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Abed Semsarzadeh v. Ametek Inc. (2009 ongoing) in the Superior Court of Delaware for Newcastle County
- Wissam Abdullateef Saeed Al Qurashi et al.v. Adel Nakla and L3 Services (2008) US District Court for the district of Maryland Greenbelt division
- Mark Mc Mananaway et al. v. KBR el al. (2010 ongoing) US District Court for Southern District of Indiana Evansvile Division
- Robertson v. American Life Insurance Company (2006) Superior Court of Delaware [2006 WL 2959475]
- Simon, et al. v. Republic of Iraq, et al. (2005) US District Court for the District of Columbia
- Seyam, et al. v. Republic of Iraq, et al. (2005) US District Court for the District of Columbia
- Mel J. and Vivian C. Hill, et al. v. Republic of Iraq and Saddam Hussain in his official capacity as President of the Republic of Iraq (2004) US District Court for the District of Columbia
- Harris Corporation v. A & J Nova Enterprises, Inc.
About Reema Ali
Ms. Ali has practiced law in the Middle East for over 39 years. She is a world-renowned expert on Middle Eastern Laws. She has been instrumental in negotiating a wide spectrum of international business and commercial transactions in all countries in the region. In addition to having an extensive experience in the legal systems and laws of the Arab countries, she has an in-depth knowledge of the politics and policies of the region. Ms. Ali has also served on a regular basis as an expert on the laws of Arab nations before the courts of the US, UK, and other countries.
Before forming what has become the law firm of Ali & Partners in 1991, Ms. Ali was an associate with the firm of Al-Saleh, Graham & James in Kuwait for five years, where she represented a diverse client base comprising of local and multi-national corporations. Ali & Partners expanded its practice areas and is now known as AP Consulting. During this period, she also served as a Member and Vice President of Legal Affairs for the American Business Council in Kuwait. Between 1991-1994, Ms. Ali acted as Special Counsel Partner in Donovan, Leisure, Huge & Schiller, and then in Shea & Gould. During that time Ms. Ali maintained a residence in the Washington DC area, although she spent most of her time in the region working with companies engaged in restoring the oil fields and in other sectors of Kuwait in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War. In 1994, she re-devoted her time exclusively to AP Consulting, a Middle Eastern law firm with offices and affiliate offices across the Middle East including Kuwait and an office in Washington, D.C., that exclusively practices Middle Eastern law.
Following the Arab Spring, Ms. Ali was invited to serve as a member of the World Bank MENA advisory board. Ms. Ali is also a frequent speaker at the Trace GAIN conferences on FCPA and anti-corruption compliance.
Ms. Ali has also served on a regular basis as an expert before the courts of the US, UK and other countries on the laws of Arab countries including Kuwaiti, Iraqi and the laws of the UAE. She has also served as an expert witness in ICC arbitration on Kuwaiti and Yemeni laws.
Ms. Ali has given numerous lectures and presentations on various aspects of the laws in several Middle Eastern countries. She has also authored numerous articles and chapters in various international treatises on various issues of Middle Eastern laws.
Publications
- Authored a chapter in Getting the Deal Through: Oil Regulations 2008 – 2009 Oil sector in Kuwait. Law Business Research Ltd
- Authored a chapter in Getting the Deal Through – Anti-Corruption Regulation 2008 – Kuwait. Law Business Research Ltd
- Authored six chapters in International Contract Manual, Sweet & Maxwell, 2007, and Thomson West Country Handbooks 2007
- Authored two chapters in Enforcement of Money Judgments Abroad, Juris Publishing, Inc. 2005 updated annually
- Authored two chapters in Attachment of Assets, Juris Publishing Inc. 2005 updated annually
- Authored numerous articles in various gazettes and on line publications (Singapore, MEED, MEER, Complinet co. Mondaq, IFC doing business, The Financial Express, Thomson Reuters and UPI)
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- New York Bar
Education
- LLB, Leeds Metropolitan University – 1981
- J.D., Southern Methodist University – 1983.
Languages
- Arabic
- English
Nationality
- United States
Photo Attributions: Kuwait City Skyline, Tayssir Kadamany – Law Library, Pixabay – Lady Justice, Pavel Danilyuk – Gavel, Sora Shimazaki