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Matthew Williams

Counsel
Counsel
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VCard
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Areas of Focus

Overview

Matthew Williams is a counsel in the Doha office with more than a decade of experience in Qatar. Combining extensive international experience in construction, project finance, and arbitration with an in-depth knowledge of the Qatari legal market, Matthew is proficient at handling complex matters and providing clients with solutions.

While Matthew started his career as a construction and projects lawyer, he now has more than 10 years of experience in commercial arbitration, with a strong focus on construction arbitration. He has experience in delay and disruption, various disciplines of defects, and quantum. He has conducted numerous arbitrations under ICC, LCIA, QICCA, and KCAB. Matthew’s clients have been government entities, employers, contractors, and subcontractors.

With respect to construction projects, Matthew regularly advises clients on their front-end negotiations, including their contract management. Matthew also advises clients in large-scale infrastructure projects, including lenders and sponsors on both the project documentation and the financing and security arrangements. Matthew also advises clients in relation to Qatar law on general commercial matters, including data protection, intellectual property, employment, and consumer protection.

Career & Education

    • University College London, LLB Law, (Hons), 1995
    • University College London, LLB Law, (Hons), 1995

    • England and Wales
    • England and Wales

    • Member, Qatar British Business Forum (QBBF)
    • Member, Qatar British Business Forum (QBBF)

Matthew's Insights

Publication | 01.28.25

QICCA Rules

The start of 2025 has seen the introduction of the new arbitration rules for the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (“QICCA”). The new rules, entitled the ‘Arbitration Rules 2024’, reflect the changing world of dispute resolution, and the rules are nearly double in length to the 2012 rules reflecting the QICCA’s understanding that arbitration is a competitive environment, and that institutional bodies need to adapt to meet the end-users’ needs. The 2024 rules are a considerable improvement, offering new regimes of expedited and emergency procedures, and transparency on third-party funding, making dispute resolution more accessible and user-friendly. We detail some of the more significant changes below....

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Representative Matters

  • Representing a Qatari contractor on all aspects of an ICC arbitration against the main contractor, relative to a Helium 3 Processing Facility at Ras Laffan for RasGas Company Limited. The claims and counterclaims involved total approximately $45 million USD (ICC, Qatar law).
  • Representing a Japanese employer in two complex ICC arbitration regarding extremely technical aspects of the Qatar Rail project with a combined dispute value of over $100 million USD (ICC, Qatar law).
  • Representing a state entity in a $400 million USD dispute relating to the North Field (ICC, Qatar law).
  • Representing a US Fortune 500 company on delays, defects and counterclaims under a construction agreement with a Mexican subcontractor (ICC, New York law).
  • Representing a Japanese contractor on delays and defects under a construction agreement relating to Incheon airport (KCAB, Korean law).
  • Representing a Qatari contractor on delays and defects under a construction agreement relating to a residential development in Qatar (QICCA, Qatar law).
  • Acting as sponsors’ counsel on a $6 billion integrated olefins and polyethylene facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City.
  • Acting as sponsors’ counsel and advising on Qatari law aspects of the Facility E IWPP project and advising on the project, finance, and security documents.
  • Acting as lenders’ counsel and advising on Qatari law aspects of the Facility D IWPP project and advising on the project, finance, and security documents
  • Acting as local counsel on a global $12 billion USD bond issue.
  • Acting as sponsors’ counsel on the Al Kharsaa Solar Project and advising on EPC contracts, other project documents, and negotiating security documents with lenders.

Matthew's Insights

Publication | 01.28.25

QICCA Rules

The start of 2025 has seen the introduction of the new arbitration rules for the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (“QICCA”). The new rules, entitled the ‘Arbitration Rules 2024’, reflect the changing world of dispute resolution, and the rules are nearly double in length to the 2012 rules reflecting the QICCA’s understanding that arbitration is a competitive environment, and that institutional bodies need to adapt to meet the end-users’ needs. The 2024 rules are a considerable improvement, offering new regimes of expedited and emergency procedures, and transparency on third-party funding, making dispute resolution more accessible and user-friendly. We detail some of the more significant changes below....

View All Insights

Practices

Matthew's Insights

Publication | 01.28.25

QICCA Rules

The start of 2025 has seen the introduction of the new arbitration rules for the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (“QICCA”). The new rules, entitled the ‘Arbitration Rules 2024’, reflect the changing world of dispute resolution, and the rules are nearly double in length to the 2012 rules reflecting the QICCA’s understanding that arbitration is a competitive environment, and that institutional bodies need to adapt to meet the end-users’ needs. The 2024 rules are a considerable improvement, offering new regimes of expedited and emergency procedures, and transparency on third-party funding, making dispute resolution more accessible and user-friendly. We detail some of the more significant changes below....

View All Insights