Neal Brendel

Neal Brendel is the Managing Partner of K&L Gates' Dubai office. He maintains an active trial, arbitration and counseling practice encompassing a wide range of complex commercial contracts and construction disputes, oil and gas disputes, business torts, real estate, and intellectual property disputes. Mr. Brendel also has extensive experience representing policyholders in insurance coverage disputes involving construction related claims, underlying toxic torts, environmental and nuclear hazard liabilities, fire, explosion and natural disaster losses, marine casualties, business interruption claims, and other types of insured losses, as well as broker liability claims. He has been lead trial counsel in complex insurance cases pending or concluded in both state and federal courts, and has acted as special insurance counsel in reorganization proceedings in the United States Courts of Appeal for the Third and Fifth Circuits. Mr. Brendel is registered and practices before the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts, and regularly represents clients in matters pending in the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre, the DIFC/LCIA Arbitration Centre, and the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre. In July 2017, Neal was awarded the prestigious Craig Sweeney Award by the US Rugby Foundation. This award is given to individuals of exemplary character who are respected by their peers and the rugby community, and who have made significant contributions to the game following their playing career ' Neal played for the US team at the First Rugby World Cup, and he is a former Chairman of the Board of USA Rugby, the national governing body of the sport of rugby football and the North American representative to the International Rugby Board.