Maria Chedid, is the global chair of Arnold & Porter’s International Arbitration Practice Group. She regularly serves as lead counsel in both commercial and investment arbitrations, and frequently is called upon to serve as an arbitrator. Over the last three decades, she has handled arbitrations administered by all major arbitral institutions including the ICC, ICDR, SIAC, LCIA, ICSID, DIAC, CPR, JAMS, PCA, AAA, UNCC, and the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal.

Ms. Chedid brings a wealth of arbitration experience involving diverse subject matter and expansive geographical reach, having worked on disputes around the globe relating to foreign investment, technology, energy, infrastructure, licensing, distribution, intellectual property, cryptocurrency, government contracts, joint ventures, hedge funds, political risk insurance, taxation, administrative law, environmental regulation, pharmaceutical products, real estate, construction, internet domain names, and claims of corruption.

Ms. Chedid is one of two US members of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), currently serving her second term on the Court. She has twice been a recipient of California's Top Women Lawyers of the Year award, and also has consistently been recognized for her arbitration expertise in Chambers Global, Chambers USA, The Legal 500 US, Who’s Who Legal, Super Lawyers, Lawdragon 500 Global, Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Experts, and the “Tech List” of Leading Technology Arbitrators. In these and other publications, clients "commend her handling of complex disputes," "praise her 'highly effective advocacy,'" and describe her as “incisive, a superb strategist and [] unrelenting in achieving the targeted objectives,” while peers note that she is "superbly prepared," "exceptionally talented," "relentless," "very thorough," "expert in damages issues," and "largely unflappable." In addition, Ms. Chedid is "particularly noted for her capabilities in IP disputes," her "expertise in Middle Eastern disputes," and "matters involving Asian and Latin American parties." She is highly regarded as "an excellent lawyer and a pleasure to work with.”

Among her other leadership positions in international arbitration, Ms. Chedid is co-chair of the AAA/ICDR Global Task Force on Technology and Life Sciences Arbitration, a US member of the National Committee for the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Users Council, an Officer of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) North American Users’ Council, and the founding president and co-chair of the Board of Directors of the California International Arbitration Council (CIAC).

Ms. Chedid is a regular speaker on international dispute resolution and advocacy at conferences worldwide and guest-lectures at numerous law schools, including Stanford Law School, UC Berkeley School of Law, Columbia Law School, and the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine Law School, where she has taught as an adjunct professor. Ms. Chedid is originally from Lebanon and is a native Arabic speaker.

Jennifer Josefson's, 20+-year career has focused on international, cross-border transactions covering the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa., while acting on market-leading transactions with an emphasis on the oil, gas, liquefied natural gas, petrochemical, power, mining, and natural resource sectors.

Representing clients across the spectrum of energy industries, Jennifer regularly advises on acquisitions and divestitures, mergers, joint ventures, joint operating agreements, concessions, production sharing agreements, farm-ins, supply, and service agreements. She also handles the commercial agreements regularly used by energy companies for revenue generation, raw materials and feedstock inputs, financing, and facilities operations and maintenance.

Throughout her career, Jennifer has actively contributed to the development of international oil and gas contracting standards through her work with the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN). She currently presides as AIEN’s immediate past president (having served as president in 2021–2022, leading the name change from the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) and expansion of the association’s energy scope). In past years she also served on AIEN’s board of directors, was a founding regional director of AIEN’s FSU/CIS Chapter and was a co-chair of the AIEN 2019 Model Farmout Agreement Revision. As a standing faculty member for more than 10 years, Jennifer regularly conducts AIEN’s international oil and gas contracting training courses—the Short Course and the Core Course.

Consistently recognized as a top energy and natural resources lawyer, Jennifer is ranked in Tier 1 by both Chambers Global and Chambers Europe. Jennifer is also recognized by IFLR1000 and Who’s Who of International Energy Lawyers.

Heba Anwar Raslan, has over fifteen years of experience and her practice includes oil & gas, mineral resources, M&As, competition, insurance, intellectual property, and general commercial law. Prior to joining Sharkawy & Sarhan in 2012, Heba gained experience advising multinational clients in the USA and UAE in relation to their investments in Egypt.

Heba holds a Ph.D. from King’s College London, an LL.M. from The George Washington University Law School. She is a member of the permanent academic staff at the Cairo University Faculty of Law and is deputy to the head of the English section of the Faculty.

Heba leads the Firm’s oil and gas and mineral resources, insurance, and competition practices. She regularly advises high profile clients on M&A transactions, which often include cross-border complexities, with focus on regulated sectors, especially, the oil and gas, mineral resources, insurance and transportation industries. Her clients include IOCs, independent oil & gas companies and NOCs, as well as international and local mining and mining services companies, both existing or new entrants to Egypt.

Throughout her career Heba assisted on and advised on big-ticket transactions including the sale of Société Générale’s Egyptian Unit to QNB estimated at USD 2 billion, Centamin Plc (now AngloGold Ashanti) in obtaining licenses for gold mining under EMRA’s 2020(1) bid round, Eni’s ieoc sale of contractor stakes in Shorouk Concession where the giant East Med Zohr field exists to BP, Rosneft and Mubadala respectively, Dragon Oil in the acquisition of BP’s Egyptian oil assets, Energean Plc on its acquisition of Egyptian oil and gas assets from Edison SpA and more recently the sale of Neptune Energy to Eni’s Ieoc.

Heba also regularly advises clients on antitrust and competition law issues. Some of her recent clients in this regard include Kellanova, Pepsi Cola Misr S.A.E., Chipsey for Food Industries S.A.E., Nestle SA, Total SA, GE, AmerisourceBergen Corporation. the Hero Group, Allianz and Vodafone and CK Hutchison Groups USD 19 billion deal, for the merger of their mobile telephone business in the U.K.

Since 2023, She was recognized in the “Projects & Energy” practice by “Chambers & Partners” as an “Up and Coming Partner” and by “IFLR1000” as a “Rising star partner”. In addition to that, she was recognized by “Legal 500” as among the “Next Generation Partners” for her commercial, corporate, and M&A work in 2020.

Leen ZaZa, advises on a wide range of corporate and commercial transactions in the Middle East and internationally.

Leen draws on extensive experience across multiple industries — including energy and infrastructure, heavy machineries, shipping, petrochemicals, education, e-commerce, healthcare, and technology — to counsel clients on: M&A, Venture capital and private equity, Joint ventures, Corporate governance, regulatory, and advisory matters, and Saudi law.

Before joining Latham, she was a partner at a Saudi firm.