Winning the Arbitration Game™ is not a book about arbitration law. It is a book about the harsh commercial reality that winning an arbitration does not necessarily mean getting paid. Through the real-life WCT v. Meydan arbitration, the book demonstrates why enforcement—not the arbitration award itself—is the true battleground in major construction disputes.
The book follows the collapse of the AED 4.6 billion Meydan Racecourse project in Dubai and examines how WCT successfully navigated one of the most important yet misunderstood aspects of dispute resolution: designing a claim that can survive enforcement scrutiny and ultimately convert into money.
Core philosophy: The objective of arbitration is not to win the argument. The objective is to get paid.
What the Book Covers
- Mega project failures
- Joint venture dispute risks
- Termination and post-termination strategy
- Arbitration versus enforcement realities
- The New York Convention
- Double recovery risks
- Enforcement challenges in different jurisdictions
- UAE court attitudes towards arbitration awards
- Claim design strategies
- Settlement leverage
- Award enforcement
- Commercial dispute survival techniques
Key Lessons for Contractors
- Design disputes backwards from enforcement
- Only claim what you can clearly own
- Anticipate joint venture fragmentation
- Understand enforcement geography before arbitrating
- Avoid over-claiming
- Prioritise enforceability over headline numbers
- Build claims courts can comfortably enforce
- Focus on recovery rather than righteousness
Who Should Read This Book
- Contractors
- Project Directors
- Contract Managers
- Commercial Managers
- Quantity Surveyors
- Claims Consultants
- Construction Lawyers
- Joint Venture Partners
- CEOs and Managing Directors
especially those working on Mega Projects, Infrastructure Projects, EPC Projects, and International Construction Projects.