Nick HUmphrey | partner
Nick Humphrey is recognised as a leading international commercial and dispute resolution lawyer with extensive experience across the aviation, marine and transport sectors. Nick represents international airlines, aircraft and ship operators and owners, FBOs, airports, ports, maintenance and repair organisations and trade credit providers, their brokers and insurers on a broad range of contentious and non-contentions matters.
The scope of Nick’s international and cross border experience is extensive advising on airport, port and hotel investment projects, disputed, compliance and regulatory across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia including some of the most austere jurisdictions in the world.
Nick advises insurers across a number of product line (aviation, marine, ground transport, trade credit, property, casualty, war risk) on a range of liability, defence and coverage issues.
In the emerging technology space, Nick has advised manufacturers, investors and operators of UAS, eVTOLs and Vertiport on complex regulatory issues in the development of Urban Air Mobility ecosystems.
Nick has acted as counsel and advocate obtaining successful outcomes under a range of institutional arbitration rules involving complex cross-border disputes (eg as DIFC-LCIA, DIAC, LCIA, AAA and ADCCAC) and has litigated disputes in the offshore court of the DIFC, ADGM, BVI, Cayman Islands and Bermuda.
Nick previously worked in-house at Emirates Group as the principal lawyer for dnata’s global ground handling and cargo operations and senior legal counsel at a defence logistics contractor engaged to provide extensive maritime, transport and aviation end-to-end supply chain operations to NATO, ISAF, UN and the UKMOD.
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• Solicitor, New South Wales Supreme Court, Australia, 2006
• Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, College of Law, 2005
• Bachelor of Laws, University of Queensland, 2003
• Bachelor of Economics, University of Queensland, 1997
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The Legal 500 EMEA – United Arab Emirates
2022: Recommended Lawyer for 'Insurance': "Nick Humphrey is the primary point of contact for aviation-related insurance work."
2022: Recommended Lawyer for 'Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and International Litigation': "Nick Humphrey is a hands on lawyer - very responsive, with great client contact. He makes things happen."
2021: Recommended Lawyer for 'Insurance': "Nick Humphrey is a key name in the aviation insurance defence space."
2021: Recommended Lawyer for 'Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and International Litigation (United Arab Emirates)'
2020: Recommended Lawyer for 'Insurance’ (United Arab Emirates)
2020: Recommended Lawyer for 'Dispute resolution’ (United Arab Emirates)
2019: Recommended Lawyer for 'Dispute resolution: arbitration and international litigation': "Nick Humphrey contributes aviation expertise."
Legal 500 Private Practice Arbitration Powerlist - Middle East Region
2022/2023: Listed as a leading arbitration practitioner
Who’s Who Legal Transport (United Arab Emirates)
2018-2023: Global Leader for ‘Aviation Contentious’ (United Arab Emirates)
2018-2023:: Global Leader for ‘Aviation Regulatory’ (United Arab Emirates)
2020-2022: Global Leader for ‘Autonomous Aerial Vehicles’ (United Arab Emirates)
Chambers & Partners (UAE – Insurance)
2023: United Arab Emirates expertise based abroad:
“Nick Humphrey of Norton White focuses his practice on aviation, trade and transport insurance matters. He frequently advises key players in these sectors on liability claims and regulatory issues. He joined Norton White in Sydney in August 2022 having previously been based at Kennedys in Dubai.”
2022: Listed in Band 2:
“Nick Humphrey is a Dubai-based lawyer who focuses his practice on aviation, trade and transport insurance matters. He frequently advises key players in these sectors on liability claims and regulatory issues.”
“Nick's main strengths are a personal approach, a good choice in legal strategies, thorough work on the cases, reasonable terms of cooperation and a readiness to assist with side matters such as meetings and presentations. He brings good professional expertise and a solid 'weight' in the market."
2021: Listed in Band 2
"[Nick] provides the local knowledge necessary to manage risk and achieve favourable outcomes in multi-jurisdictional disputes."
Others Awards and Recognitions
Listed in Euromoney’s Aviation Expert Guide 2019-2021 – United Arab Emirates
Winner of the Lexology Client Choice Award 2020 – Aviation – United Arab Emirates
Listed in the “Top 30” aviation practitioners globally in the “Best of the Best Global Expert Guide 2020”
Member of the Legal Department of the Year – Large Team, Emirates Group Legal Department, Corporate Counsel Middle East Awards, 2013
Member of Corporate Team of the Year, Emirates Group Legal Department, International Financial Law Review, 8th Middle East Awards, 2013
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“New passenger rights regulations in Saudi Arabia” Kennedys Update (June 2017)
“The Middle East crisis: implications for the aviation industry” Kennedys Update (June 2017)
“General Insurance - Aviation - UAE: Revised requirements for aircraft and drone operators” Middle East Insurance Review (December, 2016)
“The Regulation of Drones in the UAE” Emirates Law (2016)
"Angry People in the Sky: Air Rage and the Tokyo Convention" Journal of Air Law & Commerce (2014) Vol. 76 (4) (Co-authored with Dr Vernon Nase)
2010 – 2014, Co-editor of and major contributor to Aviation Brief, the quarterly legal publication of ALAANZ
2008 – 2010, Author of Asia Pacific contribution, Liability Reporter, International Air Transportation Association
“Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back: Reflections on Air Carriers’ Liability and Australia’s Accession to Montreal 99” Zeitschrift für Luft und Weltraumrecht (German Journal of Air & Space Law) 55 Jg. 3/2006 (Co-authored with Dr Vernon Nase)
“The Cape Town Convention 2001: An Australian Perspective” Air & Space Law, Vol. xxxi/1 (February 2006) (Co-authored with Dr Vernon Nase)
“Passenger compensation – a flawed solution?” Aircraft & Aerospace (2003) November/December
“Convention secures financing in aircraft” Aircraft & Aerospace (2003) November/December