Sharon is an International Commercial Arbitrator and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) with over 30 years of experience in consultancy in international arbitration, arbitration case management, national petroleum contracts and regulation and upstream oil and gas reservoir and production engineering.
Having been strategically placed in the Dubai, United Arab Emirates international arbitration scene from 2006 through 2019 where she was licensed to practice as a legal consultant by the Ruler's Court of Dubai which has armed her with unique expertise in the Middle East and North African (MENA) international arbitration market. She has been actively involved in all phases of international commercial arbitration including party representation, case management, case strategy, and serving as an arbitrator which has enabled her to empower her clients with a thorough perspective and understanding of the arbitration process.
Her petroleum engineering and national petroleum policy and international contracts in both the US Department of the Interior and the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Department of Minerals and Energy, regulatory development, and sitting on the national government side of the negotiation table of major oil and gas contracts has given her the experience and insight of understanding the perspectives and motivations of national governmental priorities versus the commercial considerations and motivations of major international oil and gas companies.
After 15 years of studying and working abroad, Sharon returned to the United States in 2019. She has been appointed by Order of the Nevada Supreme Court as an arbitrator to the Second and Eighth Judicial Court Districts in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Sharon is available for arbitrator appointments through arbitration institutions or directly made by the parties. She accepts appointments in relation to a wide variety of industries, using her experience in interpreting contracts in relation to many different cultures to help parties achieve the best results in international commercial arbitration. Sharon is an American citizen. Hourly rate varies according to type and complexity of matter.
.· International Arbitration Counsel representation with successful conclusion of combined claims amounting in excess of USD 170 million in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
· Development, Establishment and Heading of Arbitration Departments in two law firms in Dubai, UAE
· First graduate of the LLM (Masters of Law) program in International Arbitration, Centre for Energy, Petroleum & Mining Law & Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee, Scotland
· Appointment to the Board of Trustees of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Mineral Resources Stabilization Fund (predecessor of the PNG Sovereign Wealth Fund)
· Sole Petroleum Policy, Petroleum Regulation and Technical Advisor to the Prime Minister and Executive Committee, PNG
· Appointed by PNG Minster of Minerals & Energy as the sole Petroleum Engineer on the national Petroleum Development Board
· As Petroleum Engineering & National Petroleum Regulatory Advisor on the national PNG negotiating team, successfully negotiated 9 international production sharing agreements (PSAs).
As Senior Reservoir Engineer, Minerals Management Service, US Department of the Interior, evaluated potential petroleum resources in unexplored offshore west coast US from Mexican to Canadian borders
. Second Judicial Court District, State of Nevada, USA
. Eighth Judicial Court District, State of Nevada, USA
. Saudi Center of Commercial Arbitration, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
. Dubai International Arbitration Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
. Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
· DiplCIArb, International Arbitration certified by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 2010
· LLM, International Dispute Settlement, Specialization in International Oil and Gas Commercial Disputes, Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Minerals Law and Policy (CEPMPL), University of Dundee, Scotland, 2006
· Masters of Arts, International Political Economics, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California, 1990
· Bachelor of Science, Petroleum Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 1980
· Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, California State University, Dominguez Hills, California, 1976