Fuad Gashamov

Fuad Gashamov is a professional lawyer with over 12 years of experience in consulting industry. He mainly specializes in: dispute resolution, real estate, contracts, regulatory, intellectual property and compliance.

He graduated from Qafqaz University with a bachelor's degree in “International Law” in 2008 and a master's degree in “International Law” from Baku State University in 2011. Сurrently, he continues his LLM in “Dispute Resolution” at the University of Aberdeen, UK.

Fuad Gashamov worked as a lawyer in various consulting companies in 2009-2011, then as a lawyer at OJSC “Azer-Turk Bank” in 2011-2012, as a senior lawyer at the consulting company Reta Commerce in 2012-2013 (as an outsource legal counsel in Veyseloglu Group).

From March 2013 to May 2021, Fuad Gashamov started working at Ekvita business consulting company, where for the last 5 years he was the head of dispute resolution practice, and also held the position of a partner of the company since January 2020.

Fuad Gashamov has been one of the founding partners of Legalize Law Firm since May 2021. He also works as a lecturer at the Academy of the State Customs Committee since September 2021 and teaches commercial law to law students.

He is a member of the Bar Association of the Republic of Azerbaijan since August 25, 2014.

He is also a member of the Commission on Business Environment and International Ratings of the Republic of Azerbaijan “Enforcement of contracts, resolution of disputes, closure and bankruptcy of an enterprise, judicial system and rule of law”.

In addition to Azerbaijani which is his native language, Fuad Gashamov knows English and Turkish at an advanced level and Russian at an intermediate level.

Fuad Gashamov’s ten-years working experience includes:

Advised on prospective enforcement of LCIA award in Azerbaijan to a Global 500 ranked Korean company;
Represented a UK company in a complicated real estate dispute in Azerbaijan (amount in dispute was more than USD 2 million);
Represented an American company in a complex contractual and real estate dispute (amount in dispute was more than USD 20 million);
Successfully represented a major US oil services company in several employment and commercial disputes;
Successfully represented UK shipping company in employment litigation;
Successfully represented several foreign investors operating in Azerbaijan, including US-listed companies on alleged Tax Crimes before the Department of Preliminary Investigation of Tax Crimes;
Provided full legal support to a Korean construction company in USD 107 million construction project;
Represented a UK based company in a loan and real estate related dispute (amount in dispute is approximately AZN 130 million);
Represented the largest tourism management agency in Azerbaijan before state authorities for acquiring title to 2058 ha of land in Gusar region;
Participated in preparation of the “White Paper” issued by the AmCham Azerbaijan representing the collective thinking of its membership about changes that would strengthen Azerbaijan’s business environment, and by extension, the country as a whole;
Supported UK law firm in the defamation case in the matters of Azerbaijani law, as well as in witness preparation in Azerbaijan;
Acted as a legal expert on the matter of Azerbaijani law in LCIA in multi-hundred-million-dollar dispute between the largest shipping company in the region and the state-owned company;
Acted as the party-appointed arbitrator in an international USD 30 million dispute in Istanbul Arbitration Center (ISTAC) ;
Represented Chinese company in commercial dispute (amount in dispute was more than 5 mln USD);
Represented local drilling company in a commercial dispute (amount in dispute was more than AZN 20 min);
Represented one of the largest confectionery manufacturers in Ukraine and Russia in complex IP disputes (more than 20 trademarks were in dispute);
Represented Italian company in commercial dispute in Azerbaijani commercial courts (where applicable law was Italian law);
Acted as the key legal expert in the project of “Institutional Reforms” carried out by the Ministry of Culture;
Participated as the member of working group related to the amendments to the Law on Public Procurement co-established by Legal and Compliance and Procurement Committees within AmCham;
Participated as the member of working group of Business Environment and International Rankings Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan, “Efficiency and competition of the commodity market” related to the amendments to the Law on Public Procurement;
Advised foreign investor in multi-million project in the area of alternative energy with regard to the application of the Law on Public Procurement to the joint-venture to be established together with the government agency;
Provided full legal support to the activities related to public procurement of the largest state-funded tourism company;

Fuad Gashamov participated in the following local and international trainings and events:

ABA/CEELI, “Street Law” training program, October 2005 – May 2006;
ABA/CEELI, “Commercial Law Legal English”, September 1 – 14, 2007;
ABA/CEELI, “Advocacy skills for courts”, November 2009;
ABA/CEELI, “Securities law: Economic basis, legislation and international experience”, 04 September 2010;
ABA/CEELI, “International Trade (Incoterms)”, 17 June 2012;
Matrix Seminars LTD, “the FIDIC Conditions of Contracts 1999”, 28 April 2014, Baku, Azerbaijan;
EF International School of English, “Business Language Course”, Malta, September 2014;
10^th Europe-Caucasus-Asia Legal Forum, Tbilisi, Georgia, 17 – 20 June 2015;
English Law Week, 30 November – 2 December 2015, Moscow, Russian Federation;
The IBA Annual Conference, 18-23 September 2016, Washington DC, USA;
Contract Law: From Trust to Promise to Contract, an online learning initiative of Harvard University through EDX, 29 December 2017;
ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System Introduction and Implementation, by British Standards Institution, May 2017;
International Intellectual Property Forum, 06 June 2018, Kiev, Ukraine;
Intellectual Property Law and Policy, an online learning initiative of the University of Pennsylvania through EDX, 28 December 2018;
13th Annual Law Firm Management Conference, 6 December 2019, Moscow, Russian Federation;
Essential Guide to ISO 37001, by Lloyd’s Register, April 2020;
Arbitration training, Istanbul Arbitration Center, 15-16 January 2022.

Other activities:

Cooperated with ABACEELI and attended the Street Law program as the trainer and trained the human rights in schools (2005-2006);
Co-founded Remedium Law Centre, implemented “Each One, Teach One” project to raise the public awareness of the people in the field of human rights (2011);
Created www.remedium.az website with support from the Embassy of the United States of America in Azerbaijan (2011);
Pro-bono activities in defending human rights in criminal cases (2014 – 2016);
Lecturer in Winter Law School on the Contract Law organized by ELSA Azerbaijan on 05 February 2018 in Gabala, Azerbaijan.

Articles/Speeches:

AmCham, Impact, Issue No. 34 (2019), “Litigation Process in Azerbaijan - In the Light of Recent Judicial Reforms”;
az, “Does quarantine regime constitute a Force Majeure event?” (Co-author);
az, Commercial disputes;
“Enforcing Arbitration Awards in Azerbaijan” (Co-author);
Chambers Global Practice Guides, International Arbitration 2020, Azerbaijan, Law and Practice (Co-author).