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Tonderai Nyandoro is a Legal Director – International Arbitration at M&CO Legal and an experienced international arbitration and commercial disputes practitioner advising clients across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe on complex cross-border matters. He has acted in over 40 international arbitration and litigation proceedings, including as lead counsel, spanning international commercial arbitration, investor-state arbitration, sovereign advisory, commercial litigation before leading international financial centre courts, and regulatory investigations.
Mr Nyandoro has represented clients in both ad hoc and institutional proceedings under major rules including DIAC, ICC, ICSID, LCIA, SIAC, CPR, and UNCITRAL. His experience covers disputes seated in both common law and civil law jurisdictions and governed by the laws of more than ten legal systems across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a registered arbitrator with the Dubai International Arbitration Centre. He is admitted as a Solicitor of England & Wales and is registered to practise before the DIFC and ADGM Courts. Mr Nyandoro holds an LL.M. with Merit in International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution from Queen Mary, University of London, and was awarded the University of Hertfordshire Chancellor’s Prize for Academic Excellence. He is fluent in English and Shona.
Prior to joining M&CO Legal, Mr Nyandoro held positions at leading international law firms in Dubai and London. He has directed portfolios of international arbitration and commercial litigation matters with an aggregate value exceeding USD 500 million across sectors including energy, mining, infrastructure, construction, financial services, technology, and finance.
He has acted for claimants and respondents in high-stakes disputes involving sovereign states, state-owned entities, multinational corporations, and high-net-worth individuals, managing matters from pre-dispute advisory through to enforcement and asset recovery.
Mr. Nyandoro has particular expertise in sovereign-related disputes and government advisory across the Middle East and Africa. He has advised sovereign aviation authorities, government ministries, and state-owned entities in complex regulatory and commercial disputes, and has successfully recovered substantial sums from sovereign counterparties on behalf of private investors.
He regularly delivers training programmes to African governments and institutions on international arbitration, investment treaty protection, and dispute resolution strategies, including for the Ghana Ministry of Energy and the Ethiopian Investment Commission. In May 2025, he co-hosted a seminar with the Rwanda Development Board and Al Hamra Group on bilateral trade, investment, and legal issues between Rwanda and the Middle East.
During his academic career, he captained Queen Mary’s team at the 20th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, further reflecting his longstanding engagement with international arbitration.
• International Arbitration
• Investor-State Disputes
• Commercial Litigation
• Sovereign Advisory
• Regulatory Investigations
• Energy, Mining & Infrastructure
• Middle East & Africa
• LL.M. with Merit in International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary, University of London, 2014
• Legal Practice Course
BPP Law School, 2010
• LL.B. (Honours) Upper Second Class
University of Hertfordshire, 2009
1. Solicitor of England & Wales
2. Dubai International Financial Centre Courts — Registered Practitioner
3. Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts — Registered Practitioner
4. Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
5. Dubai International Arbitration Centre — Registered Arbitrator
• English (Native)
• Shona (Native)
