Professional notice
A young Cairo firm with big ambitions
| People in Who’s Who Legal | 1 |
|---|---|
| Pending cases as counsel | 14 |
| Value of pending counsel work | US$3.2 billion |
| Treaty cases | 1 |
| Current arbitrator appointments | 6 (of which 4 are as sole or chair |
| Lawyers sitting as arbitrator | 1 |
NEW ENTRY. Karim Youssef set up this Egyptian full-service firm in 2016 after more than five years as partner at Amereller Legal Consultants in Cairo and Dubai, where he headed the Middle East arbitration practice. Before that, he practised for two years at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
He has worked on some high-profile commercial and investment treaty arbitrations, often relating to public contracts awarded by states in the region.
It’s now a 16-strong practice, including a counsel and a group of senior associates. It takes pride in having an unusually large proportion of female lawyers compared with its competitors in the region.
Who uses it?
The firm has advised the Arab African International Bank, Cementos La Union group, Arabian Cement Company, Veolia Proprete, and EgyptAir.
Track record
Karim Youssef’s greatest hits include helping Egyptian television station CBC prevail in a claim against Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef, who has been described as Egypt’s answer to US comedian Jon Stewart. He has also successfully defended the Egyptian branch of a major energy conglomerate in a dispute over the supply of power generators.
In a case brought over from Amereller, Youssef helped settle a six-year long UNCITRAL case concerning a mid-1990s privatisation that was unwound by a judicial decision in the wake of the Arab Spring.
Recent events
The firm is currently advising on a US$1.9 billion claim against a state entity over the termination of a concession in the shipping industry; and a US$250 million claim over two oil and gas concessions, which is before the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration.
In the investment treaty arena, it is acting for Spanish investors in a €206 million ICSID claim against Egypt relating to their investment in one of Egypt’s biggest cement companies.
Youssef & Partners is like no other practice in Egypt. We are a full-service firm with a cosmopolitan and international outlook, exercising regional influence and delivering client services to truly global standards. The firm's renowned flagship practice is commercial and investment treaty arbitration with a focus on complex and high-value disputes. Our unparalleled multinational expertise, strong business sense, superior strategy, and remarkable track record maximize clients' results.
Headed by Dr. Karim A. Youssef, a leading figure in Middle Eastern arbitration, the arbitration and international law team at Youssef & Partners is one of Egypt and the MENA region’s most elite and sophisticated.
As Egypt’s premier arbitration practice, the firm focuses on representing local and foreign investors in some of the largest and most significant investment treaty and commercial cases in the MENA region. Located in Cairo, Youssef & Partners handles major local and international disputes and advises some of the world’s leading corporations across the MENA region. The firm’s global outreach is second to none in the region; we are involved in arbitral or court proceedings in four continents.
Geographical boundaries are less relevant by the day, and our core belief is that clients should not have to suffer less than state-of-the-art lawyering and counsel services simply because they do business in emerging or foreign markets.
Youssef & Partners works to win, and our unqualified reputation in the local and international markets is that we do. We focus on what matters most to our clients and we make it happen.