( July, 2010)

Shalakany Law Office receives high rankings in the latest editions of the IFLR1000, the Legal 500 and the Chambers Global

The Firm is pleased to announce its high rankings in the latest editions of the IFLR1000, the Legal 500 Europe, Middle East and Africa Guide and the Chambers Global guides.

These legal publications group attorneys and firms in tiers, or bands, based on independent research, client interviews and interviews with practicing lawyers and in-house counsel across the country.

In the latest edition of The International Financial Law Review IFLR 1000 Shalakany Law Office received the following rankings:
- Banking and Capital Markets Tier 1
- Mergers and Acquisitions Tier 1
- Project Finance Tier 1

In the Legal 500 Europe, Middle East and Africa Guide Shalakany Law Office received the following rankings:
- Dispute Resolution Tier 1
- Intellectual Property Tier 1

In its latest edition of the Chambers Global Guide the Firm was recognized as follows:

Dr. Khaled El Shalakany Band 1 Dispute Resolution

Dr. Khaled El Shalakany (Engineer and Lawyer), with over 22 years experience in the law, and with law degrees from the University of Toronto and Cambridge University is the Managing Partner of the Firm (since 2006) and is the Head of the Arbitration and Litigation practices consisting of over 25 counselors and attorneys handling on average 800 court cases and 10 arbitrations per annum. He is an advocate before the Court of Cassation and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London). Dr. El Shalakany has personally acted in over 100 major court cases and has represented clients and acted as arbitrator and expert in 50 international commercial arbitrations (CRCICA, UNCITRAL, ICC, ICSID, LCIA and the GCC Center in Bahrain).

For more information on these rankings please log on to:
http://www.iflr1000.com/Jurisdiction/49/Egypt.html
http://www.legal500.com/firms/13843/offices/19651
http://www.chambersandpartners.com/Global/Firms/2658-34953


(May 12, 2010)

Shalakany Law Office, Cairo

"Structuring Capital for Islamic Finance" workshop May 2010
Shalakany Law Office organized the “Structuring Capital for Islamic Finance" Workshop in association with “Dar Al Istithmar” one of the leading Islamic finance advisory firms based in the UK. Delegates from banks and financial institutions i.e. Banque Misr, the Arab Bank, Crédit Agricole Egypt, Commercial International Bank Egypt S.A.E, the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, the Egyptian Banking Institute attended in addition to other delegates from law firms in Egypt as well as from Jordan.

This event came timely to give further insight into the principles of Islamic Finance. The workshop has featured key presentations by Dar Al Istithmar experts: Asim Khan – Executive Director, Saud Siddiqui – Senior Consultant, and Sayd Farook – Senior Consultant and the prominent Shariah scholar Dr. Hussein Hassan who defined the basic concepts of Islamic finance and outlined the latest developments and opportunities in this rapidly growing industry.
The main issues covered during the workshop were: the evolution of Islamic finance, Islamic laws and principles, the building blocks of Islamic finance classification i.e. murabaha, ijarah, salam, istisna’a, relevant sale contracts, musharaka, mudaraba, wakala and other contracts, Islamic operational aspects, Islamic commercial banking, structural overview, Islamic trade finance, Islamic credit cards, Islamic ins Islamic capital markets, shari’a compliant equities investment, sukuk Islamic certificates, Islamic treasury and interbank markets, shari’a compliant hedging instruments and insurance – takaful.

(May 31, 2009)
Shalakany Law Office, Cairo

Shalakany Law Office recently had the pleasure to organize a series of lectures on Copyright Law and Electronic Commerce. These lectures were given by Dr. Makeen Fouad, a Senior Lecturer at the University of London (SOAS), a Fellow of the Center of European Law, Kings College (University of London) and visiting Professor at Pepperdine University (USA).

The lectures covered a wide range of topics including Copyright Law and the Audiovisual Industry, Authorship/Ownership of audiovisual works, Electronic Contracts: Sale of Goods and Provision of Service over the Internet, Formation of point-to-multipoint contracts, Electronic Commerce in Egypt: the current state of play, Consumer protection in the digital world, Copyright Liability of Online Intermediaries and Peer-to-Peer and the liability of online intermediaries.

Delegates from ExxonMobil Egypt, S.A.E, the American University in Cairo, the Egyptian Competition Authority, Exceed, MobiNil, Barclays Bank, El Swedy, Pico Agriculture, and Synovate attended in addition to delegates from other law firms.


(May 7, 2009)
Shalakany Law Office, Cairo
Dr. Khaled El Shalakany, Senior and Managing Partner of Shalakany Law Office, has contributed two chapters on Egypt in the Cross–Border Dispute Resolution/Arbitration Handbooks, just published by Practical Law Company at the beginning of May on-line and as a hard copy. Volume I is a multi-jurisdictional guide to Dispute Resolution, with Country Q&A covering 23 jurisdictions, Cross-border chapters, PLC Which Lawyer? Rankings and Lawyer Profiles, while Volume II is a multi-jurisdictional guide to Arbitration, with Country Q&A covering 16 jurisdictions and Cross-border chapters. Shalakany Law Office provided detailed information about all the types of dispute resolution available in Egypt, including alternative dispute resolution issues, as well as Arbitration in Egypt.

(March 31, 2009)
Shalakany Law Office, Cairo
Shalakany Law Office had the pleasure to co-sponsor a conference jointly organized by The American University in Cairo and the IDR Group on March 31, 2009 at the American University's downtown campus, Egypt.

The conference entitled ‘Investment State Arbitration, Resource Nationalism & Institutional Impartiality: The Challenge for International Dispute Resolution’ hosted speakers and panelists from all over the world and from different areas of expertise related to arbitration and dispute resolution.

The IDR Group is a small not-for-profit group of international dispute resolution specialists. Its members are made up of arbitrators, lawyers, and other professionals from a number of countries around the world who work alongside a panel of consultants such as professors and other professionals who are not necessarily practicing lawyers or arbitrators, but who are experts in fields relevant to international dispute resolution.

The conference covered a wide range of topics under the general theme of Resource Nationalism and International Commercial Arbitration and came to a close with a focus on the importance of ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) as a new trend and the future of mediation.

Dr. Khaled El Shalakany, who is the Senior and Managing Partner of Shalakany Law Office, was a contributing member of the panel discussing the importance of alternative dispute resolution. Dr. Shalakany is registered as an arbitrator with the Cairo Regional Center for International Commercial Arbitration and the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London. He is the founder and Vice-President of the Egyptian ADR Association pioneering the application of mediation in the settlement of business disputes in Egypt.

Among the Fellow speakers at the conference were Dr. Arif Hyder Ali, Co-Chair of Crowell & Moring LLP's International Dispute Resolution Practice; Samaa Haridi, from Crowell & Moring's International Dispute Resolution Group; as well as Anthony Connerty , barrister at Lamb Chambers, Temple, London; Johan Gernandt, Senior Partner at Gernandt & Danielsson, Stockholm; Reza Mohtashami, Counsel at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Jason A. Fry, the Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; and Professor Ahmed El Kosheri.

(April 24, 2008)
Shalakany Law Office, Cairo
One of the most exciting accomplishments for Shalakany Law Office’s Tourism and Hotels Group is the recent signing of a Management Agreement for the Marriott – Marsa Alam Hotel and Resort between our client, Concord for Touristic Development Company, represented by Mr. Hamada Abou El Enein, and Marriott Hotels International, represented by Mr. G. W. Marriott.

The successful negotiations, drafting and conclusion of the Management Agreement and all other related Agreements for the Marriott- Marsa Alam were all made possible by the diligence and hard work of the team headed by Mr. Saleh Hafez, Senior Partner and leading expert in the Middle East on tourism related contracts and arbitrations arising therefrom, as well as Dr. Moataz El Mahdy, Senior Associate, also specialized in this field.

The Hotel is located on the Gulf of Abu Dabab, a fabulous spot near Marsa Alam which is considered to be the most attractive virgin tourist destination along the Red Sea Coast. The Resort will comprise 250 rooms and will include a spa, a conference center, timeshare units, lakes, as well as marine and all other facilities needed for such a type of luxury resort. It is also worth mentioning in this regard that, according to Fortune Magazine, Marriott has been granted many awards and was selected as the most respectable management company for hotels around the world.

The Firm is proud to quote part of an e-mail sent by our client to Mr. Saleh Hafez in recognition of his unprecedented efforts in the joint signing of the Agreement by both negotiating teams:

“Dear Saleh Bek,

In reference to the final draft of Marriott Marsa Alam Agreements sent to your kind attention on Thursday April 10 for final revision, we would like to seize this opportunity and thank you for your candid efforts that have been exerted during the time of negotiations and discussions. We firmly believe that without your profound experience and highly valuable professionalism, we would not have been able to reach such unprecedented agreements which are second to none as far as Owner's rights and privileges are concerned.”

The members of the group and other members of the Firm congratulate both signatories of the Management Agreement and wish the Hotel great success as a leading Hotel in the beautiful Marsa Alam area.

(January 24, 2008)
Shalakany Law Office, Cairo

Shalakany Law Office is proud to have led the negotiations, drafting and conclusion of the relevant agreements and execution on CASE of the sale by Orascom Construction Industries, SAE (OCI) of OBMH, SAE, the holding company of its cement sector, to Lafarge, S.A. for approximately US$12.9 billion in addition to assumption of US$2 billion of debt, in conjunction with a capital increase of Lafarge, S.A. to be subscribed to by NNS Holding, a family company controlled by Nassef Sawiris for approximately Euros 2.8 billion.

A team headed by Mona Zulficar, Senior Partner and Chair, Executive Committee and including Dr. Ingy Badawy, Partner, Anwar Zeidan, Partner and Malack El Masry, Senior Associate, handled the transaction on behalf of “OCI”, and worked closely with a team from Allen & Overy. While the Share Purchase Agreement and the Escrow Agreement are subject to Egyptian law, the Subscription Agreement relating to the capital increase of Lafarge is subject to French law. To our knowledge, this transaction is the largest of its kind in the history of Egypt and the Middle East.

Shalakany Law Office is the Egyptian member of Lex Mundi, the world's leading association of independent law firms having 160 member firms, with more than 550 offices in 100 countries. Founded in 1912, Shalakany has grown to become the largest in Egypt and one of the leading law firms in the Middle East. Thanks to its extensive client base of leading Egyptian, regional and multinational companies, Shalakany has amassed a wealth of experience that is unique among other firms in the region.

(Dubai, October 30, 2007)
Shalakany Law Office Winner of the IFLR 2007 Middle East Award, the M & A Deal of the Year

Shalakany Law Office won the prestigious 2007 Middle East International Financial Law Review Award for the best M & A deal of the year. Acting on behalf of the selling shareholders of Egyptian Fertilizers Company, Shalakany Law Office actively participated in the drafting and negotiation of the acquisition documents and provided Egyptian legal advice to the sellers. The sale of Egyptian Fertilizers Company to Abraaj Capital was executed on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange in June 2007. It was the largest private equity transaction ever to take place in the Middle East and North Africa. It was also the first significant investment by Abraaj after a year of prolonged fund raising. It is expected to spur other regional private equity houses to seek out high-profile targets. The sale involved extensive negotiations with the stock exchange authorities to ensure the sale satisfied local regulations for listed securities.

(Egypt, 31 October 2006)
Shalakany Law Office and the Middle Eastern Law Firm of the Year 2006 Chambers Global Award

Shalakany Law Office, the exclusive member law firm of Lex Mundi in Egypt, has been short listed for the 2006 Chambers Global Awards ceremony to be held at the London Hilton on Park Lane on Thursday, November 16th for the Middle Eastern Law Firm of the Year Award Category.

It is worth mentioning that in 2005/2006 the Firm achieved record growth in its finance and corporate practice, particularly in project finance and M & A, where the Firm continued to maintain its leading position. The Firm played a decisive role in the successful closing of significant M & A transactions, including the Citadel $740 million acquisition of the Egyptian Fertilizers Company, the Suez Cement $800 million acquisition of Asec Cement Company, the Calyon/Mansour $382 million acquisition of EAB and its merger into Credit Agricole Egypt for a value of $590 million, the Ripplewood $488 million acquisition of a stake in CIB, as well as the EFG Hermes $453 million acquisition of a stake in Audi Bank, SAL. With more than 17 partners and 70 lawyers, and its turnover and profits per active partner almost doubled as compared to 2004, the Firm has confirmed its positive outlook towards the future and its leading position in Egypt and the Middle East.