Girgis Abd El-Shahid
Egypt
Shahid Law Firm
20B Adly Street
Cairo 11511
Egypt
Tel: +202 2393 5557
Email:
girgis.shahid@shahidlaw.com
Web:
shahidlaw.com
Girgis focuses mainly on commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration and international law and is renowned for his special expertise in complex multiparty arbitrations. He is also recognized for his knowledge in handling all types of corporate and commercial disputes, from routine matters to large and complex multinational arbitrations.
He is identified amongst the world’s leading arbitration practitioners in Who’s Who Legal: Future Leaders 2018 and Who’s Who Legal: Energy 2017 “as being among the world’s leading energy lawyers” and recognized by Chambers & Partners as one of Egypt’s top arbitration litigators for 2018. Additionally, he is featured as a notable practitioner in the Chambers Dispute Resolution guide, recognized as “impressive – very driven and very business-oriented” and is acknowledged for his “solution-oriented, thorough and strategic” approach.
Girgis also has significant experience in advising clients in various industries such as logistics, aviation, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, construction, energy, oil and gas as well as project finance and banking. Over his career, Girgis has represented clients in the aforementioned industries and more in flagship M&A transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
He is recognized by Legal 500 as “extremely personable, [having] vast knowledge of Egyptian law”, “extremely responsive and having a unique international outlook” with advice that is “always spot on”, “smart, articulate, knowledgeable and business-oriented”, and “simply excellent, very bright and entrepreneurial”.
Girgis is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce, the British and Swiss Business Associations and, the Egypt-US Business Council. His expertise is built on solid ties to both the academic and the business communities, and he regularly publishes articles and books in his various fields of practice and is a regular panelist and speaker in many local and international conferences on arbitration, energy & infrastructure projects.
Girgis is a former Public Prosecutor, and has received an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University Law Center, USA, an LL.B. from Cairo University, and a BA in Economics and Business Administration from the American University in Cairo.
Shahid Law Firm‘s arbitration practice has been building on the Firm’s 30 years of expertise.
Shahid Law Firm’s Chairman and Founding Partner, Counselor Sarwat Abd El-Shahid, is a former judge in the Egyptian Conseil d’État and almost half of our current lawyers are dedicated to dispute resolution. Recognized for their knowledge and experience, our lawyers handle all types of corporate and commercial disputes, from routine matters to large and complex multinational arbitrations, including:
- Disputes related to domestic and international commercial arbitrations, as well as investment treaty arbitrations;
- Disputes related to construction and real estate;
- Disputes related to hotel management;
- Disputes related to shareholders’ agreements;
- Disputes related to agency and distribution; and
- Tax and insolvency proceedings.
In every case we handle, we hand-pick a tailor-made team with the required expertise and understanding to ensure we deliver the highest quality of work and achieve our clients’ objectives.
Our arbitration and dispute resolution practice successfully represents major clients in complex commercial and investor-state arbitration matters in various industries including energy, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, construction, insurance, hotel ownership and management, automotive and real estate development.
We have been involved in a number of landmark arbitration cases in Egypt and internationally, and have considerable experience before arbitration centres; be it local (CRCICA), regional (DIAC and DIFC-LCIA) or international fora (ICSID, ICC, PCA, UNCITRAL and Ad Hoc).
Shahid Law Firm has significant experience in enforcing foreign judgments and arbitral awards in Egypt, with an acknowledged ability to pursue enforcement through using all available tools.
Also, our senior attorneys are regularly appointed as arbitrators and are often called to chair arbitration tribunals, which gives Shahid Law Firm an additional practical insight and a unique edge while assessing the merits of a case when acting as counsel.
We frequently represent and assist our clients with interlocutory remedies and interim measures before all courts and administrative authorities in Egypt.
The Firm also has a longstanding expertise in litigation. For information on Shahid Law Firm’s litigation expertise, please consult the litigation practice page on the Firm’s website.
Shahid Law Firm’s involvement in dispute resolution work spans Investor-State Disputes, Construction Disputes, Oil & Gas and Energy Disputes, and Commercial Arbitration.
Shahid Law Firm was established in 1987 by Counselor Sarwat Abd El-Shahid, after serving as judge and State Counselor for nearly two decades. Since its inception, the Firm has rapidly grown to include over 70 lawyers and support staff, and has become one of the leading international law firms operating in Egypt and the region. Such credit, undoubtedly, is largely due to its lawyers’ vast experience, industry insight, and ability to combine their understanding of complex legal matters with a practical solution-oriented approach.
The Firm has a team of Egyptian and Western-trained attorneys and legal consultants, with experience in multiple jurisdictions. Our lawyers’ rich and diverse educational backgrounds and language skills have enabled our team to communicate with clients from all over the world. Our Firm is placed among few firms in Egypt and the region that are able to provide services in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish Portuguese, and, of course, Arabic.
Our clients include medium-sized to large international corporations, industrial conglomerates, banks, insurance companies, high-net-worth individuals and families, diplomatic representations and governments; and our experience spans various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, energy and power, oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, leisure and hotels, consumer products, foodstuffs, banking and finance, information technology and telecommunications.
Our firm’s strength lies in our understanding of our clients’ commercial needs which, coupled with our detailed knowledge of the Egyptian legal system, longstanding experience in transactional operations and dispute resolution, as well as our close ties to other leading firms in the region and beyond, ensures that our clients can obtain the best commercially-oriented service required. This is recognized by the consistent ranking of our firm and attorneys among the leading practitioners in their fields in Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, and Who’s Who Legal.
Our expertise is also based on solid ties to both the academic and the business communities, as some of the members of our firm are lecturers in academic institutions, and hold board positions in various chambers of commerce and business councils active in the region. The firm’s members are often invited as speakers to address matters of business law in functions around the world. Additionally, members of our firm regularly publish articles and books in their various fields of practice.