Youssef AL SAMAN

Youssef Al Saman is a Partner – Dispute Resolution and Projects, Member of the Egyptian Bar Association; Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb); Delegate (Egypt) to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution; Fellow of the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution (FAIADR); and Member (Institutional Liaison) of the Executive Committee of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative (RAI).

He advises local, international, corporate, and government clients, from a wide range of sectors and industries, on the resolution and settlement of complex disputes, and major; projects, negotiations, international commercial transactions, contract drafting, cross-border litigation, government contracts, regulatory affairs, and other day-to-day legal matters.

He specialises in dispute resolution with a focus on international arbitration, where he serves as an arbitrator, and appears as counsel, leading teams in prosecuting mega institutional and ad-hoc arbitral proceedings under different governing laws and procedural rules, as well as arbitration-related judicial proceedings. He is experienced also in preparing independent legal expert reports on laws of different countries in the MENA region.

Along with his experience on contentious work, he developed notable corporate expertise, whereby he advises clients on high-value corporate matters, cross-border commercial transactions, special and multi-contracts projects, and leads teams in conducting fully-fledged complex legal audit.

He works closely with clients and has a track record of working against challenging circumstances to successfully negotiate and close complex commercial transactions and amicable settlements of major disputes. He is experienced in addressing cross-cutting issues of international law, investment, international commercial and investment arbitration, and private international law, in contentious and non-contentious work.

Moreover, he skilfully combines legal know-how with business oriented mindset drawing on his business and operational experience through years of work with multinationals before private practice. In addition, his area-focused legal expertise span diverse industries and legal practice areas, inter alia, energy, construction, telecommunications, media, entertainment, technology, logistics, FMCGs, international trade, corporate law, government contracts, and security and defence.

He regularly speaks at international conferences, and holds posts, awards, recognitions and testimonials, most recently: received the “Distinguished Partner of the Year Award” in The LAW’s Finest MEA 2023 Awards by THE LAW Magazine (2023); recognised as “key lawyer” in legal 500 EMEA Rankings for “Dispute Resolution: Arbitration” and “Energy” practices, and as “Next Generation Partner” for “Dispute Resolution: Arbitration” (2023); featured in the inaugural Legal 500 Private Practice Arbitration Powerlist – Africa Region (2023); listed amongst Africa’s 30 Most Promising Arbitration Practitioners – celebrating the future leaders in Africa’s disputes market (2022) powered by Africa Arbitration Academy, African Journal of International Arbitration, Association of Young Arbitrators and Africa Arbitration; appointed by the national committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) as a delegate of Egypt to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (2022); served as chair of an advisory committee to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice on ‘Digital Transformation of the Egyptian Judicial System’ (2021); recommended by Legal 500 as “Up-and-coming partner” (2021); listed in the maiden edition of Africa’s 50 Most Promising Young Arbitration Practitioners Award by the Association of Young Arbitrators (2020); recommended by Legal 500 as “Next Generation Partner – Dispute Resolution: Arbitration” and recognised for ‘very commercial outlook’ and ‘knowledge of the market’ (2020); featured in Chambers & Partners (2020); featured in Global Arbitration Review (2019); and voted as a leading young Egyptian legal practitioner and awarded the Rising Stars Award and featured in magazine interview by THE LAW Magazine (2019).

Furthermore, his law teaching and legal training experience involved holding a visiting teaching position and giving lectures and workshops in academia, delivering high-level legal training with the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative. He obtained his license en droit (LLB Equivalent) from Cairo University – Egypt, English linguistic studies from the University of Cambridge – UK, Master of Laws (LL.M) in International and Comparative Law from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law – US, and Master of Laws (LL.M) in International Dispute Resolution from Queen Mary University of London – UK.