Expertise

A- GENERAL SCOPE

The formation, qualifications and publications of the members of the firm provide it with an edge in the traditional sectors of the legal activity in addition to the new and essential fields of today's legislation.

At Hyam G. Mallat Law Firm, we specialize in the following sectors:

• Civil Law
• Corporate Law
• Commercial Law, Bankruptcy and Commercial Distributorship
• International Business Transactions
• Investment Funds and Private Equity
• Construction Projects and Financing
• Environmental Law
• Administrative Law
• Concession and BOT
• Labor and Social Security Laws
• Computer Contracts and IP Law
• Insurance and Marine Insurance Laws
• Internet and Telecommunications Laws

The above-mentioned areas of practice include cooperation with foreign law firms in the Arab world and North Africa, in Europe, in the United States of America, in South America and in Japan.

B- ADVISORY WORK, BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS AND RESTRUCTURING

On this more specific level, the firm has been providing extensive advisory work leading to acquisition, restructuring or reacquisition in various countries. Among others, the firm was involved in due diligences and private equity transactions where the firm played a major role in:

• Lebanon, on retail business, gas and oil companies, IT companies, industries, banks and insurance companies.
• The United States of America, on production facilities.
• The United Kingdom, on investment funds.
• Jordan, on private courier services, industries, IT companies and the public Jordan Valley Authority with the World Bank.
• Algeria, on touristic, maritime transport, energy, pharmaceutical and cement companies.
• Egypt, on food processing companies, health care and oil companies.
• Morocco, on water legislation.

The firm has been also appointed on several occasions as the national and regional consultant for International Organizations such as the ILO, FAO, UNDP, ESCWA, the World Bank, the IFC and the European Union. This has provided the firm with a permanent contact with these organizations and their regional and Lebanese correspondents (Ministries and Public Administrations).

In this context, Me Hyam G. Mallat acted as the representative of the Lebanese Government at many International Conferences and Meetings among which: The Conference of the Ministers of Environment of Francophone Countries in Tunis in May 1991, The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, the Conference on Urban Management Program (UMP/UNDP) in Cairo in June 1993 and the Tripartite Seminar on Social Security in Amman (Jordan) based on a regional report on social security established by Me Hyam G. Mallat in 1998 and in 2008 for the International Labor Organization.

The firm is often appointed as a national consultant by international consultants, organizations and companies willing to participate in a tender offer in Lebanon. Among the latest transactions of the type figures a bid submitted by a major European company for the reform of the water and environmental sectors in Lebanon, in Algeria and in Morocco.

C- NEGOTIATION, ARBITRATION AND LITIGATION

The firm has been extensively involved in disputes relating to local companies and foreign investments. These refer, inter alia, to institutional local and international arbitration and to numerous cases that involved either negotiation, mediation or litigation regarding, among other, financial and tax disputes, corporate structures and shareholders' matters, real-estate, exclusive distributorship agreements for major international brands, insurance and marine insurance matters, in addition to substantial multijurisdictional litigations in the MENA region and Europe.

D- CONTRACT AND CASE MANAGEMENT (CCM) AND CORPORATE SERVICES PROVISION (CSP)

The firm provides clients with contract management and corporate services.

With CCM (Contract and Case Management), the client is provided with services enhancing the client's monitoring capabilities of the clients' rights and obligations under contracts, arbitration and litigation.

As to CSP (Corporate Services Provision), the client is supported by a vast array of services allowing him to delegate the corporate, accounting, auditing and administrative life of a company to professionals in the field.