About

Girgis Abd El-Shahid is the Managing Partner at Shahid Law Firm. He specializes in dispute settlement, with a particular focus on energy-related disputes; mergers and acquisitions; corporate and commercial agreements; joint venture arrangements; banking and finance; securities offerings; telecommunications; and intellectual property.

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.

Deals/Highlights

  • Advised an American global food-processing and commodities-trading corporation in its contemplated acquisition of an Egyptian food-processing, warehousing and commodities-trading company.
  • Advised Ferro Corporation in two mandates, the most recent of which was the acquisition of the Egyptian tile coatings manufacturer on a cash-free and debt-free basis, in a deal valued at approximately US$ 39 million in cash, subject to working capital and other customary adjustments.
  • Acted as a local counsel for GSK in its multi-billion dollars asset trading deal with Novartis, considered to be reshaping the pharmaceutical industry globally.
  • Acted as a local counsel for the Japanese engineering giant, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in connection with its joint venture with Siemens in the metals technologies business, involving the carve-out of Siemens’s metals business.
  • Conducted compliance audit on the legal department of one of the biggest Egyptian banks. The scope of work included reviewing the sample contracts used by the bank, reviewing all legal cases to which the bank is a party, and reviewing and opining on the facility arrangements granted by the bank (or in which the bank is a member in the syndication) in the amount of US$ 50 million and higher.
  • Advised a major regional pharmaceutical company in relation to an excess of EGP 200 million in financing obtained from a syndication of banks for the expansion projects it undertook.
  • Advised BG Group on the development of a new cross-border pipeline from Israel to Egypt to allow gas from the Leviathan field offshore Israel to be liquefied in an Egyptian LNG facility.
  • Assisted Scatec Solar with its participation in five projects totaling 250 MW under Egypt’s Feed-in Tariff photovoltaic program. Work rendered included advising on the development of a 50 MW PV plant, the acquisition of a participating interest in four different SPVs (including conducting the necessary legal due diligence, providing structuring advice, and implementing the transaction before all concerned authorities); and the execution of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for land availing.

Dispute Resolution Experience

  • Acted for a major Korean heavy industries company in all disputes associated with the FIDIC contract entered into with the international consortium responsible for the building and operation of one of the Egyptian ports.
  • Acted as co-counsel for East Mediterranean Gas and a number of its shareholders in major international oil & gas disputes against the Arab Republic of Egypt and various State entities (ICSID Case No. ARB/12/11; ICC Case No. 18215/GZ/MHM; CRCICA Case No. 829/2012 and PCA Case No. 2012-26).
  • Represented two major regional media companies in a multi-million-dollar multi-party dispute involving litigation and arbitration under UAE law concerning breaches of a number of licensing and broadcasting agreements (CRCICA Case No. 1012/2014).
  • Acted for Waterworks, a global environmental engineering company specializing in water treatment, against an Egyptian oil company in multi-million-pound dispute involving the construction of a water treatment facility and breaches of a build-own-operate contract (CRCICA Case No. 983/2014).

Publications

  • “Egypt Chapter” in Energy Disputes, GTDT, Law Business Research, UK (2016)  (with César R. Ternieden)
  • “Egypt Chapter” in International Arbitration in Africa, LexNoir (2016) (with César R. Ternieden)
  • “Egypt Chapter” in Investment Treaty Arbitration, GTDT, Law Business Research, UK (2016) (with César R. Ternieden and Salma Abdel Aziz)
  • “Shahid Law Firm Legislative Update: Employee Profit Sharing Provision under Egyptian Investment Law”, Africa House – CMS-CMCK (online ed. Sept. 2015) (with César R. Ternieden and Salma Abdelaziz)
  • “The Riyadh Agreement, a Step Forward or a Step Backwards?”, Journal of Arab Arbitration, Vol. 23 (2015) (with Inji Fathalla)
  • “A new decision by the Court of Cassation adding another stir to the ongoing controversy in relation to the requirement of the minister’s approval to arbitration for administrative contracts”, Journal of Arab Arbitration, Vol. 24 (2015) (with Inji Fathalla)
  • “Certain Aspects of Egyptian Arbitration Law” Notícias CCBC – Brasil-Canadá News, online ed. n. 327 (July 2015) (with César R. Ternieden)
  • “Egypt Chapter” in Oil Regulations, GTDT (2014 & 2015) (with Donia El-Mazghouny)
  • “Unilateral Option Clauses in Arbitration: a Survey as to their effectiveness”, Clifford Chance Briefing Note (2013 & 2015) (with César R. Ternieden)
  • “Conducting Oil & Gas Activities in Egypt”, CMS Cameron McKenna Briefing Note (2014 & 2015) (with César R. Ternieden)
  • “Franchising in Egypt”, in Franchising in Africa 2014: Legal and Business Considerations” in LexNoir (2014)
Girgis Abd El-ShahidManaging Partnergirgis.shahid@shahidlaw.com
T +202 2393 5557
F +202 2393 5447

    Practice

    • Corporate/Commercial
    • Dispute Resolution

    Industries

    • Aviation and Transportation
    • Energy, Oil & Gas
    • Insurance and Financial Services
    • Pharmaceuticals
    • Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT)

    Languages

    • Arabic
    • English

    Bar Memberships

    • Egypt