The Legal 500 Hall of Fame highlights individuals who have received constant praise by their clients for continued excellence. The Hall of Fame highlights, to clients, the law firm partners who are at the pinnacle of the profession. In Europe, Middle East and Africa, the criteria for entry is to have been recognised by The Legal 500 as one of the elite leading lawyers for seven consecutive years. These partners are highlighted below and throughout the editorial.
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Lebanon > Commercial, corporate and M&A > Law firm and leading lawyer rankings
Index of tables
Commercial, corporate and M&A
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1
- Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm
- Abouhamad, Merheb, Chamoun, Chedid
- Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm
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Chedid Law Offices in association with Dentons - El-Aref International Law Office
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2
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3
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Albert and Ziad Najm Law Firm -
Baroudi & Associates - Eptalex - Aziz Torbey Law Firm
- Hamdan Law Firm
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Hannouche Associates - Naoum Farah, Law Offices of
- MENA City Lawyers
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Hall of Fame
Leading individuals
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1
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Randa Abousleiman -
Abousleiman & Partners - Mohamed Alem - Alem & Associates
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Elias Chedid -
Chedid Law Offices in association with Dentons - Aref El-Aref - El-Aref International Law Office
- Ziad El-Khoury - El-Khoury & Partners in association with Holman Fenwick Willan LLP
- Salim El Meouchi - Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm
- Samia El Meouchi - Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm
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Ziad Najm -
Albert and Ziad Najm Law Firm
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Randa Abousleiman -
Next generation lawyers
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1
- Chebl Atallah - Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm
- Bassem Chalhoub - El-Khoury & Partners in association with Holman Fenwick Willan LLP
- Carine Farran - Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm
- Marie Hayek - Obeid Law Firm
- Eddy Maghariki - Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm
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Georgette Salamé -
Chedid Law Offices in association with Dentons
Find out which law firms are representing which Commercial, corporate and M&A clients in Lebanon using The Legal 500's new comprehensive database of law firm/client relationships. Instantly search over 925,000 relationships, including over 83,000 Fortune 500, 46,000 FTSE350 and 13,000 DAX 30 relationships globally. Access is free for in-house lawyers, and by subscription for law firms. For more information, contact david.burgess@legal500.com.
Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm provides âconcise and efficient adviceâ on M&A deals and commercial matters. Carlos Abou Jaoude and senior associate Eddy Maghariki acted for Holding M. Sehnaoui on its purchase of an equity stake in USB Bankâs Cypriot operation. The firm also has a presence in the venture capital space: clients recommend Souraya Machnouk, who assisted a fund managed by Azure Capital Partners with its purchase of mobile polling app MySay; and Simon El Kai, who advised TriArc on its sale to a venture capital fund. Commercial work includes Machnouk handling a distribution agreement for a subsidiary of JBS. Senior associate Chebl Atallah is another name to note.
At Abouhamad, Merheb, Chamoun, Chedid, Elie Chamoun advised Byblos Bank on the purchase of Banque Pharaon & Chiha, while Antoine Merheb assisted Blom Bank with its purchase of HSBCâs Lebanon operations. Nassib Chedidâs clients include BT.
FIRMS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm
Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm (AJA) regularly advises clients on complex cross-border acquisitions and corporate finance transactions in a wide array of sectors including telecoms, real estate, retail and banking. The Firm has extensive experience in the regulatory process of acquisitions such as licensing, compliance and post-acquisition integration. The Firmâs add-value is through its in-depth specialization and sharp understanding of the financial aspects of M&A deals allowing it to propose tailored legal solutions.
Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firmâs Chadia El Meouchi and Michel El Meouchi advised LeapLearner on its offshore restructuring and investments into the company. Samia El Meouchi and Salim El Meouchi also handle banking-related matters alongside restructuring and family business mandates. Carine Farran is a key senior associate.
At Chedid Law Offices in association with Dentons, Elias Chedid âdeals with queries in a timely fashion and is instrumental in developing clientsâ businesses in the region through fresh thinking and sound adviceâ. Chedid and senior associate Georgette SalamĂ© advise international clients in the retail, telecoms and pharmaceutical sectors on market entrances, transactions and employment law. Telecoms regulation is another area of strength.
El-Aref International Law Officeâs Aref El-Aref advised the Kharafi Group on its purchase of Bella Fiesta for $11m. The team also acted for NAR Technologies on its sale of a stake to Leap Ventures.
Abousleiman & Partners has a track record in insurance-related deals: Randa Abousleiman assisted Cigna with its purchase of Zurichâs Lebanese operations, while Abir Al-Khalil advised Nasco International Group on its purchase of a Lebanese-based insurer.
Al Jad in collaboration with CMS has expertise in M&A, commercial deals and labour law. Malek Takieddine advised a foreign insurer on a proposed acquisition in Lebanon, and also acted for Dufry on a successful bid for the duty free concession at Beirut International Airport. Elias Rammouz is another name to note.
Alem & Associates handles a range of joint venture matters and M&A deals. Toufic Soudayha advised FB Green on forming a joint venture with Del Monte Foods which will invest in an animal feed business in Mexico. Soudayha also advised Lucid Investment Bank on the acquisition of Boecker World Holding by one of its funds; Mohamed Alem and Rola Tabsh acted for the same client on its sale of a stake in an internet service provider.
El-Khoury & Partners in association with Holman Fenwick Willan LLP handles a range of matters with particular strength in Saudi-related transactions. Hadi Melki advises Saudi Fal on its provision of vehicle inspection services in Lebanon, while Ziad El-Khoury (who divides his time between Beirut and Riyadh) assists Zoran with distribution agreements and succession planning matters. Other work concerns restructurings and corporate acquisitions. Senior associate Bassem Chalhoub is also a name to note.
Kabalan & Associatesâ work includes commercial deals, M&A, and general corporate matters. Noureddine Kabalan advised a potential buyer on a proposed $80m purchase of a supermarket chain, and assisted Hypco with a range of operational matters. Carrefour is also a client. Nadine Azhari is a key senior associate.
Obeid Law Firm is âresponsive, drafts well and has good bench strengthâ. Counsel Marie Hayek, who heads the practice, handles cross-border deals, restructurings and regulatory matters. Insurance is another area of expertise including advice to reinsurers. Associate Zeina Obeid is âvery knowledgeable and provides in-depth responsesâ.
Albert and Ziad Najm Law Firm handles a range of commercial matters with particular strength in the shipping and insurance sectors. Ziad Najm is the main contact. Highlights included providing employment advice to key names in technology and media.
Baroudi & Associatesâ name partner Jean Baroudi advised Motorola on liquidating its Lebanese subsidiary and handled M&A work for Caterpillar. Other clients include Microsoft, which the firm assists with employment issues; and Zurich, which it advises on insurance regulation. Josiane Lahoud, LĂ©a Ferzli and LĂ©a El-Khoury are also noteworthy practitioners.
Eptalex - Aziz Torbey Law Firm handles heavyweight public procurement, with expertise in IP and corporate restructuring matters. Ramy Torbey is praised for his âbusiness and legal acumen and flexibility with clientsâ.
Hamdan Law Firmâs corporate practice advises on market entries, product regulation, commercial matters and franchising. Areas of strength include the automotive, energy and luxury goods sectors. Abdel Ghani Hamdan is the main contact.
Hannouche Associates has a particular strength in work relating to Iraq, where it has offices in Erbil, Baghdad and Basra. Michel Hannouche is a key contact.
At Law Offices of Naoum Farah, M&A practice head Naoum Farah is âa very thoughtful, reflective and clever lawyer, who always knows what the client wants to achieveâ. Recent highlights include advising a group of industrial companies on a restructuring, and acting for a European medical company on creating a franchised medical centre in Lebanon. Reine Achkar heads the firmâs corporate department.
MENA City Lawyers has expertise in M&A, joint ventures, intellectual property and distribution agreements. Alice Choueiri heads the practice and associate Mirvat Mostafa is a name to note.