Al Kamel Law Office is involved in the vast majority of the major corporate and M&A transactions in the market. Mohamed Kamel, Mahmoud Wahba and Rasheed Kamel, who advised global chemical company Indorama Ventures on a joint venture agreement with Dhunseri Petrochem, are greatly respected. Shahira Khaled is a rising star.

Al Tamimi & Company is the Cairo office of the Middle East's largest law firm. Practice head Mohamed Gabr counts Telecom Egypt and Orange among his clients. He advised Infinity Solar and ib Vogt on high-value acquisitions in the solar power market. Zeinab Shohdy is one to watch.

Helmy, Hamza & Partners (member firm of Baker & McKenzie International) is a prominent player in M&A, capital markets, international trade and anti-trust matters. Practice head Mohamad Talaat, capital markets partner Hatem Soliman and energy partner Mohamed Ghannam, who advised CI Capital on an EGP500m acquisition, are leading lights. Mohamed Elfar is a rising star.

Ibrachy Legal Consultancy frequently acts for multinational corporations, investment banks and private equity funds in M&A deals. Ashraf Elibrachy and 'standout partner' Sara Hinton, who advised Vantage Drilling on a joint venture, have 'a great understanding of the local law and how it impacts on international businesses'.

Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy is 'a young firm that has quickly become one of the leaders in the finance, corporate and M&A fields'. The firm handles complex cross-border M&A with a six-partner team led by Omar Bassiouny, who advised pan-African private equity firm DPI on its acquisition of fund ADP, and Tamer El Hennawy.

Shahid Law Firm is 'reliable, reputable, very competent, responsible, transparent and flexible' and counts multinational corporations such as Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie and GlaxoSmithKline among its clients. Michael Boutros, Nabil Rizkalla, Girgis Abd El-Shahid and Jacqueline Saad are the firm's outstanding practitioners.

At Zaki Hashem & Partners, Attorneys at Law, practice head Yasser Hashem is among the country's most highly respected lawyers. He handled a €300m acquisition for global paper manufacturer Mondi. Arig Ali and Helal El Hossary are advising private equity funds, including Actis and BPE Capital Partners, on major corporate investments. Heba El Naggar is a rising star.

At Zulficar & Partners Law Firm, head of M&A Ingy Badawy is regarded as one of the leading deal makers in Egypt. Her department regularly handles high-value M&A deals for clients such as Abraaj Group. Head of capital markets Anwar Zeidan and competition partner Firas El Samad are also recommended.

Dentons Egypt LLC is known for its international standard of service for blue-chip clients such as Noble Group and Thales. Practice head Michael Lacey and senior associate Ahmed Kamal acted for Gemstar Holdings on the establishment of its Cairo office. Consultant Frederique Leger is also recommended.

MHR & Partners in association with White & Case provides 'excellent support, valuable insights and practical solutions'. Tarek Mohanna ('very personable, exceptionally responsive'), the 'highly knowledgeable' Said Hanafi and the 'very likeable' Walid El Daly are recommended. CI Capital and Carbon Holdings are key clients.

Shalakany Law Office continues to work on some of the largest M&A deals in Egypt. Aly El Shalakany and rising star Omar Sherif advised Veon on its tender offer for shares in Global Telecom Holding. Emad El Shalakany recently worked with a global law firm on due diligence for the purchaser of an Egyptian company.

Alliance Law Firm - Egypt  'combines local and international experience under one roof'. Head of projects and M&A Ahmed Hafez handled the high-value sale of shares in a logistics company and a multimillion-dollar investment in a hotel business on behalf of an international bank.

Ibrachy & Dermarkar is a long-established full-service law firm that handles domestic and cross-border transactions. Mohamed Ramadan advised a logistics and freight-forwarding company on the acquisition of an Egyptian operator.

Fatma Salah, Eman Riad and associate Heba El Kady are the key lawyers at Riad & Riad, which frequently assists international corporates and financial institutions with their activities in Egypt. Salah acted for multinational food company Kellogg’s in a joint venture agreement to manufacture noodles in Egypt.