Benzakour Law Firm > Casablanca, Morocco > Firm Profile

Benzakour Law Firm > Firm Profile

The firm: Benzakour Law firm (BLF) is a major Moroccan business law firm, with a long history in the country. It is a prominent and very reputable firm in Morocco. The firm is widely regarded as a top law firm acting in upstream and downstream sides. It is offering a large and full portfolio in business law with a particular focus on assistance to foreign investment and litigation. The main areas of practice are corporate, shipping, aviation, real estate, labour, tax law, energy, competition law and litigation/collection debt, arbitration.

Rachid Benzakour is the head partner and manager of the firm. He continuously receives much praise for his in-depth knowledge and deep understanding of international clients’ needs. ‘He takes care of all our issues, responds quickly and knows the local laws very well’, noted one client. He was ranked first in the National Bar Exam (2000). He is a multilingual practioner, with a mixture of anglosaxon and french cultures.

Abdelaziz Benzakour is a statesman and revered figure in the country. He was appointed by the King as head of Morocco’s Mediator Institute in 2011. He is also a former chief of the Casablanca Bar, the Moroccan Association Bars and the African Union Bars. He is lauded as ‘one of the biggest figures of the Moroccan Bar, with lots of personality, charisma and a great reputation’.

The firm is very well versed in working on different projects in collaboration with several foreign law firms, such as  King & Wood Malleson, Clyde & Co, Reed Smith, Herbert Smith, Hogan Lovells, Jones Day, Cleary Gottlieb, , Gleiss Lutz, Ashurst, DWF, Simmons & Simmons, Bredin Prat, August & Debouzy, Depardieu Brocas Maffei, BonelliErede, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Stibbe, Latham & Watkins LLP, SJ Berwin, Skadden, Morrison & Foster.

The firm has also worked on different projects for clients such as: Export and Import Bank of America (EximBank), Royal Air Maroc, Alitalia, IATA, Philip Morris, KT&G, Isuzu, Ford, Amazon, Booking, Adidas, Schlumberger, Derichebourg, Litasco, General Electric Healthcare, Club Med, Accor, Coca-Cola, Nokia-Siemens, Danone, Alstom, Ikea, New Look, Sumitomo, Columbia, Aeropurtos Argentina, Oetker, Acwa Power, Averda,, Endesa, Sita, SNCF International, Groupe Castel, Suez, Simba Toys, Teleperformance Intermediation, Hermes, Technogym, PGS, Acticall, AAR Corp, Can-Pack, Henkel, Diebold, Adidas, KT&G Corporation, Gamesa Siemens, Ferragamo, UK Government, Credit Agricole, Bic,  Pesner, Posco, Mettalis, Somaport, Radisson, Western Geco.

Lawyer Profiles

Photo	Name	Position	Profile
	Mr Rachid Benzakour	Managing Partner- Head of Advising Department and litigation department. Provides assistance to…	View Profile

Interviews

BENZAKOUR RACHID, LAWYER- PARTNER 

Benzakour Rachid explains how the firm is adapting to clients’ changing needs

What do you see as the main points that differentiate Benzakour Law Firm (Morocco) from your competitors?

We are acting both on upstream and downstream sides (assistance to foreign investment in Morocco and business litigation).

The firm is an independent law firm with an international practice and numerous references and alliance.

We offer a full portfolio in business law, including shipping, aviation, competition law/merger control-concentrations, energy and mining, tobacco, automotive corporate, contracts, distribution, labour law, real estate, tax, foreign exchange regulations, and dispute resolution/arbitration.

More particularly, the firm is advising/representing mainly multinational clients with international business interests in different sectors of the economy.

We have a considerable track record in litigation.

We are multilingual, dynamic and totally dedicated to the clients’ needs.

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

• Competition law, due to the implementation of a new law and a new Competition Council
• Energy and mining, given the investments made in this sector
• Aviation, due to the program launched by RAM for the acquisition of aircrafts
• Shipping and logistics, due to the development of maritime traffic and construction of ports in Morocco
• Litigation given the outstanding debts due between companies

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

Enhancement of expertise and immediate responsiveness and commitment.

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

Yes, we are continuously connected, available and dedicated to our clients.

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

We not only respond to our client’s requests but may direct and advise them on the best way to restructure an make an investment.

In litigation, we built a strong strategy in order to lock the case and obtain an extraordinary level of satisfaction and success.

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

The firm should continue to be a key reference in the Moroccan legal and judicial market and should continue to serve more clients due to the level of satisfaction received from the current clients and the strong knowledge and expertise of the team.