Badri and Salim El Meouchi LLP > Beirut, Lebanon > Firm Profile

Badri and Salim El Meouchi LLP
Tabaris 812, Block A, 2nd Floor
Charles Malek Avenue
PO Box 11-3577
Lebanon

Lebanon > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 1

Badri and Salim El Meouchi LLP handles corporate and commercial transactions in the projects and real estate sectors; Chadia El Meouchi led on a matter concerning private investment through a PPP for the expansion and development of Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Carine Farran is experienced in cross-border transactions and commercial contracts. Samia El Meouchi is also singled out for her contributions.

Practice head(s):

Chadia El Meouchi; Carine Farran

Other key lawyers:

Key clients

Banque Misr Liban

Holdal Group

Saint-Gobain Middle East

Construction Development Company International

Projects Development Company

Intel

Fransabank

Ciment de Sibline

Secil

Simmons & Simmons LLP

Audi Saradar Private Bank

European Investment Bank (EIB)

Pinsent Masons LLP

Clifford Chance LLP

White & Case LLP

Deutsche Bank

Work highlights

  • Assisting an international company with the acquisition of a 100% stake in a Lebanese entity.
  • Assisting Clifford Chance Dubai with advising a major investment company in Saudi Arabia on a potential acquisition of a minority stake (up to 30%) in a newly incorporated private limited company.
  • Assisting an international renewable energy independent power producer with its acquisition of the majority shareholding in a holding company for the purposes of the development, financing, construction and operation of three wind power projects.

Lebanon > Real estate and construction (including projects) Tier 1

Badri and Salim El Meouchi LLP specialises in handling urban development and hospitality projects, and has also been kept busy advising international lenders and investors on property acquisitions in Lebanon. Chadia El Meouchi and Carine Farran jointly head up the practice, in which Walid Honein and founding partner Salim El Meouchi are key names.

Practice head(s):

Chadia El Meouchi; Carine Farran

Other key lawyers:

Key clients

Banque Misr Liban

Holdal Group

Saint-Gobain Middle East

Construction Development Company International

Projects Development Company

Intel

Fransabank

Ciment de Sibline

Secil

Simmons & Simmons LLP

Audi Saradar Private Bank

European Investment Bank (EIB)

Pinsent Masons LLP

Clifford Chance LLP

White & Case LLP

Deutsche Bank

Lebanon > Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 2

Chadia El Meouchi and Carine Farran jointly head up the practice at Badri and Salim El Meouchi LLP, which has a solid track record in advising on a broad range of work in the banking and capital markets space, including corporate and project finance, regulatory issues and lending matters. The firm is well known for representing Lebanese and Qatari clients in mandates. Firm chairman and senior partner Salim El Meouchi is a highly regarded practitioner.

Practice head(s):

Chadia El Meouchi; Carine Farran

Other key lawyers:

Key clients

Banque Misr Liban

Holdal Group

Saint-Gobain Middle East

Construction Development Company International

Projects Development Company

Intel

Fransabank

Ciment de Sibline

Secil

Simmons & Simmons LLP

Audi Saradar Private Bank

European Investment Bank (EIB)

Pinsent Masons LLP

Clifford Chance LLP

White & Case LLP

Deutsche Bank

Work highlights

  • Continuing to assist a private client, from a Lebanese law perspective, regarding an international bank’s amendment and restatement of a high-net-worth individual’s loan, which is guaranteed by the individual’s pledge on their shares in a Lebanese bank.
  • Assisting a prominent multilateral financial institution with the restructuring and settlement of a substantial portfolio of loans, worth more than US$150m, for five leading banks in Lebanon.
  • Acting as local counsel to an international engineering company regarding its entry into a revolving credit facility agreement, with an aggregate value of US$700m.

Lebanon > Dispute resolution Tier 2

Badri and Salim El Meouchi LLP remains highly sought after for domestic commercial and banking litigation, and is handling an increasing amount of arbitration. Salim El Meouchi regularly appears before the ICC International Court of Arbitration and UNCITRAL, and advises on banking and commercial disputes; he co-heads the practice with Chadia El Meouchi. Litigation expert Elie Feghali counts criminal litigation, employment claims and intellectual property disputes as core strengths.

Practice head(s):

Salim El Meouchi; Chadia El Meouchi

Other key lawyers:

Testimonials

‘I found the firm and team very easy to work with.’

‘Chadia El Meouchi is just fabulous.’

‘They are incredibly efficient and responsive.’

Key clients

Banque Misr Liban

Holdal Group

Saint-Gobain Middle East

Construction Development Company International

Projects Development Company

Intel

Fransabank

Ciment de Sibline

Secil

Simmons & Simmons LLP

Audi Saradar Private Bank

European Investment Bank (EIB)

Pinsent Masons LLP

Clifford Chance LLP

White & Case LLP

Deutsche Bank

Lebanon > Tax Tier 2

Badri and Salim El Meouchi LLP's tax practice has particular strength in advising on the corporate tax structuring of domestic M&A mandates, alongside handling the tax aspects of real estate and PPP matters. The department is co-led by Carine Farran and Chadia El Meouchi, who are regularly instructed by individual clients and family offices on matters involving trusts, wealth preservation and succession issues. Banking law expert Salim El Meouchi is a key practitioner in the department.

Practice head(s):

Chadia El Meouchi; Carine Farran

Other key lawyers:

Key clients

Banque Misr Liban

Holdal Group

Saint-Gobain Middle East

Construction Development Company International

Projects Development Company

Intel

Fransabank

Ciment de Sibline

Secil

Simmons & Simmons LLP

Audi Saradar Private Bank

European Investment Bank (EIB)

Pinsent Masons LLP

Clifford Chance LLP

White & Case LLP

Deutsche Bank

Work highlights

  • Advised on tax-efficient structuring issues relating to the expansion and development of Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport.
  • Advising a high-net-worth family on tax matters concerning restructuring the ownership of their real estate assets in Lebanon.

Qatar > Commercial, corporate and M&A

The corporate, transactional, finance and international advisory-focused group at Badri and Salim El Meouchi LLP is valued for its ‘excellent understanding of the Qatar legal framework’, along with its wider regional expertise. Carine Farran in Lebanon co-heads the team with 'highly experienced' corporate specialist Chadia El Meouchi, who works between Lebanon and Qatar: the former a member of the Quebec Bar with extensive commercial transactional experience.

Practice head(s):

Chadia El Meouchi; Carine Farran

Other key lawyers:

Salim El Meouchi; Samia El Meouchi; Walid Honein

Testimonials

‘The team is very personable, has an excellent understanding of the Qatar legal framework and approach matters in a pragmatic manner which is essential when advising clients on complex matters. ’

‘Chadia El Meouchi is highly experienced, has an excellent understanding of local laws and commercial knowledge of the major events sector, and is able to simplify the technical aspects impacting major projects in Qatar. Excellent relationships within the region which is an added bonus.’

‘Walid Honein is highly experienced on commercial and corporate matters.’

Key clients

Matelec group

Pinsent Masons LLP

White & Case LLP

Lesha Bank LLC Public / QFB

Al Ahli Bank

PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Clifford Chance LLP

European Investment Bank (EIB)

Saint-Gobain Middle East

Construction Development Company LLC

Deutsche Bank

Work highlights

The firm: Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm is a regional law firm with a strong reputation for providing outstanding, innovative legal advice that bridges the gap between Middle Eastern legal systems and their western counterparts.

Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm was founded over 130 years ago in Beirut.

The firm’s legal team, composed of 30 lawyers, works on transactions throughout the Middle East and North Africa from the firm’s Beirut and Doha bases. The firm is currently exploring the opening of other offices in the Middle East.

Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm is most active in corporate, commercial, banking, finance (both conventional and Islamic), real estate, industrial, litigation, alternative dispute resolution and arbitration, IP, telecom, technology and oil and gas law.

Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm strongly believes in the importance of community, and devotes thousands of hours a year to charitable and not-for-profit initiatives in the fields of human rights, education, special needs, the fight against poverty, and the promotion of leadership and entrepreneurship in the Middle East.

Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm also works hand-in-hand with governments, regulatory bodies and NGOs to improve and modernise the legal frameworks in the Middle East.

With its diverse range of experts, local knowledge and in-depth understanding of business and the law, Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm aims to provide its client with a full range of services to support their business expansion in the MENA region.

Areas of practice: Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm’s attorneys can assist clients in the following fields:

Corporate/commercial: advising on corporate structures and agreements for all parts of the life-cycle of a company, from startup, family, SME, mergers and acquisitions through to funding and IPO.

Banking/finance/insurance (conventional and Islamic): advising on a wide range of financial structures and products. The firm’s clients in this field include banks, financial institutions and investors (both institutional and HNWI).

Litigation: active in this field since its foundation, the firm is known for seeking and obtaining the best possible outcome for its clients.

Arbitration/ADR: the firm was an early pioneer in arbitration and ADR in the Middle East, and frequently acts as counsel or arbitrator in major regional and international arbitrations, both institutional and ad hoc. The firm is renowned for its pre-conflict work in major disputes.

Taxation: advising on tax-efficient structuring, including cross-border structures in conjunction with advisors in the requisite jurisdictions.

Funds: structuring and setting up funds in various sectors.

Real estate: advising on all aspects of real estate development, from purchase, construction, operation and disposal.

Industrial: advising on industrial operations, including ownership, management and licensing.

Healthcare: advising and representing pharmaceuticals, hospitals and foundations in healthcare.

Hospitality/F&B: advising hotel operators and managers, franchisors and franchisees, on all legal aspects of their business and transactions.

FMCG: advising clients on manufacturing, distribution and brand protection in the MENA, including combatting counterfeiting and enforcement.

IP: advising on and registering trade marks and patents throughout the Middle East.

IT/technology: advising on legal issues faced by technology companies and web and mobile businesses, including an expertise in startup financing.

Telecommunications: advising operators and equipment manufacturers on telecommunications issues in the Middle East.

Oil and gas: advising oil and gas firms for both upstream and downstream.

Department Name Email Telephone
Corporate/commercial
Banking, finance and insurance
Islamic finance
Real estate
Telecoms
Administrative
Litigation
Arbitration and ADR
Taxation
Healthcare
Industrial
Oil and gas
Environmental
Technology/IP
Funds and financing
Estate planning
FMCG
Hospitality/F&B
AI and robotics
Pre-conflict work
Photo Name Position Profile
Grace Alam photo Mrs Grace Alam Grace Alam is an Associate at Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law…
Chadia El Meouchi photo Ms Chadia El Meouchi Managing Partner at Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm
Salim El Meouchi photo Me Salim El Meouchi Chairman and Senior Partner at Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm
Samia El Meouchi photo Ms Samia El Meouchi Samia El Meouchi is a Partner at Badri and Salim El Meouchi…
Carine Farran photo Carine Farran Carine Farran is a Partner (Deputy Managing Partner) and the head of…
Elie Feghali photo Elie Feghali Elie El Feghali is a Partner and head of the Litigation Practice…
Walid Honein photo Mr Walid Honein Walid Honein is a Partner at Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law…
Number of lawyers : 30
at this office : 27
Arabic
English
French
German
Russian
Spanish
Interleges
Other offices : Doha

Diversity

Diversity, as well as being a cornerstone of our values, also promotes creativity and perspective; it is therefore vital to a vibrant, evolving law firm.

In a region that sometimes falls short of celebrating difference, we have always valued the right of our team members to choose how they will live their lives.

In recruiting, we have a policy of non-discrimination at any level – be it race, religion, sexual orientation or gender.

We also do our best to foster a work environment that is dynamic and flexible, to allow us to serve our clients from all over the world while being able to dedicate time to family.

Women make up 64% of our team; more importantly, 50% of our partners are women, demonstrating that a career at Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm is truly and equally open to all.

Pro Bono

As a leading and respected law firm founded over 130 years ago, Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm strongly believes in its unique position to catalyse change. As a result, we have built up a very strong pro bono practice, both to provide legal assistance to those who cannot afford it, and to lead to change in the region, primarily through education and the environment.

We are honoured that our effort has been recognised; our firm has most recently been awarded the Middle East Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year award by the International Financial Law Review (we also won this prize in 2015).

Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm provides support to various human rights and protection organisations, such as Human Rights Watch (our managing partner sits on the Middle East Committee of HRW), Himaya (protection of abused women and children), Bassma and similar organisations.

We also support educational initiatives such as Teach for Lebanon, Days of Science, Acsauvel (a school for children with disabilities), SOS Village and many others.

We believe that a clean environment is a fundamental right that we cannot deny future generations: beyond our own efforts to reduce our carbon footprint as a firm (paperless office, LED lighting, no plastic cups, extensive recycling program which includes our team’s home recycling), we support numerous environmental initiatives in Lebanon. Most recently, our firm funded and organised a tree-planting day with Jouzour Loubnan, and every member of our team was involved in planting new trees in the mountains above Jezzine, in South Lebanon.

Finally, our award winning pro bono program includes an allocation of pro bono hours available to each team member in the firm, so that we can reach a diversity of causes that matter to our team. Beyond external causes, this also includes providing pro bono legal services to our own team members when they need it.

The legal system is a fundamental tool in the protection and promotion of human rights, environmental protection and social justice; we consider it a fundamental part of our mission to use our legal skills to be an active part of this process.