Al-Yaqout & Al-Fouzan Legal Group (YFLG) > Kuwait City, Kuwait > Firm Profile

Al-Yaqout & Al-Fouzan Legal Group (YFLG) > Firm Profile

Al Yaqout and Al Fouzan (YFLG) is a full-service law firm, located in the heart of Kuwait with an unrivaled global reach. The law firm was founded by attorney Hamed Mohammed Al-Yaqout, who was a leading corporate attorney in Kuwait and other GCC countries.

More than 20 years of experience has given our team the recognition of being leaders in their field, having been involved in the largest, most complex and innovative deals. We strive for excellence and efficiency in all of our work. We make sure our clients benefit from our industry knowledge, our client focus, and personalized and proactive services.

Our global reach extends to the US, UK, Italy, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Germany, and the GCC region.

Our lawyers are experienced in their fields and focus on effective delivery of high-quality, commercially-oriented advice on complex local and cross-border disputes and transactions. We are at the forefront of developing innovative structures to manage the risks and complexities inherent in the deal.

YFLG has both corporate advisory and litigation divisions. The corporate section of the firm provides the full range of legal services to local clients as well as international clients requiring expertise in Kuwaiti law in English or Arabic language, also focusing on commercial and business matters and provides services to well-known international and local corporations.

Areas of practice: YFLG is an astute, diverse firm of lawyers working for businesses and private clients, nationally and internationally. The firm enjoys a full-service reputation. We have substantial experience in key practice areas, some of which are highlighted below.

Banking and finance: We provide our clients with market-leading expertise combined with a commercial approach to ensure creative and practical solutions to the challenges they face. We continuously advise leading corporations, funds and financial institutions on the full range of transactions, regulatory and compliance issues. Our diverse client base includes major local and international investment companies, insurance companies, and investment funds. For more than 20 years, we have advised and assisted our clients with asset finance, project finance, restructuring, investment management, fund establishments, structuring many Islamic financing projects involving Islamic financing tools like Sukuks, Murabaha, Mudarabah.

Corporate and M&A: Our corporate team advise a range of clients, from some of the world’s largest corporations to growing and start-up businesses. The team’s expertise includes advising on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), company and fund formation, corporate governance, corporate reorganizations, venture capital, initial public offerings (IPOs), private equity, as well as other debt and equity transactions. Our experience ranges from advising on large-scale multi-jurisdictional projects to providing day-to-day legal support that assists clients meet their corporate objectives, and fuels their growth.

Dispute resolution: Our legal team has led our clients through some of the most complex disputes and challenging regulatory investigations around the world. Our team has a combined experience of over 20 years in litigation, local and international arbitration, and dispute management. We work with clients to identify the appropriate commercial solution for every dispute. Our team of attorneys include experienced trial lawyers, arbitration specialists, mediators and former prosecutors/regulators with extensive experience across multiple sectors. We represent clients in disputes across a range of sectors including oil and gas, investment and finance, insurance, technology, and construction. We handle cases in the civil and criminal courts at all appellate levels. Our arbitration practice covers all the leading global arbitration centers and tribunals (such as New York, London, Paris, Singapore), as well as those in the region (Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and DIFC).

Projects: We provide our clients with a totally integrated service on all aspects of project work, drawing on our team’s skills in all relevant areas of law. We combine our technical abilities as well as our commercial approach, to be able to provide comprehensive legal support on complex projects, including advising on PPP projects and other projects structures (BOT, BOOT, BOO, DBFO, and others), as well as joint ventures, conducting legal due diligence, risk allocation and advising on project agreements, financing arrangements and relevant security packages and considerations in Kuwait.

Capital markets: Al Yaqout and Al Fouzan team represents market participants worldwide on disclosure and corporate governance matters, corporate and securities regulatory issues, and transactional structuring. Investment banks, issuers, and private equity sponsors of all sizes across a range of industries rely on our team’s expertise to help them raise millions in proceeds through a broad array of securities products, from the standard to the most innovative and complex.

Oil and gas: Our team advises some of the major national and international oil companies on all aspects of the oil and gas supply chain, including upstream (exploration and production), midstream (storage and transportation), downstream (fuels and lubricants, marketing and refining, retail and chemicals). Our team advises clients on transactions relating to project development, M&A, financing (equity, debt and Islamic financing), and litigation and arbitration.

Our areas of practice also include M&As, sale and acquisition of international agencies; arbitration of disputes in Kuwait; corporate drafting of contracts and transaction documents for various categories of business; formation and registration companies and entities; legal support to the director board of the companies and their board meetings, AGMS; registration of trademarks; IPR disputes resolution; dispute resolution by direct conciliation and negotiation, claims handling-litigation or arbitration of claims; debt recovery; maritime disputes; insurance and reinsurance matters, technology media and telecommunications (TMT), cyber security and data protection.

Lawyer Profiles

Photo	Name	Position	Profile
	Khalifah AlYaqout	Chairman & Attorney	View Profile

Interviews

Khalifa Hamed Alyaquot

Khalifa Hamed Alyaqout discusses how the firm adapts itself to clients' changing needs

What has been your greatest achievement, in a professional and personal capability?

Goals create a road map for success. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and for its achievement requires committed, concentrated and consistent work. Both professionally and personally, I do set many goals and targets to reach and I am striving for them individually and with my team at AlYaqout.

Although, I can say that I am very grateful that I was able to build AlYaqout Legal Group as a top-notch legal brand in Kuwait from the grounds set by my father after his passing, managing a leading law firm and striving for its equally larger goals to be achieved was not a cakewalk, especially as I was very young when I took over. But, with sheer commitment, resolute efforts and with the immense support of the ace team at AlYaqout, we crossed significant milestones to make my law-firm a top-runner in the sector.

Looking back and seeing what I was able to be achieved, whether it the clientele or other achievements like the increased goodwill, reliability and reputation etc., they are phenomenal and truly up-market.

 What do you do differently from your peers in the industry?

 The vital point that makes us different from peers is our out-of-the box thinking in assisting our clients in whichever way possible be that legal, regulatory etc. We perceive ourselves as a Legal Solution-Provider in quickest ever possible time and not as an old-fashioned lawyers who may perhaps compound the clients problems with mundane approach. We have wide network with key-personnel which can make many legitimate things to happen both in Kuwait or outside, in the nick of the time !

What advice would you give to your younger self?

 I would definitely tell my younger self to not give up. Some cases may seem impossible but no task is too big if you set your mind to it and the only limit that exists is the limit you create for yourself.

Can you give me a practical example of how helped a client add value to the business?

 Every client we represent at AlYaqout adds value to the business in their own way. Be that start-up entities,  young entrepreneurs who later become owners of big companies, to MNCs and major clients that are leading in their sector. We in fact never distinguish our clients as each one of them are very important and inevitable for us. Each client has added something to the experience of me and my team as legal professionals, therefore adding value to the firm. Ultimately the client-satisfaction is the key and at AlYaqout we leave no stones unturned to ensure all the legitimate aspects of our clients stands protected and well-taken care of.

 Within your sector, what do you think will be the biggest challenge for clients over the next 12 months?

 More than clients, it’s their lawyers face up the legal challenges head-on for their clients ! Saying that, there recently has been an new law regulating Intellectual Property in Kuwait and introducing new concepts. Clients may face a time race in who files their trademark or patent first and setting their IPRs well-protected. Having said that, I believe it is our job as legal professionals to make sure the challenges that the client faces are nothing but a small bump on the road.

 

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