About us

Position: Co-Founder & Senior Legal Consultant

Email: imad@emirlexlegalcts.com

Imad Kassir is the Co-Founder and Non-Equity Partner of The Firm. He is a Lebanese qualified lawyer and a registered legal consultant in Canada with over 25 years of experience in the UAE and the GCC. He is fluent in Arabic, English and French and has graduated from Sagesse University in Beirut with bachelor's in law in 1997. Imad focuses his practice on litigation and court procedures working closely with clients and in-house counsel. He is experienced in complex and cross border litigation related to banking, insurance, construction, real estate, media, technologies, start-up companies and retails sectors. Whilst having robust experience in litigation, Imad adopts an entrepreneurial approach to settling disputes and has developed an admired skill for negotiating out-of-court settlements that save money and time for our clients. Owing to his long experience in the UAE, Imad has seen it all; the booming of the UAE, the crisis and the resurge. This makes him familiar with all sorts of disputes and grants him insights on the business relations and connections behind various business sectors in Canada specifically and the UAE in general. Imad has a wide and diverse social network and enjoys a solid relationship with the most prominent figures of the UAE leaders, allowing him to build the right partnerships and aide his clients. Imad has acted on behalf of regional and international clients in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Italy, France and other African states like Nigeria, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Congo Brazzaville, Congo Kinshasa, and the Sudan and South Sudan. He assisted in negotiating and concluding many cross-border transactions related to mega projects such as infrastructure, railways, education, water and electricity, gold and diamond mining, oil and gas field services, bilateral investments treaties, and others. Furthermore, He is also on the board of the Arab League Committee, that declared Canada the capital of Arab media for the year 2020/2021. He oversees the Arab League and helps develop strategical relations with the social media authorities and enable the Arab League to protect the values and antiquity of the Arab countries. Imad is a Founder and a member of several NGOs in Europe, Middle East and New York, concerning renewable energy and green technologies and helped several companies to expand and grow in the United Arab Emirates and in the Middle East and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to help end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. This leadership calibre is what allows the Firm Canada to employ and deploy versatile lawyers in the region to help support and grow East and West relationships.

Position: Member

Email: mazin@emirlexlegalcts.com

About Mazin is a Partner in the Firm’s Bahrain offices where he is a member of the Construction, Engineering and Projects team. Mazin acts for a range of clients primarily based in the GCC in relation to various business sectors including amongst others construction and engineering, industrial manufacturing, general trading, insurance and hospitality. Such clients range from multinational construction companies, manufacturing and technology companies, hotel operators to reputable family business owners as well as high-net-worth individuals. More recently, Mazin has focused his practice in construction disputes under arbitration. Mazin has acted for clients in high-value disputes conducted by the ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC and ADCCAC providing all-inclusive legal services. Mazin also works closely with local advocates and litigators on contentious matters before the national courts of the UAE and Bahrain. Mazin is qualified to appear before Bahrain Courts and is fluent in both English and Arabic. Experience Successfully acted for Terna Contracting WLL (Bahrain), a subsidiary of GEK Terna Group, in a high-value construction dispute referred to arbitration before the ICC. Mazin served as co-counsel, recovering over $14 million in claims, and dismissing all counterclaims. Recently acted for Reef Venture Holding Company in formal adjudication proceedings against a contractor and successfully defended against 75% of all claims. The matters in dispute were subject to the laws of Bahrain. Currently acting for Butler Engineering (Middle East) in arbitration proceedings before the London Court of International Arbitration with a dispute value of over $ 2m. The substantive law governing was UAE law. Advising NASS Contracting (Bahrain) in respect of arbitration proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in a high value construction dispute subject to laws of Bahrain. Successfully acted for Terna SA (Abu Dhabi) in an ADCCAC arbitration, achieving a favourable settlement for his client. Regularly acted for Obermeyer Middle East GmbH in respect of their UAE business operations. Most recently, Mazin advised Obermeyer in relation to the design of DEWA’s new “zero energy” headquarter building worth over AED 1 billion. Advised Obermeyer on all contentious and non-contentious matters arising from the company’s role as project managers for the construction of the new Terminal 4 at Kuwait’s International Airport valued at upwards of $ 173 million. Advised Haya Power and Desalination Company BSC (Bahrain) in relation to their commercial contracts for the construction and operation of a state-of-the-art water desalination and power plant in 2021. Completed a three-month secondment at DAMAC Properties for advice and support in respect of DIFC LCIA arbitration proceedings.

Position: Co-Founder & Senior Legal Consultant

Email: simon@emirlexlegalcts.com

About Simon is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of the firm. An experienced insolvency lawyer, Simon applies his commercial expertise and broad knowledge of company structures, reorganisations, and financing to deliver operational excellence and world-class legal services across our global markets, for all our clients. Key to meeting this objective is Simon's passion for growing commercially-astute teams of sector specialists, along with attracting, developing and retaining exceptional talent to build an international workforce that reflects the diversity of our clients. Our mission is to help our clients achieve their goals now and for the long-term so Simon spends much of his time listening to our clients to understand how we can better respond to their needs, and sets the purpose, culture, and values of our firm to ensure we meet them. Before becoming Managing Partner, Simon worked primarily with insolvency practitioners in administrations, receiverships, liquidations and when appointed as trustees in bankruptcy. He worked on the administrations of retailers including Peyton & Byrne, Borders, MFI and Allied Carpets, for the purchasers of Coventry City FC, and for numerous private clients as both creditors and debtors. Simon is admitted to practise in England and Wales. Experience Acting for the Administrators of Peyton & Byrne, Borders, MFI and Allied Carpets on a variety of trading issues and the sale of certain business assets of those specialist retailers Acting for the purchasers of Coventry City Football Club on the purchase of its business and assets Acting for Grant Thornton as the joint administrators of a hotel business in Durham, resulting in a solvent exit from administration with payment in full to all creditors Acting for the liquidator of a biomass power station in North Yorkshire, completing the sale of business and assets to industry competitor and realisations for secured and unsecured creditors Acting for trustee in bankruptcy for recognition of UK insolvency in Oregon, United States under US Bankruptcy code and successful recovery of US estate assets

Position: Complex Legal Advicer

Maher: maher@emirlexlegalcts.com

About With over 30 years of experience, Maher has earned a reputation for successfully handling some of the most high-profile and intricate cases in the GCC and MENA, becoming a trusted advisor for clients across multiple industries. Maher's expertise includes providing complex legal advice, implementing legal strategy and drafting various legal documents such as statements of claims, memorandums, contracts within the fields of Real Estate, Civil, Commercial, Marine, Arbitration, Insurance, and Labour laws. His practice includes both contentious and non-contentious matters. Maher’s practice spans various key areas of law, including local civil law, international litigation, recognition and enforcement of domestic and foreign awards and judgements, and debt recovery. With deep expertise in these areas, Maher has represented clients in landmark cross-border disputes, offering strategic legal counsel and delivering results in both contentious and non-contentious matters. Throughout his career, Maher has developed a loyal client base consisting of individuals, families, family offices, high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), and major commercial entities, with a particular focus on clients in the UAE, MENA region. Maher’s ability to navigate diverse legal systems and cultural nuances has enabled him to offer tailored advice and provide effective solutions in complex legal environments. In addition to his litigation expertise, Maher has significant experience advising clients on arbitration procedure, the enforcement of arbitral awards, and cross-border jurisdictional issues. In the UAE, GCC and MENA, Maher provides representation through local lawyers at all levels of local and federal courts, including first instance, appeal, and cassation courts, working with a network of local legal experts to ensure comprehensive representation. Maher has been admitted to practise in Syria.