Levari Regional & International Expansion

Levari plans to launch an expansion plan, starting with the UAE market, then Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with the aim of increasing clients and providing more services, before the establishment of a new office in New York.

Al Mal News had an interview Sherif Hefni, Partner at Levari, who talked about the most important expansion plans of Levari and the legal services provided by the firm, besides his vision of investment in the Egyptian market.

Hefni further stated that the Egyptian market is very promising for both local and foreign investments. Levari is also in charge of providing legal consultations to several investment companies aiming to invest in the Education, Health and Technology sectors during the current year, the office also manages funds of approximately EGP 20,000,000 to one of the contracting companies interest.

Sherif Hefni also said that the firm was established in Egypt in November 2012 in partnership with Pitmans, an international law firm based in the UK, and during that period the firm became specialized in all legal affairs, to serve companies both in the Egyptian market or willing to invest in Egypt, which he considers a success in light of the difficult time period in which the firm was established after January 2011 revolution.

Hefni pointed out that the number of lawyers in the firm reached 20, and the number of partners reached 3, including Mohamed Shaaban, a former member of the Legal Department of the Commercial International Bank, along with Mohamed Raslan.

He explained that the office intends to expand strongly in the upcoming period and to open new branches in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait within the framework of the regional expansion plan, followed by another plan to expand globally by expanding in New York, at the same time the efficiency of our existing lawyers will increase.

As for the office of Levari in Egypt, Hefni pointed out to the diversity of clients between multinational companies, and other small and medium enterprises, which forced the office to conduct some kind of division in the work, and the establishment of two basic sections, the first for major customers, and the second for small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Hefni holds an honors degree in business administration from the University of Northampton Law School, then obtained a law degree from Oxford University, worked as a lawyer with the United Nations International Labor Organization in Geneva, and moved to the Crowell & Moring International Law Office, before Founding of Levari.

Read Full Article Here: Al Maal Article

Yasmin Alafaliq​

KSA, Partner

Yasmin Alafaliq is the Co-Founder of Elaqat for Corporate Services, a one stop shop that focuses on foreign investments by providing company incorporation services to foreign companies that wish to expand into the Saudi Market.

 

In 2022, Yasmin joined the Levari family by becoming the firm’s appointed partner in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

 

Yasmin is an experienced lawyer with extensive knowledge of the Saudi Arabian laws and regulations which are supported by a degree in Law from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She takes pride in providing the best services with the highest of quality.

 

Yasmin holds bachelor’s degree of law (LLB) from King Faisal University in 2019.

 

She is fluent in Arabic and English.

Ahmed Barakat

Egypt, Partner

Ahmed joined Levari in April 2021 as a Partner and Head of Litigation.

 

Prior to joining Levari, Ahmed was at The Egyptian Prosecution Authority where he served in various prosecution offices for six years. He joined the Judiciary in October 2015 and specialized and issued judgements in cases involving tax evasions, customs evasions, white collar & financial crimes, real estate, breaches of trusts and various cases under Egyptian laws.

 

Barakat holds an LLB from Ain Shams University, English Division and in 2018 received his Masters from Pennsylvania State University.

 

He is fluent in Arabic, English, and German.

Hamad Bin Salmeen

UAE, Partner

Hamad is a Partner at Levari and is a UAE qualified lawyer with the right of audience before the Court of Cassation. He has over 15-years of experience in litigation specializing in maritime, civil law, corporate law and banking transactions. Hamad has represented some of the largest companies and corporation in the UAE including El Suwaidi Group.

 

In addition, he has established Al Mashreq International Advocates in 2007 prior to the aqusiation by Levari. He is also responsible for all litigation and UAE law related matters in Dubai, UAE.

 

He is fluent in Arabic.

Hisham Kassim

Jordan, Senior Partner

A seasoned corporate lawyer with almost 15 years of experience, Hisham has successfully closed over a hundred private equity and venture capital transactions and currently represents some of the most prominent family offices, private equity, and venture capital firms in MENA.

 

Hisham is also a published scholar in major U.S. law reviews and has launched several pro-bono clinics for MENA startups in Jordan, West Bank, and Egypt. He also serves as pro-bono counsel to several medical non-profits in the region including the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

 

He was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia in June 2008. He holds an LLM from the New York University School of Law, a JD from the University of Iowa College of Law, and a BA from the University of Virginia.

 

He is fluent in Arabic and English.

Mohamed Raslan

Senior Partner

Mohamed has gained extensive experience in commercial law, litigation, investment, capital markets, banking and finance, tax laws, and regulatory advice.

 

He specializes in banking and finance working as in-house counsel for some of the largest financial institutions in Egypt including Commercial International Bank, Ahli United Bank, and Egypt Factors. Prior to founding Levari, he went back into private practice taking up the position of senior associate within the Egyptian associate office of Crowell & Moring LLP.

 

Mohamed received his LLB from Menofia University in 2004 and is an active member of the Egyptian Bar Association since 2005. He holds a master’s degree from The American University In Cairo.

 

He is fluent in Arabic and English.

Sherif Hefni

Senior Partner

After gaining valuable management experience in the city of London, Sherif undertook postgraduate qualifications in law allowing him to be called to the Bar of England & Wales and qualifying as a Barrister. Sherif has undertaken extensive legal work at the International Labour Organization in the UN in Geneva, ICT Lawyers, and Crowell & Morning offices prior to founding Levari LLP in 2012. His area of expertise is in mergers & acquisition, corporate restructuring and investments, as well as international arbitration.

 

Sherif holds a BA (hons) in Business & Psychology from the University of Northampton (UK), a Graduate Diploma in Law from Oxford Brooks University (UK), the Bar Vocational Course from City Law School-University of London (UK).

 

Sherif is a member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, member of the Charted Institute of Arbitrators, member of American Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Institute of Directors.

 

He is fluent in Arabic and English.