Career
Ahmed Kotb heads the Dispute Resolution Department at Khodeir & Partners and is the Managing Partner of Khodeir & Partner’s association in the UAE with MAA & Partners Law Firm.
Ahmed is considered one of the rising figures in dispute resolution. With a wealth of diversified experience with courts and arbitral tribunals, Ahmed has been well recognized for his tenacity and sharp skills by his clients and peers.
For over a decade, Ahmed advised and acted for large corporations in arbitration and litigation matters related to telecommunications, media, hospitality, mining, energy, construction, maritime and international trade, financial disputes, shareholders’ disputes, as well as agency and distribution related disputes. His advice and assistance are regularly sought in cross-borders complex arbitration and litigation matters, often involving application and interplay between laws of different jurisdictions.
Ahmed serves as counsel in investment and commercial arbitration matters conducted under major arbitration rules such as the ICC, CRCICA, DIAC, SCAI and UNCITRAL. He also serves as expert on Egyptian law related matters and regularly sits as party-appointed and presiding arbitrator.
In addition to his arbitration experience, Ahmed regularly represents clients in major cases before Egyptian Courts in economic, commercial, and administrative matters. He also advises and assists clients on intricate matters of enforcement and annulment of arbitral awards in Egypt.
Ahmed is regularly ranked and recommended by legal directories. Chambers & Partners recommend him as sharp and “an excellent contentious lawyer” who “can home in on the issues”; “a rising talent who is developing a strong arbitration practice”, and as having “excellent hands-on approach”, “very good understanding of technical issues”. Clients have also described Ahmed as brilliant, professional, and quick-minded.
Legal 500 also recommends Ahmed describing him as “very meticulous, very experienced, a superstar of the future”. He is also praised as a “determined lawyer and a good communicator with deep knowledge of Egyptian law” and for being “meticulous, intelligent and speedy on contract as well as civil disputes”.
Before Khodeir & Partners, Ahmed has been a public prosecutor, a member of the Egyptian administrative judiciary, as well as a senior lawyer and acting head of dispute resolution in some of the very well regarded international and regional firms. He read law in Egyptian, French and British universities, and has been a visiting lecturer of commercial law and introduction to legal studies at the French Section of the Faculty of Law at Ain Shams University and the Faculty of Law at the British University in Egypt.
Work Highlights
• Chairman of the tribunal appointed by Co-Arbitrators in a USD 15 million CRCICA arbitration relating to construction claims arising out of the construction of a mega hospital in Cairo, Egypt;
• Chairman of the tribunal appointed by the Centre in a CRCICA arbitration relating to obligations post termination of a construction contract between an Egyptian contractor and a subsidiary of a Korean employer;
• Chairman of the tribunal appointed by Co-Arbitrators in a CRCICA construction arbitration related to three contracts for risk assessment and protection from drone attacks and explosions in one of the national projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Chairman of the tribunal appointed by the Centre in a CRCICA arbitration relating to termination of a an exploitation agreement of a fuel station in Egypt, and the compensation relating to change of economic circumstances and devaluation of the Egyptian currency.
• Sole Arbitrator appointed by DIAC Court in a DIAC construction arbitration subject to UAE laws.
• Co- Arbitrator appointed by the Claimant in a CRCICA arbitration related to construction claims out of four construction agreements for supply, implementation, installation, operation and maintenance of elevators for a compound in Alexandria, Egypt;
• Legal Expert in ad hoc arbitration proceedings in Cape Town, South Africa, on Egyptian law matters pertaining to importation and agriculture laws;
• Leading the Legal Expert team in respect of an ICSID arbitration against a Middle Eastern state relating to investment laws and procedures;
As Counsel, Co-Counsel, or Local Counsel
• Acting for a major Luxembourg investment company in a USD 70 million CRCICA arbitration pertaining to a major medical industrial project and shareholders disputes;
• Acting for a leading UAE contractor in a USD 15 million ICC arbitration pertaining to a major desalination project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, governed by KSA laws;
• Acting for a leading contractor in a USD 5 million CRCICA arbitration pertaining to a FIDIC Design-Build contract for the execution of a design, supply, construction, erection and operation of a Wastewater and Sewage Treatment Plant in Egypt;
• Acting for a GCC Royal Family Member in ad hoc arbitration proceedings administered by the PCA in respect of a multi-million payment claim under an English Law Indemnity Agreement in relation to shareholders’ disputes and operations of a hotel chain in Greece;
• Acting for the largest Middle Eastern construction design consultancy company in a USD 12 million CRCICA arbitration over claims related to design amendments;
• Acting for a real estate developer in a USD multimillion CRCICA arbitration arising out of construction and sale of a medical complex in Cairo, Egypt;
• Acting for an Egyptian pipelines contractor against an Italian employer in an ICC arbitration arising out of the construction of a compressions station in Al-Arish, Egypt;
• Acting as local counsel in ICC arbitration between a global manufacturer of weapons and a UAE entity in relation to claims relating to fraud, embezzlement, and breach of payment obligations amounting to over USD 50 million;
• Acting for the largest Middle Eastern construction consultancy company in a USD 45 million arbitration over construction of a hotel in Yemen;
• Acting for a regional telecom claimant in a USD 1.3 billion arbitration involving breach of the terms of an interconnection agreement against one of the world’s largest mobile operators;
• Acting for a fixed telephone operator in a USD 1.1 billion arbitration against a mobile operator for breaches of an interconnection agreement;
• Acting for a regional hotel owner in two USD 140 million arbitrations over a sale purchase agreement for hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh;
• Acting for a major Middle Eastern media agency in a multimillion CRCICA arbitration over termination of a management and consultancy agreement and competition;
• Acting for an Egyptian telecoms company in a CRCICA arbitration against an Italian investor over breach of a contact centre contract;
• Acting for a major Egyptian distributor in a multimillion arbitration before the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution related to breach of exclusive distributorship agreements;
• Acting for a Spanish manufacturer of industrial metal material in an arbitration relating to a breach of an agency agreement against an Egyptian distribution company under CRCICA Rules;
• Acting for a major Egyptian maritime oil and gas service provider in a USD 3,640,000 dispute arising out of a charter party agreement against an Emirati oil company referred to arbitration under CRCICA rules;
• Acting for an Egyptian football player in a multi-million dollars dispute before the Appeals Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport concerning breach of a transfer agreement, non-compete covenant, and ensuing damages;
• Acting for shareholders of an agricultural and industrial group in multi-million dollars CRCICA arbitration in respect of breach of shareholders’ covenants and obligations;
• Acting on behalf of a leading OTT video service company in a CRCICA arbitration in relation to a license agreement amounting to USD 1,300,000;
• Acting on behalf of a leading OTT video service company in an ICC arbitration in relation to a TV series production agreement amounting to USD 1,500,000
Representative Litigation Experience
• Acting for the largest regional real estate developer in scores of litigation cases with customers, contractors, lessors and tenants, and management companies in relation to sale contracts, construction contracts, lease contracts, and management contracts;
• Acting for the largest regional paper and hygienic products manufacturer in scores of litigation cases related to employment, production, distribution, consumer protection, and international trade matters;
• Advising a major French telecom operator on the enforcement of a USD 800 million ICC arbitration award related to the acquisition of a local mobile operator;
• Acting for a major bank with international operations against Egyptian, Swiss and UAE traders in criminal cases for misappropriation of grain and feed from customs’ areas in Egyptian ports;
• Acting for a European group for manufacturing of infrastructure products in an investment dispute concerning a breach of a supply contract before the Ministerial Committee for the Settlement of Investment Contracts’ Disputes;
• Acting for an Egyptian mining company in a USD 20 million case before Administrative Courts for wrongful termination of a concession agreement;
• Acting against the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum before Administrative Courts for refusing to grant a concession agreement for a mining company;
