Fawaz Alkhateeb

Practice Areas

Dr. Fawaz Al Khateeb’s practice is broad but centers on corporate and financial work and related disputes. He is ranked by Chambers for Corporate & Finance work in Kuwait and recognized by IFLR1000 for his M&A practice. He has over 15 years’ experience advising on commercial, corporate and finance law, and he has strong command in commercial and corporate litigation and constitutional challenges. He also focuses on criminal law, financial and corporate crimes and capital‑market crimes, including national‑security, money‑laundering and medical‑malpractice cases. The TAG Alliances listing shows his practice areas extend to corporate and M&A, criminal law, litigation and ADR, securities law, commercial law and administrative and regulatory matters. In summary, his practice covers:

Corporate and finance transactions, including mergers and acquisitions in Kuwait, GCC and cross‑border deals.

Corporate and commercial litigation and constitutional disputes.

Financial‑crime matters, such as money‑laundering, securities offences and capital‑market crimes.

General and criminal law, including national‑security and medical‑malpractice cases.

Administrative and regulatory issues, as well as arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.

These areas reflect the breadth of his practice and align with his ranking in Corporate & Finance while also highlighting his substantial criminal and regulatory work

Career

Partner and Managing Director – Taher Group Law Firm: Oversees the firm’s strategic and financial management, chairs the quality committee and supervises ISO 9001:2015 certification processes; leads the international department and helps train junior lawyers.

Practising lawyer: Admitted before all Kuwaiti courts, including the Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court; also serves as an arbitrator at the Commercial Arbitration Centre and the Kuwait Lawyers Association.

Academic: Visiting assistant professor at Kuwait International Law School (KILAW) since 2021, teaching economic crimes; previously a teaching assistant at the same school (2014‑2015) and coordinator/associate at Durham University’s Institute of Commercial and Corporate Law (2018‑2020).

Financial advisor: Appointed in 2022 as a financial advisor to Kuwait’s minister of finance.

International experience: Worked with Clifford Chance, Hill Dickinson and the British Legal Counselling Centre at the University of Manchester.

Quality leadership: Leads the firm’s internal and external ISO audits and is an IRCA-certified quality auditor.

Professional association roles: Chairs the constitutional defence committee and the permanent committee for the defence of lawyers at the Kuwait Lawyers Association.

Professional Memberships

Member of the Kuwait Bar Association.

Board member of the Kuwait Institute for Advocacy and Legal Studies.

Former vice-chair and board member of the Kuwait Mind Sports Association (2014‑2017); national chess champion in 2000 and a certified international chess arbiter.

Registered court-appointed receiver at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Justice.

Arbitrator at the Commercial Arbitration Centre, the Kuwait Lawyers Association and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Honorary member of the Kuwait Mind Sports Association

Publications

Lead contributor to the Chambers Litigation Guide – Kuwait (2024 and 2026 editions).

Co-author to Thomson & Reuters Global Guide- Kuwait Insolvency and Bankruptcy 2025

Author of the Kuwait Litigation Guide 2023 (Legal 500) and Kuwait Litigation Guide 2024 (Chambers & Partners).

Contributor to Doing Business in Kuwait 2024 for Thomson Reuters.

Doctoral thesis: Insider Dealing: From an Islamic Perspective (Durham University, 2021).

Master’s thesis on protecting shareholders’ rights and market integrity (University of Manchester, 2012).

Other research includes papers on corporate criminal liability and money laundering, a study on the rules of the legal profession (2008) and a paper on rights and freedoms in Kuwaiti law (2006).

Weekly columnist for the Arab Times, addressing issues such as bank guarantees and balancing civil liberties and public security

Languages Spoken

Languages: Arabic (native) and English.

Interests: Chess (national champion 2000), reading and diving

Industry Sector Expertise

Criminal and financial offences: Extensive experience in money‑laundering, economic crime and national security cases.

Commercial and corporate law: Company formation, board governance, shareholder agreements, mergers and acquisitions and project finance.

Arbitration and dispute resolution: Acts as an arbitrator and counsel in domestic and international proceedings.

Medical and professional liability: Represents physicians and healthcare institutions.

Administrative and constitutional law: Involved in legislative reform and public discussions on judicial specialisation.

Financial and capital markets: Advises on regulatory compliance, equity and debt transactions and debt restructuring

Education

Experience

Years of practice: Over 20 years in litigation, commercial, arbitration and academia practice.

Training and teaching: Teaches criminal law and economic crimes at KILAW and conducts workshops for private and public entities on risk management, governance and confidentiality.

Education

Awards