Hussam Ghazzawi

Practice Areas

Hussam is a prominent practitioner with specialization in Shari ’a, dispute resolution, international law, corporate law and maritime law. He has led teams of lawyers in structuring large sized businesses, resolving complex disputes and rendering advisory on commercial and regulatory issues. He is a prominent practitioner with specialization in commercial law and dispute resolution. In addition to providing legal advice; he reviews and revises contracts and agreements. His advice and counsel is often sought by partners of the firm on delicate and complicated issues. With an eye details and business insight, he has enabled several high profile clients resolve their long stretched business disputes amicably. His entrepreneurial skills coupled with legal insight has helped clients in planning and restructuring their businesses to face the evolving and challenging business environment.

Among several professional achievements, Hussam adds to his credit the key role he had played in settling a complex dispute between partners of a huge business conglomerate comprised of ten large sized manufacturing companies. He was a key member of the team which rendered advice on business laws and regulatory matters to the consortium that was awarded the Metro Rail Project for Mashaer Al Muqadassa as well as the consortium that executed the Al-Haramain High Speed Rail Project. He has pitched and procured several high profile national and international clients for the firm and he ensures that they are well served by the team of partners and associates across the three offices.

Career

A law graduate of King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah; Hussam completed his Masters from Robert Gordon University of the United Kingdom.

Hussam is a renowned legal practitioner and a prominent business leader. While a long drawn practice spanning over three decades has honed his knowledge on legal issues, his business acumen has enabled Hussam to extract a win-win solution for clients.

As managing partner of Al Ghazzawi & partners, one of the oldest and leading law firms in the Middle East, Hussam manages the offices of the firm at Dammam. He has helped forge cooperation with Gowling WLG, an International Law Firm which enables Al Ghazzawi & Partners to render services to its clients seamlessly across different geographies and covering specialty domains.

Professional Memberships

• Served as Member, Lawyers Committee of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Eastern Province, for over a decade since 2000.

Served as Member, National Lawyers Committee at the Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce, Riyadh for one tenure of three years.

Served as Member, National Committee on I.P. Rights formed under the auspices of the Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Riyadh for one term of (3) years.

Accredited Arbitrator, Cooperation Council (GCC) Commercial Arbitration Center, Bahrain since 1995

Member, American Bar Association since 1992

Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London since 1996

Member, International Bar Association since 1994

Member, American Arbitration Association since 1997

Personal

Hussam has been instrumental in developing the real estate business of the Group and has overseen execution of several elite projects in the Eastern Province which include Rivera Commercial Complex and Rivera Residential Complex. A pioneer in bringing specialty coffee and tea business to the Kingdom, he actively supervises the businesses of Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea franchise.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of Allied Cooperative Insurance Group (ACIG), a publicly listed joint stock company and served the board for two tenures of 3 years each. He was on the board of General Motors, Egypt and served the board for 3 years.

As an honorary member of the Faculty of Law at Prince Mohammed Fahd University, Hussam provided guidance to the team on structuring of curriculum for students and enabled training of dozens of students at the firm.

Work Highlights

Overseeing strategies and representation before an arbitral tribunal covering a dispute involving Al-Latifia Contracting Co., a leading and renowned company engaged in Engineering and Contracting activities in its dispute with a subsidiary of Dubai based EPC company for execution of MEP involving claims and counterclaims in excess of SAR. 600,000,000.00 wherein the tribunal awarded a sum of SAR. 187 Million to the client.

Building a strategy over class action like suits by over 300 investors against a renowned offshore investment fund who had raised lawsuits in different parts of Saudi Arabia.

Key member of the team which advised Spanish-Saudi consortium on its $8.25 billion Phase 2 of the Haramain High Speed Railway Project connecting the two Holy cities of Mecca and Madinah via Jeddah and advising on its overall transaction management in Saudi Arabia and on Sharia’ law; advising on all contractual aspects of the project beginning from assisting the prime contractor with the bid preparation to pre-qualification and later with the execution - a multi-billion US dollar transaction that required heavy involvement from our commercial and corporate team including but not limited to negotiations on behalf of the client with government ministries and authorities.

Key member of the team which advised a leading Chinese railway construction company as the main contractor on a US$ 2 Billion Mecca Metro Project (Al-Mashaaer Al-Muqaddassah Metro) on all its legal issues relating to the Mega Project, drafting various agreements and contracts and coordinating and liaising on behalf of the company with all concerned ministries and agencies;

Led the team of lawyers in representing the majority partner in a joint venture business conglomerate comprised of 10 large sized companies engaged in the manufacturing of plastic and paper consumer and industrial goods over its dispute with the minority shareholder in the conglomerate; the long stretched dispute was settled in two hearings before the arbitral panel on the proposal and strategy devised by the firm.

Lead attorney on a case involving leading mobile telephone operator over their dispute with another operator on sharing of revenues in excess of US$ 125 Million – facilitated an amicable settlement of dispute

Successfully led the team of attorney in lawsuit claiming return of performance guarantees in the amount of SR.100 Million for the operator of dry port in Saudi Arabia

Part of the team that advised an oil and gas major on a case filed by a publicly listed joint stock agricultural company alleging appropriation of large tracts of land by our client demanding compensation in excess of US$ 900 Million - Successfully contested the ruling issued by the lower courts at the appellate level.

Industry Sector Expertise

Oil & Gas

Real Estate and Construction

Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Intellectual Property

Employment Law

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Saudi Arabia

Languages Spoken

Arabic - Native

English

French

Experience

Hussam has led the team of attorneys on numerous complex and complicated issues and built strategies that worked well in obtaining favorable outcome. He encouraged the team to create strategies that are not only best suited to the case on hand; but also think differently and apply proactive approach. The issues ranged from commercial disputes to corporate law issues as well as real estate and construction related disputes.

Hussam acts for several national and international companies and regularly appears before Shari’a and commercial courts as well as before the arbitration tribunals and other quasi-judicial bodies in the Kingdom.

Hussam is a long standing member of various local and international professional bars and associations, notably, American Bar Association, American Arbitration Association, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators etc. As an active member of national and regional lawyers committees, Hussam has contributed in the evolution of several national regulations and legislations by providing inputs and revisions to drafts of the proposed laws.

Education