Successful Leaders

Youssef & Partners is a full-service, Global Arbitration Review (GAR 100) firm with a cosmopolitan and global outlook. The firm's world-renowned flagship practice is international commercial and treaty arbitration focusing on complex and high-value disputes. Youssef & Partners exercises a leading influence in dispute resolution in the MENA region and works across four continents. The firm's current docket of international disputes involves amounts exceeding US$5.42 billion, which is the highest docket value of any other competing firm in the region. As of May 2019, Youssef & Partners formally entered the market for corporate and M&A transactions. The firm now provides high-end transactional and corporate services to its clients across various key industries, including construction, mega-projects, fintech, and structuring and restructuring transactions.

 

A recognized leader and a leading light in international arbitration

Karim Youssef is the Founder, Chairman and Head of International Arbitration and International Law at Youssef & Partners. His practice focuses on commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration, and international law. He often spends part of his time giving strategic advice to some of the region's most powerful corporations across critical industries and sectors. Karim also heads the firm's high net-worth individuals' practice.

Karim has received some of the highest distinctions from peers and clients. He has been described as "A leading light in international arbitration" (Legal 500, 2018) and recognized as "a highly regarded arbitration specialist for his high caliber practices." Karim has a vast range of arbitration experience, having acted as counsel in numerous high profile commercial and investment treaty cases. One of his clients enthused that "Karim has an incredible knowledge of international law and his negotiation skills are also impressive." (Chambers Global Guide, 2019).

Karim's docket of arbitrator and counsel work currently exceeds 124 international arbitrations across four continents, focusing on the MENA region and GCC countries and major cosmopolitan seats, including Cairo, Dubai, Paris, London, and New York. He has earned his law degrees from Yale Law School (where he earned LL.M. and J.S.D. degrees) and Paris and Cairo Universities.

 

Solving Clients' International Disputes

As Egypt's premier international arbitration practice, Youssef & Partners handles major local and international disputes and advises some of the world's leading corporations across the MENA region. The firm's global outreach is second to none in the region, making it a cosmopolitan bridge-building firm. Karim believes that clients should not have to suffer less than state-of-the-art lawyering and counsel services simply because they do business in emerging or foreign markets. Youssef & Partners focuses on what matters most to its clients: winning. The firm's reputation in the local and international markets is that it does, thereby, overhauling and bridging these geographical differences.

Youssef & Partners is renowned for brokering major settlements for its clients in disputes with government entities, hence ensuring persisting concerns of major economic players in the nation's economy. The firm has been involved in the highest-profile arbitration settlements in the region coming out of the Arab Spring.

Karim is very proud of the firm's completely revolutionary diversity policy and statistics. He says the team at Youssef & Partners prides itself on being the first in diversity. The firm has the highest ratio of female lawyers, not only in Egypt but in the region and globally alike (with a current percentage of 73.3% of female lawyers, which is entirely unheard of in any firm in the region).

Different dynamics, different aspirations, different results

From a very structural and practical standpoint, Karim has succeeded in building a firm that operates based on internal dynamics, which are entirely different from most other law firms in the region. He says, "There are no complex dynamics, people are empowered and feel empowered, and they do not wake up in the morning waiting to be told what to do. They feel at home, and the machine that we call Youssef & Partners runs on and excels with the fuel of this smooth yet fiery collective spirit." “There is no internal competition. There are no dynamics based on insecurities. There is only empowering people.”  Karim also says that the arbitration community would be better off if it thinks less in terms of eye-to-eye competition, focuses on global issues that matter, and relies more on and empowers youth and rising stars.

Karim pointed out that Youssef & Partners is not made for every client; it is exclusive and focuses on the top layer of clients and complex disputes and transactions. This is where its machinery and modus operandi works best and maximizes results.

Moreover, Youssef & Partners believes that its core clients are similar to it in many ways. It understands not only their business needs and industry specificities but also their spirit and what they are made of, their genetic makeup, and who they truly are. This creates incredible synergies, and combined with how Youssef & Partners does it, takes legal services to a whole new level. "We are told working with us is addictive, and in the vast majority of cases, it is a one-way street. Clients come in SOS situations, feel at home, just like our lawyers and staff, and simply stay, because we have an unmatched reputation and ratio of success," Karim explained.

 

Transforming the industry by driving innovation change

Disruptive change and innovation are guiding principles for Youssef & Partners since its inception. The firm's team is young and dynamic; Karim is the youngest founder and chairman of a leading law firm in the MENA region and is dedicated to nurturing young talent. The Youssef & Partners team prides itself on adaptability and flexibility and has fully embraced the idea that investing in new technologies is vital in the fast-changing legal world. This has enabled the firm to transform how it deals with clients – using technology and savvy to deal as efficiently and pleasantly as possible.

Youssef & Partners has undergone a further complete digital transformation since 2019, specifically ahead of the COVID crisis. The firm has integrated novel and practical uses of AI and other disruptive technologies, which has given its team a "transformational edge" in performance, efficiency, and service, and a unique advantage point across firms in the MENA region.

Requisite traits to innovative leadership

Counseling on indispensable leadership attributes, Karim says leaders must act strategically and maintain vision and spirit for their team. Being agile and adapting to, and sometimes pre-empting, constant and inevitable change is the most imperative leadership competence. Most importantly, leaders must empower and foster talent and encourage leadership throughout their team.

Empowering young talent is vital to becoming an innovative organization. At Youssef & Partners, every member of the team is fully involved and empowered. They are not only allowed to do so but are told that this is the firm's expectation. "What each member of the firm does every day makes a real difference in the grand scheme of things," Karim mentioned.

 

A notable journey towards success

At a younger age, Karim did not know if he would find his bearings the way he did. He didn't imagine he would go into law, as he was on a track to study medicine. "This was until I had a life-altering discussion with Professor Ahmed El Kosheri, during which I was introduced to the world of international arbitration. I was always attracted to the idea of cosmopolitanism and being a citizen of the world. Once I started exploring international arbitration, I fell in love with the international, cosmopolitan universe of the practice," Karim stated. Since then, the idea of cosmopolitanism and being cosmopolitan has been at the center of Karim’s aspirations, methodology, and way of life.

Karim realized that at a very early stage in his career, a true leader encourages others to flourish. He often describes Youssef & Partners as a hunting pack because this is how it operates. He says, "We do not compete amongst ourselves, and merit and excellence at any level are always valued beyond formal seniority or ranking. What we value is what I have learned has made us who we are: excellence, innovative practice, efficiency and optimization, and teamwork."

The future going forward

Karim believes that businesses in the next five years will look completely different. The legal field is no exception. The field itself remains, for the most part, a traditional one. Only those in the field who are quick to adapt, and recognize the changing landscape of business, will likely emerge successful in the next few years. This is the principle Youssef & Partners lives by – being a truly modern player in today's business world, cutting edge, and in tune with its clients and global developments. These principles will continue to guide the firm's growth today and in the future.