Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm

Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking, Finance, Capital Markets, Energy, Project Development, Tax, Government Relations & Public Policy, Data Protection and Privacy, Telecoms, Franchising

Partner

Souraya Machnouk is a partner at Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm, and heads the M&A practice. She previously worked at Norton Rose Fulbright in Paris. Souraya has more than 15 years of experience advising prominent clients across industries, with a practice distinguished by an in-depth specialization and a particular expertise leading on complex ground-breaking transactions.

Souraya participates in several government-led legal reform initiatives aimed at enhancing the investment climate in Lebanon.

Souraya is consistently recognized as a leading lawyer by prominent international directories, including Chambers & Partners, The Legal 500 (Hall of Fame) and IFLR1000. She was named to IFLR1000’s Women Leaders in EMEA, which recognizes "the most prominent female lawyers working in the areas of law ".

Arabic, French and English

Admitted to the Beirut Bar Member of the International Bar Association Member of the American Chamber of Commerce’s (AmCham) Banking & Finance Committee Member of the board of experts of the Lebanese Franchise Association Member of the special inter-ministerial legal committee for the Reform of the Investment Climate in Lebanon organized by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in collaboration with the World Bank and the IFC Member of the board of T2SD, an initiative by the UNDP aimed at engaging the private sector in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), through the promotion and implementation of CSR strategies in line with the SDGs, and the lobbying for a national sustainable development agenda

JD double major in Private and Public Law, Saint Joseph University, Lebanon Advanced Graduate Degree (DEA) in Banking & Financial Markets Law, Saint Joseph University accredited by the University of Paris II-Assas, France Master of Laws (LLM), George Washington University jointly with Georgetown University, USA Certificate of Qualification in Syndicated Loan Markets Documentation, Loan Market Association, UK Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration, International Chamber of Commerce, France Diploma in Leadership in Law Firms, Executive Program, Harvard Law School, USA

Co-author of the Lebanon chapter of the Inward Investment & International Taxation Review published by The Law Reviews and edited by Latham & Watkins USA; the Lebanon chapter of the Banking Regulation guide published by Getting the Deal Through and edited by Wachtell, Lipton, Rose and Katz USA; the Lebanon chapter of the Energy Regulation & Markets Review published by The Law Reviews and edited by Latham & Watkins USA; The Lebanon chapter of the Data Protection in the Financial Sector guide published by One Trust Data Guidance Contributor to the World Bank Lebanon Doing Business Reports on “Starting a Business”, “Getting Credit”, “Registering Property”, and “Contracting with the Government” Speaker at the Euromoney Lebanon conference, the International Beirut Energy Forum (IBEF) on Lebanon’s First Power Purchase Agreement, and the Annual Harvard Arab World Conference (HAWC) on Lebanon’s energy sector