Khodeir & Partners

What do you see as the main points that differentiate Khodeir & Partners “KP” from your competitors? The main points of difference are that our firm had to inaugurate its practice during very challenging times, as immediately after our establishment in November 2019, the world was hit by COVID, followed by the Ukrainian Russian war a few years later. All these factors have caused us to encounter very challenging scenarios at the outset of our establishment. We have seen these challenges as opportunities to focus on a very qualitative approach in terms of offering legal services and invoking up-to-date technology to be able to address the new challenges of the market. Our focus on quality has led the firm to have a recognized footprint in a very short interval while we continue to grow in Egypt and the region. Growth in the region was supported by technological capabilities and the ability to stay close to our clients wherever they are in the region. Such initiatives and strategies have opened up new parameters for growth that we will continue to see in the next few years.   Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that? I believe that economic pressure will lead to continued growth in sectors related to dispute settlement, including both Litigation and Arbitration. I think the world is encountering several uncertainties which will lead to more opportunities in the area of dispute settlement. At the same time, we can expect strategic growth in regulatory work and new practice areas such as data protection and technology related to legal services.   What's the main change you've made in the firm that will benefit clients? One of the main changes that we are undergoing in the firm is to head more towards a flat structure rather than strict hierarchy. This enables us to work more efficiently and adopt a more conducive approach that allows us to brainstorm and interact more closely with client files, all of which are components of service quality that are prime for our clients. Without implementing quality improvement strategies, firms will encounter major difficulties in the near future with the growth of technology in the legal services industry. Therefore, we continue to focus on quality by adopting the necessary structural changes as well as policies that promote a quality focused approach to almost all matters that we handle for our clients. This is not an easy trigger button type of solution; it’s a continuous practice that evolves day by day and involves many processes to enhance quality components for our clients, with no definitive endpoint. It is an ongoing process that will continue to evolve and what we improve today will need ongoing work to maintain and further improve tomorrow. That’s the essence of improvement and reform in all areas.   Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them? Technology is shaping the service industry in all sectors, including legal services, as it paves the way for a revolutionary structure for offering legal services with the rapid development of AI. Law firms need to make significant investments in technology that go far beyond what has already been invested. At KP, we are adopting an extra eventual environment in terms of AI use and development to ensure that we do not miss out opportunities and do not fall into the trap of undue reliance on AI that might hamper client interests. Therefore, we are scrutinizing the evolution and development of AI to use it quite strictly to ensure a balance between the risk of overusing AI or on the other side missing out on such development.   Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business? There are several examples of how we have helped our clients add value to their business, including negotiating major transactions that reshaped their business operations by expansion or restructuring. Also, we have supported some of our clients in addressing major shareholder disputes that were threatening the continuity of their businesses. As a result of successfully resolving these disputes, our clients have gained opportunities to survive and grow. In addition, we have helped several clients design structuring plans for their businesses, both locally and regionally, that have supported their businesses by operating cross-border activities and expanding in the region.   Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms - where do you see the firm in three years’ time? Clients have always been looking for strategic direction and support from law firms. The relationship between clients and lawyers is not restricted to only providing legal services; it evolves into a strategic partnership that encompasses offering legal services as conciliary to business in many aspects. There are several instances where our clients simply pick up the phone to brainstorm with us on a new line of business or a new business opportunity. Such discussions could evolve around many assets and aspects that have a strategic impact on the business, not only limited to the legal parameters. For example: One of our clients was expanding in Africa and wanted to assess this opportunity in terms of growth potential, expected returns, as well as the risks involved. We supported the client from a legal and SWOT analysis in this process. Another example: A major government project on which we advised our client regarding the benchmarking of the regulatory environment and legal contexts in which the project could be implemented. Our advice was not limited to legal considerations but also included strategic dimensions as well.

What has been your greatest achievement, in a professional and personal capability? I believe I was very blessed, probably one of the very few lawyers and managing partners who had the chance to work in 4 jurisdictions in the Middle East, while leading positive change and multibillion dollar deals in parallel. I had the chance to work with diversified teams from all over the world and led, as managing partner, with the teams I worked with the practices I was responsible for into sustainable success including recognition and awards across the region. However, the most important milestone in my career was when I had the opportunity to serve my country during challenging times when I was appointed as CEO of the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and led the reform program we designed at the time including the promulgation of the Investment Law. In a nutshell, I am very content and grateful to have had a very diversified and rich exposure and to have had the chance to learn and pass on my experience to many people from across the globe. What do you do differently from your peers in the industry? I believe we all thrive to deliver the best we can to our clients, the sustainable distinction we are focused on as a firm is quality through our boutique model where we can bring as much brains on the table to deliver the best solutions to our clients that are well thought of, regardless of the number of hours we spend on a matter. What counts most for us is to deliver the best quality and competitive pricing at the same time, that is why we do our best to be selective of the work we take on board to be able to deliver both without compromises. What advice would you give to your younger self? I would say to my younger self and some of my colleagues today, work life balance is not a luxury. It is an essential requirement for sustainable growth; otherwise you will suffer at a given point of time a burn out no matter how strong you think you are. Working 20/7 many days over years of your practice will block you if you do not address it quickly. I had to undergo personal changes to be able to adapt and so can everyone if you realize early enough that this is not sustainable. I would also say that competition is healthy so long as it does not drag your ethical bar down, but unfortunately some people lose their selves under the competition rush. This is one of the things I always tried to avoid, as nothing is worth compromising on your ethical standards, even though your competitors will like to believe that you did, the important thing is for you to know you never did. I would also advise younger generations not to pay attention to what people say or how they try to judge you or gossip about you behind your back, just focus on your goals and exhaust your energy in a balanced fashion towards your career objectives. This is the inevitable cost for success and the nature of life and will never end, so ignore it. My last few tip to younger lawyers would be to recommend to them to not to let the deal rush get to you, as many lawyers start thinking about life and doubting others the way they undergo a “due diligence” on a deal and think they know it all. Learning ends with passing away and real life is not just about skills you acquire on deals it’s a wide range of experiences you acquire and learn over time which needs to keep growing. Otherwise, acting like how your deals are does not work in real life and should be addressed early on before it gets to you. Taking these recommendations into prospective with COVID 19 in action and lessons we are all learning hopefully, it is important not to lose track of your human identity, because you get exposed to too much materialistic surroundings. Can you give me a practical example of how helped a client add value to the business? One of our family business clients was about to lay off a huge number of employees upon the panic associated with the outburst of COVID 19 and sought our advice. We highlighted to the client that the there is no blanket protection under the law to secure such measures and showed the client a cost analysis and due compensations the client would have to pay along with reputational damage it will need to manage in these times. We also advised the client to hold off these measures for a while. We believe that if COVID 19 was somehow addressed and life started to go back to the new normal, as are the signals today, the cost of rehiring talent and the reputation damage that may impact the client could be irreversible. This is not the conventional advice to clients and may involve less fees for us, but what is important about it is that it adds value, real value as we believe in it. Today the client is more positive about it and pleased to have received this advice while managing it using some of their reserves, and we are working with them to address how to go back to business and continue operations sustainably without getting it out on staff or threaten the client’s reputation in markets where it is difficult to keep secrets. Obviously, if COVID 19 continues more aggressively, some of these measures can be challenging with the great uncertainties, however now is, in some sectors, quite early for leadership to dump it on its staff especially with organizations with manageable overheads and sufficient reserves. Our advice to clients is not just legal, it is an advice directed at overall value creation and sustainability in it wider sense, especially at times of human crisis where organizations are expected to show their human side, their HR teams have been promoting for years, rather than take it out on their human power, now is the real test. Obviously, this is easier said than done and different from one organization to the other depending on the size, the sector and the jurisdictional exposure it has etc. but COVID 19 showed that it can be done in some businesses, at least thus far. We believe that many businesses are suffering and that there will be businesses who will close and exit markets and their will be lost jobs, but we view our role is to support contain such negative implications to the extent possible when genuinely it can be done noting that we are all exposed to these uncertainties and it is difficult to forecast what tomorrow holds, so no one can claim one right answer, as we all provide answers in light of our principle focus points and experience which includes the financial crises in 2008-2009. Within your sector, what do you think will be the biggest challenge for clients over the next 12 months? Improving the technological capabilities and virtual delivery of service firms in the region and promoting that, particularly with clients used to engaging their service providers (particularly lawyers) in a conventional manner which is not scarce in respect of legal services in the Middle East. In addition, the conventional challenge of providing the highest quality at the most competitive costs will be even more relevant.