About

Number of years practice: 20

Principal practice areas: International commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration, dispute resolution

Languages spoken: English, French, Arabic

What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?

Pan-African practice with a focus on North and Francophone Africa.

Please describe the most important matters you have worked on in the African market in the last two years, including your role and the significance of the matter (if any) to the development of business and law.

I have advised clients in numerous high profile, complex cross-border disputes in over 20 African countries over the course of my career. This has included most recently matters in the following jurisdictions: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, DR Congo, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Morocco, and Senegal. Most of these disputes were resolved through international arbitration and some have raised novel and ground-breaking legal issues.

What differentiates your practice from that of other private practice lawyers?

My practice is multifaceted and quite unique for a number of reasons; I act for both investors and private companies and for governments, and I represent clients both in commercial arbitrations and disputes arising out of bilateral or multilateral investment treaties.

More importantly, I am one of the very few practitioners in my field who is able to advise and represent clients in English, French and in
Arabic, and hence cover Anglophone, Francophone and Arabic-speaking jurisdictions in Africa. In addition to my work acting on behalf of my clients as legal counsel, I am regularly appointed as an arbitrator in international arbitrations arising out of projects in both North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, Africa represents
a very significant and increasing part of my practice.

I am also part of a Linklaters network of corporate, financing and project finance lawyers, as well as other dispute resolution specialists who are very active throughout Africa. I therefore work closely with colleagues in particular in London, Paris, Dubai and Lisbon, as well as with lawyers from Webber Wentzel, the very well-established South African law firm, with whom we have a collaborative alliance.

Why has Africa been a particularly strong focus for you?

The growth in foreign investment in Africa over the last 10 years has led to an increase in the number of cross-border disputes arising out of various African-based projects in energy, natural resources, infrastructure, telecommunications, transportation, hospitality and banking sectors.

Many foreign investors are wary of the uncertainty in the local judicial systems (in particular when states and state-owned entities are involved) and therefore tend to prefer resolving their disputes through international arbitration. This has led to a significant increase in my Africa-related work and to the development of a track-record acting in arbitrations in relation to African projects, in particular involving states and state-entities.

In addition to my professional interest in Africa, I have also developed a personal attachment to the continent which has grown through numerous visits to areas off the beaten track

What changes have you seen in the appetite for Africa-based ventures and investments over the last five years?

Companies increasingly tend to undertake an early assessment of their risks and how to mitigate them when considering investments in Africa. For example, more and more clients are aware of the importance of structuring their investments to benefit from investment treaty protection.

Multilateralism has also been a growing trend in the region. The OHADA modernised its arbitration law and adopted a new mediation law in 2018. The Common Court of Justice and Arbitration also adopted a revised set of arbitration rules. The work of the OHADA has been valuable in the region, especially its efforts to harmonise the legal framework in the area of business law in order to foster a legally stable environment for foreign investments.

Are there any aspects of the African legal market that you would like to see change?

Despite numerous efforts by international organisations and the legal community to promote international arbitration in Africa, it
would be good to see more nationals of African countries being appointed as arbitrator. The fact that they are increasingly acting as counsel and co-counsel and the efforts of organisations such
as the ICC to promote diversity seem to indicate that we are moving, albeit too slowly, in the right direction.

Several jurisdictions have reformed their arbitration laws or adopted new arbitration legislation in recent years. Although many of these laws are based on the UNCITRAL Model Law or are inspired by modern and arbitration-friendly laws, users remain concerned about the application of these laws by local courts. Only very few African jurisdictions are in fact considered as seats for international arbitration. Such jurisdictions still need to increase their attractiveness as seat of arbitration, notably by improving the predictability of their courts and the reliability of their legal frameworks.

What megatrends do you think will shape the African market over the coming five years? How (if at all) will these trends affect your practice?

Policies to fight bribery and corruption will likely continue to affect the legal landscape in the coming years.

In international arbitration, lawyers, arbitrators and courts have been dealing with a number of important and very sensitive issues (arbitrability, standard of proof, burden of proof, duty to investigate, consequence of any illegality, control by local courts and more) both in commercial and investment arbitration.

Policies promoting stricter control and appropriate sanctioning of illegal practices and requiring compliance with international standards will definitely shape the future of doing business in Africa.