Frédéric Soliman is a dual-national French and Egyptian lawyer, fluent in French, English and Arabic and a member of both the Egyptian Bar Association and Paris Bar Association.

Soliman has over 20 years of experience, including four years as Senior Attorney at Yassin Law Office, where he was focused on Arbitration and Litigation, as well as eight years at one of the largest law firms in Egypt, advising over 100 clients on various areas of practice, including Corporate, M&A, Restructuring, Labour, Tax and Dispute Resolution.

Soliman assists the World Bank and IFC on the preparation of “Doing Business” and “Agricultural Cooperation and Contracts” reports.

According to IFLR 1000, Soliman receives very positive feedback from our law firm’s clients as follows:

Pragmatism, strong sense of reactivity, immediate understanding of our goals, rigour.

He is very smart and cooperative in addition to this he speaks three different languages fluently.

On time and budget, immediate response, excellent technical know-how.

Outlined below are some of the notable transactions for which Soliman was responsible:

M&As and Restructuring:

Advised Africa Crest Education Group on an acquisition of two leading international schools in Egypt.

Advised SABIS Holding on restructuring of its subsidiaries in Egypt.

Acted as local legal counsel to Alstom with respect to the acquisition of its grid and power sectors by General Electric.

Advising Vicat on restructuring of its business in Egypt.

Advising Systra on restructuring of its business in Egypt.

Acted as local legal counsel in Egypt to Orange with respect to the acquisition of a stake in Jumia (previously Africa Internet Group).

Acted as legal counsel to Sinai Cement, a listed joint stock company, with respect to the capital increase from EGP 1 billion to EGP 2 billion.

Projects:

Acting as local legal counsel to Arizona State University with respect to a mega project with the Government of Egypt.

Acting as legal counsel to FOTON Motors with respect to a joint venture project with the Government of Egypt for construction of the first ever plant for manufacturing electric buses in Egypt.

Acting as legal counsel to IBA on implementing the first ever proton beam therapy project in Egypt.

Disputes:

Advised a confidential leading education group on a major FDI dispute with the Government of Egypt, where our firm managed to reach a settlement in favour of the said group.

Advised ArcelorMittal on a key FDI dispute with the Government of Egypt.

Advised Adidas on a key major corporate-related case before the Egyptian Economic Courts.

Advised Barwa International on a tax-related dispute with the Government of Egypt.

Advised DXC Technology on a unfair competition dispute with one of its competitors.

Advised Radio Holland on a key major corporate-related dispute in Egypt.

Advised a confidential leading education group on a real estate dispute with a major real estate development group.

Acted as legal counsel to General Electric on a major dispute against the General Authority for Import and Export Control, where we were successfully awarded a judgement against the said authority.

Mohamed Hashish has over 19 years of experience in handling Corporate, M&A, Restructuring, Banking & Finance, Energy & Electricity, TMT, Construction and Public Procurement matters. Hashish has extensive experience in representing over 700 multinational clients in all business sectors.

Hashish received the following international recognitions and awards:

“MENA Super 50 Lawyers” by Thomson Reuters ALB for 2021.

“Highly-Regarded Leading Lawyer” by IFLR 1000 for the areas of Corporate, M&A and Project Development as of 2015 to date.

“Elite Leading Individual“ by Legal 500 EMEA for the areas of Commercial, Corporate, M&A for as of 2020 to date.

“Leading Lawyer” by Who’s Who Legal for the Technology, Media and Telecoms from 2014 to 2015.

Due to his active and reputable practice and achievements, Hashish was appointed to several leadership positions such as (i) a Vice Chair at the International Financial Products & Services Committee of the International Law Section at the American Bar Association for the ABA terms starting from August 2016 to August 2021; (ii) a Board member of the United Nations Global Compact Egypt; and (iii) a Beachhead Advisor for Egypt at the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

As part of the international independent assessment for Hashish’s work, he has consistently received excellent client feedback:

Chambers and Partners – 2023:

He is very flexible and has a good understanding of our needs.

IFLR 1000 – 2022/2023:

Active and responsible, with extensive legal expertise, understanding of the business model of the company, and pleasant cooperation all year round.

He is the definition of a business partner and is super-reliable and what every in-house counsel needs in an external adviser.

Knowledgeable, responsive and able to problem solve at the highest of levels.

Chambers and Partners – 2022:

Highly active, advising on several admirable matters including many with international elements.

He is professional, he understand the practical aspects of the law and he turns around work in a timely manner.

He is professional, has good knowledge and is a very considerate lawyer.

He is very responsive, very knowledgeable and reliable. He is easy to pick up the phone to and he always meets crazy deadlines without flinching. He is a very good lawyer and well versed in the local context. He is our go-to as local counsel.

It is a pleasure to work with him as he is prompt and always available to help when needed, even with tight deadlines. He is very knowledgeable about local corporate law and sector specific regulations.

Chambers and Partners – 2021:

Mohamed Hashish is described by clients as an “absolutely dedicated” practitioner who is “a very good listener” and “extremely proactive: he always diligently follows up on our affairs and keeps us informed.” He is especially noted for his skills in company registration and joint venture creation.

Thomson Reuters ALB – 2021:

He is careful, diligent, and spot important issues that escape other counsel, especially on complicated international transactions.

IFLR 1000 – 2021:

On time and budget Immediate response Excellent technical know-how.

Responsive and sound commercial advice.

Proactive in giving regulatory updates, has in-depth knowledge of the law and country system and understands client requirements.

Legal 500 EMEA – 2020:

Mohamed Hashish is a one-of-a-kind lawyer and an excellent partner! He is very well organised and understands both the business needs and local/international laws very well. Therefore, he will always come back to you with outstanding advice.

Mohammed Hashish is professional, responsive, business-minded and nice to work with.

Mohamed Hashish is an excellent lawyer, with great Egyptian law knowledge and expertise across various sectors. His transactional legal advice is very practical and precise and of the highest quality.

Mohamed Hashish is always available and responsive and highly motivated and works hard for his clients. His solutions are business oriented but also legally very sound, which is extremely helpful when working with international clients. He is committed to manage the team and grow the firm which is excellent to see.

IFLR 1000 – 2020:

Excellent on every level with the added bonus of being extremely easy to work with.

I have been dealing with Mohammed since his time at Al Kamel, he is young, energetic and responsive.

Mohamed Hashish is one of the most professional lawyers I’ve worked with. He always provided us with precious advice and support to succeed in Egypt.

IFLR 1000 – 2019:

Excellent lawyer with a good understanding of local law, challenges and international clients’ expectations. Very solid and always available.

Excellent work ethic, and very strong knowledge of the local regulations. Strong adherence to regulations and risk assessment.

Excellent in all aspects – professionalism, accuracy of advice and timely responses.

The best we could expect, with professional and communication skills.

IFLR 1000 – 2018:

Highly proficient individual with solid knowledge of corporate law.

Mohamed is very responsive, you can always guarantee that he will reply on the spot when you send him an email specially when its urgent. He considers all details in our emails and provides sufficient response and solutions. Mohamed has very good knowledge of the market and always provides us with the latest news of the market and any new laws or regulations that are issued.

Mohamed is extremely supportive, pays attention to details and is very helpful. He is in addition very reactive in his answers and always happy to bring support.

Outlined below are some of the notable transactions for which Hashish was responsible:

M&As and Restructuring:

Advised Africa Crest Education Group on an acquisition of two leading international schools in Egypt.

Advised SABIS Holding on restructuring of its subsidiaries in Egypt.

Acted as local legal counsel to Alstom with respect to the acquisition of its grid and power sectors by General Electric.

Advised Computer Sciences Corporation with respect to the acquisition of its business in Egypt by CSRA Inc.

Advised Zircodata Information Holdings Proprietary Limited on its acquisition of E-File in Egypt.

Advised Hewlett Packard on restructuring of its business in Egypt.

Advising Wabtec on restructuring of its business in Egypt.

Advising Univar on restructuring of its business in Egypt.

Acted as legal counsel to Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) with respect to its merger with Dubizzle and OLX MENA in Egypt.

Acted as legal counsel to Alameda on its acquisitions of the entire shares held by International Finance Corporation in Dar Al Fouad Hospital in Egypt.

Acted as local legal counsel in Egypt to Orange with respect to the acquisition of a stake in Jumia (previously Africa Internet Group).

Telecoms, Media & Technology:

Advised Huawei on a major project involving using VoIP in Egypt.

Advised Hikvision on establishing a Call Center in Egypt.

Acted as local legal counsel to IBM on obtaining the first ever WAN license in Egypt.

Advised GE Healthcare on launching its first ever e-commerce platform in Egypt.

Advised Promethean World and NetDragon Websoft on implementing the first ever online education platform in Egypt, Edmodo.

Advised Quintessentially on establishing a Call Center in Egypt.

Advised TikTok on all aspects of the new Data Protection Law in Egypt.

Advised TrueCaller on all aspects of the new Data Protection Law in Egypt.

Advised Facebook on a number of issues related to privacy in Egypt.

Advised the World Bank Group with respect to the regulation of the telecom sector in Egypt.

Projects:

Acting as local legal counsel to Arizona State University with respect to a mega project with the Government of Egypt.

Acting as legal counsel to FOTON Motors with respect to a joint venture project with the Government of Egypt for construction of the first ever plant for manufacturing electric buses in Egypt.

Acting as legal counsel to Babcock & Wilcox with respect to several projects in Egypt.

Advised DXC Technology on a mega project for implementing IT infrastructure in the New Administrative Capital of Egypt.

Advised Fluor Corporation on a phosphoric ACID production project.

Advised Honeywell on a joint venture project with the Government of Egypt.

Advised Hewlett Packard Enterprise on a key project with the Central Bank of Egypt.

Acting as legal counsel to Wabtec Inc. with respect to supplying of diesel electric locomotives to the Egyptian National Railways.

Advising a confidential client on its participation in El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant in Egypt.

Advising General Electric on the construction of solar power plants in BenBan, Aswan.

Advised L3 Technologies on supplying C3ISR systems to the Government of Egypt.

Advising Seequent on implementing the first ever geothermal project in Egypt.

Advised Concord Corporation on its participation in implementing a monorail line in Egypt.

Real Estate:

Advised Africa Crest Education Group on a FIDIC-based contract for construction of two new international schools in Egypt.

Advised Mott MacDonald with respect to several legal issues related to constructions in Egypt.

Advising MAPEI on developing a mega construction chemical project in Egypt.

Advised Armatec on implementing two gas scrubbers in Egypt

Advising Polimeros Mexicanos on developing its chemical plant in Egypt.

International Trade:

Acted as legal counsel to BRF with respect to a major international trade transaction with over USD 200,000,000.

Advised Porsche on its international trade model in Egypt.

Banking & Finance: 

Advised Agence Francaise de Developpement on a Facility of EUR 175,000,000 granted to the Government of Egypt.

Advised Money SAL on providing consumer finance in Egypt.

Advised PROPARCO on providing a Tier 2 financing to banks registered with the Central Bank of Egypt.

Acted as legal counsel to VEB.RF with respect to a facility of EUR 1,016,050,000 made available to the Government of Egypt.

Acted as legal counsel to Ansan Wikfs with respect to a MTL of USD 50,000,000 made available by Arab African International Bank.

Ehab Yehia is a bilingual Arabic and English attorney with over 12 years of experience in handling white-collar crimes, employment and compensation cases.

Ehab served in the following key positions during his practice of law in Egypt:

• Chief Judge for Labor and Compensation Cases from October 2019 to September 2020;
• Managing Prosecutor of the White-Collar Crimes Division for East Cairo from October 2016 to September 2019;
• Public Prosecutor from March 2010 to September 2016; and
• Associate at one of the largest corporate law firms in Egypt from July 2008 to February 2010.

While working as a Prosecutor, Ehab investigated many corporate corruption cases, including bribery and embezzlement, in addition to medical negligence, human trafficking and sexual assault cases.

Moreover, Yehia attended several training courses including Money Laundering, White-Collar Crimes and prosecutor’s and judge’s primary courses. Additionally, he participated as the prosecution’s trainer in the “Assault Against Women” training course.

While working as a Chief Judge, Ehab handled Employment and Compensation cases, including attending public hearings, examining legal defenses, and rendering verdicts. Due to his tribunal’s accomplishments, Ehab’s tribunal was awarded a number of Appreciation certificates.

Ranya Shalaby is a business development consultant and brand strategist promoting professional advancement for corporations, organizations and individuals.

Before joining Soliman, Hashish & Partners, Ranya launched her professional career supporting the development of non-profit organizations at The American University in Cairo (AUC), INJAZ Egypt, the Middle East Leadership Association (Mela) and most recently spearheading the launch of the Swiss Chamber in Egypt. Her professional skills include fundraising and development, overseeing media, public relations, donor acquisition and retention, and community engagement – she has worked with Etisalat, IFC, FinBi, The Swiss Arts Council Prohelvetia and more.

As Executive Director of the Middle East Leadership Association, Ranya managed the organization’s business network and operations across 14 MENA nations and liaised on leadership program collaboration between the global network’s 46 countries – forging cross-cultural relationships to expand business and learning.

Through her twelve years of service to AUC, Ranya contributed to all divisions of Institutional Advancement – working across the Office of Development maintaining AUC’s vital relations with its donors; the Office of Communications managing external and internal communications; and the Office of Alumni and Trustee Affairs maintaining AUC’s alumni and Trustee stakeholder relations and communications.

Ranya also supports Egypt’s burgeoning entrepreneurship ecosystem as a mentor and startup competition judge for accelerators and competitions. Ranya spent her formative years in Kuwait and since 1990 has resided in Cairo, where she currently lives with her family.

At the educational level, Ranya holds two degrees from The American University in Cairo. Her graduate thesis, published in 2011, is a comparative study of Egyptian and American short fiction, reflecting her dual nationality and affinity for cross-cultural dialogue.

Ashley Freeman is an English-qualified Solicitor with over 20 years of international banking and financial services experience, encompassing strategic, transactional and regulatory matters, particularly in an Islamic context.

Since qualifying as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1995, Ashley worked as a financial services lawyer in both London and Bahrain.

Ashley began his career in private practice, working for many large investment banks in London, and soon developed a considerable reputation within Islamic Finance, and subsequently relocated to the Arab Gulf region in 2001.

Ashley was initially Head of Legal at Gulf International Bank but quickly gained global recognition as General Counsel of the Central Bank of Bahrain, consequently having an enormous influence on the development of Bahrain as a leading Islamic Finance centre. He was responsible for drafting many of Bahrain’s banking and financial services laws, including the Central Bank of Bahrain and Financial Institutions Law.

Amongst many other ground-breaking initiatives, and during his 13-year tenure as Bahrain’s most senior public sector banking lawyer, Ashley personally advised the Ministry of Finance on every international sovereign sukuk issue of Bahrain, which constituted some of the first in the world.

Ashley held the position of Head of Islamic Finance at two London law firms. During his time at Clifford Chance, he established the Islamic Finance department.

Ashley also worked on numerous bank re-organisations, including some of the first Islamic bank mergers, acquisitions and conversions. Ashley is widely recognised as an expert on financial rescues in the Arab Gulf region and led the legal team for the regulator and largest creditor of the world’s biggest Islamic bank restructuring and the first carried out within Chapter 11 US bankruptcy code proceedings.

At the international level, Ashley was a member of the working parties that designed and established the influential Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), personally drafting their founding documents. He was also a member of the working party that established Bahrain’s highly-acclaimed Waqf Fund.

Ashley is a member of Gateway’s Banking & Finance, Business Recovery, Conversion Factory, Dispute Resolution, Executive Strategy, Turkey Desk, and Waqf & Philanthropy practices.

At the educational level, Ashley studied Law at Cambridge University where he gained his Bachelors and Masters degrees and was President of the Islamic Society.

Marwa Emara has over 20 years of experience in handling Litigation cases before Egyptian Courts, handling and practicing many legal issues related to corporate litigation, court procedures, litigation management, contract negotiations, regulatory compliance, labor matters, corporate immigration, and trademark and patent licensing.

Emara is trilingual and handles clients’ matters of compliance, corporate and regulatory in Arabic, English and French. In addition, Emara is a skilled mediator. She effectively develops creative case strategies and writes persuasive briefs.

Emara is confident in leveraging excellent argumentation techniques, and is well-versed in trial preparations, research and negotiation, whilst ensuring the provision of high-quality service to all clients. Emara also advises as an expert on new areas of law. In addition, Emara offers guidance, support and training to colleagues on legal and administrative duties.

Before founding Soliman, Hashish & Partners, Emara was a Senior Associate at one of Egypt’s largest law firms for nine years. She advised over 500 clients in her practice areas including, the establishment and operation of businesses in Egypt.

Due to her reputable practice and achievements in Family Law, Emara was appointed as an expert in Islamic Shari’ah and Egyptian Civil Law at the Massachusetts Court in the USA in divorce case depositions in 2013.

Individually, Emara has assisted a plethora of NGOs, such as the World Bank and IFC. Since 2011, Emara has contributed to the annual publishing Doing & Women Business’ Law Reports of the (WB).