Girgis Abd El-Shahid is the Managing Partner at Shahid Law Firm. He specializes in dispute settlement, with a particular focus on energy-related disputes; mergers and acquisitions; corporate and commercial agreements; joint venture arrangements; banking and finance; securities offerings; telecommunications; and intellectual property.
Girgis focuses mainly on commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration and international law and is renowned for his special expertise in complex multiparty arbitrations. He is also recognized for his knowledge in handling all types of corporate and commercial disputes, from routine matters to large and complex multinational arbitrations. He is identified amongst the world’s leading arbitration practitioners in Who’s Who Legal: Future Leaders 2018 and Who’s Who Legal: Energy 2017 “as being among the world’s leading energy lawyers” and recognized by Chambers & Partners as one of Egypt’s top arbitration litigators for 2018. Additionally, he is featured as a notable practitioner in the Chambers Dispute Resolution guide, recognized as “impressive – very driven and very business-oriented” and is acknowledged for his “solution-oriented, thorough and strategic” approach.
Girgis also has significant experience in advising clients in various industries such as logistics, aviation, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, construction, energy, oil and gas as well as project finance and banking. Over his career, Girgis has represented clients in the aforementioned industries and more in flagship M&A transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. He is recognized by Legal 500 as “extremely personable, [having] vast knowledge of Egyptian law”, “extremely responsive and having a unique international outlook” with advice that is “always spot on”, “smart, articulate, knowledgeable and business-oriented”, and “simply excellent, very bright and entrepreneurial”.
Girgis is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce, the British and Swiss Business Associations and, the Egypt-US Business Council. His expertise is built on solid ties to both the academic and the business communities, and he regularly publishes articles and books in his various fields of practice and is a regular panelist and speaker in many local and international conferences on arbitration, energy & infrastructure projects.
Girgis is a former Public Prosecutor, and has received an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University Law Center, USA, an LL.B. from Cairo University, and a BA in Economics and Business Administration from the American University in Cairo.