The Firm Overview Established in 1982, Abdullah Kh. Al-Ayoub & Associates is a modern law firm with traditional values, practicing in a wide range of disciplines. The firm is an association of lawyers from various international backgrounds specializing in Middle Eastern laws. The firm is ideally placed to understand the needs of foreign companies, individuals and other entities as they do business in the Middle East. The firm is currently one of the largest law firms in Kuwait and one of the few that have an established reputation in the international field. Throughout its 20-year history, the firm has been involved regularly in high profile and highly complex transactions, litigation and arbitration involving multinational corporations, financial institutions, agencies and private clients based in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Through years of dedication and excellent performance, the firm has emerged as one of the leading law firms in Kuwait and the Middle East. Clients: The clients of Abdullah Kh. Al-Ayoub & Associates are among the world’s most prestigious corporations resident in North America, Europe and Asia. The firm also provides legal services as an expert on Middle Eastern laws to numerous US and English law firms in transactional matters, arbitration and litigation. A detailed list of clients may be obtained upon request. Areas of Practice: The firm offers expertise in all major areas of commercial law, including corporate law, international business transactions, oil and gas, international trade, maritime law, intellectual property, taxation, labour law, insurance law, banking and finance, litigation and commercial arbitration. Keeping in line with international trends in business and finance, particularly those in the Middle East, the firm seeks to expand its activities in areas of Islamic law, banking and finance. The firm intends to establish a law house for this purpose in the near future. The main office of the law house will be situated in Kuwait, within the offices of Abdullah Kh. Al-Ayoub and Associates. The law house will also have an affiliate office in Tehran, Iran as well as a contact address in U.K. The law house proposes to advise foreign companies and foreign financial and investment institutions and banks on all aspects of Islamic law and finance. Services and Achievements: Since its inception in 1982, Abdullah Kh. Al-Ayoub & Associates has been committed to providing clients with the most expeditious, cost effective and top quality services. Whether it is a dispute resolution matter involving arbitration or litigation or a commercial business transaction requiring drafting of detailed documents or providing opinions on legal issues, the services of the firm are of the highest standards. While the focus remains on accuracy, at the same time, we ensure that our services are cost effective by eliminating redundant efforts and inefficiency. It is the knowledge and expertise of the entire team of specialized attorneys that makes the firm stand apart from other contemporaries in the region. The firm has considerable experience in dealing with financial institutions both within the Middle East as well as in Europe and the United States. Besides numerous commercial cases, the firm has successfully litigated through the courts and arbitral institutions in Kuwait. The firm has been responsible for numerous precedent setting decisions from the Court of Cassation (the highest court in Kuwait) through which the courts have amended some of their earlier principles to be in conformity with the developments in business and finance. Abdullah Kh. Al-Ayoub & Associates has represented its clients before various international arbitration tribunals such as the ICC and the LCIA. The firm has also represented clients in large scale transactions with the Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Electricity and the Ministry of Defense among others. The firm has extensive experience in dealing with companies in the oil sector. Among other things, it has drafted and negotiated several multimillion dollar contracts with government entities on behalf of major oil companies from the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and China. The firm was the first to compile a set of judgments issued by the Court of Cassation from 1972 until 1984 under the name Al-Ayoub & Al-Majed for Cassation Judgments. The firm was also responsible for the first compilation of a computerized database of Kuwaiti laws, the software for which has been circulated and is in use by several other law firms in Kuwait. Memberships: Lex Mundi, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. In February 2000, the firm had the honour of being selected as the exclusive member in Kuwait of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms having more than 150 members from various countries. The association provides for the exchange of professional information about the legal and global practice and development of law, facilitates and disseminates communications among its members and improves the members’ abilities to serve the needs of their respective clients. The 158 member firms have more than 375 offices worldwide, representing approximately 1,25,000 attorneys. IBLC, Austria On April 18, 2002 the firm became an exclusive member for Kuwait of the International Business Law Consortium based in Salszburg, Austria. The International Business Law Consortium has been established by the Center for International Legal Studies as a means to assist International Business Law Consortium member law firms, corporate counsel, and accountancy firms in participating in the Center's publishing, conference, study, and professional development programs, to further the research and scholarship programs of the Center, and to enhance professional contact and the exchange of information among its members. International Trademark Association In February 2003, the firm became a member of the International Trademark Association. The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a not-for-profit membership association of more than 4,200 trademark owners and professionals, from more than 160 countries, dedicated to the support and advancement of trademarks and related intellectual property as elements of fair and effective national and international commerce. UN Claims Consortium The firm was a member in a consortium of lawyers, auditors and engineers, named Al-Ayoub & Bryan Cave. The consortium prepared the claims of the State of Kuwait against Iraq which the Kuwaiti authorities have submitted to the authority concerned in the United Nations Organization Security Council. Law firm with a global perspective: The firm has established a network of affiliated offices throughout the Middle East with attorneys of the highest caliber through which it can offer clients services and legal representations in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Egypt and Iran. In addition to its network of affiliated offices throughout the Middle East, the firm is affiliated with a law firm in the United States established by an attorney specializing in international and comparative law, international dispute resolution and international commercial transactions, who is licensed to practice before the courts of New York, California and Paris, France. The firm is also affiliated with a law firm in the United Kingdom, specializing in all aspects of commercial laws, litigation, arbitration, media, broadcasting and other fields such as telecom and e-commerce. Staff Profile: The firm’s attorneys are licensed to practice before the courts in Kuwait, the GCC countries as well as Egypt. The firm boasts of considerable language facilities. The Managing Partner of the firm as well as several of his senior staff are fluent in English and regularly appear as counsel and advisors in transactions with English speaking clients and represent such clients before international tribunals in proceedings conducted in English. The firm’s international practice is managed by Mr. Abdullah Kh. Al-Ayoub, the Managing Partner of the firm and is supported by a staff of 16 highly qualified and experienced attorneys from various countries with expertise in the laws of the Middle East, Sharia (Islamic law) and jurisdictions applying civil law as well as common law. The firm has an efficient support staff comprising of court clerks, administrators and paralegal and utilizes state of the art technology for providing services to clients. The firm also has a translation department as well as a collection of international statutes and Kuwaiti laws in Arabic and English.