Dawoud & Dawoud

Listed international arbitrator with 22+ years' experience across nine strategic sectors, leading the firm's arbitration and M&A work.

Shereen Dawoud is the Managing Partner of Dawoud & Dawoud Law Firm — Legal Practice and Consultancy, with over 22 years' experience advising international and domestic corporate clients across the Middle East and North Africa.

Admitted to the Egyptian Bar in 2005, she leads a fully fledged practice built on a 50-year legacy, with primary focus across nine strategic sectors: international commercial arbitration; mergers and acquisitions; capital markets, banking and investment; energy and farm-out agreements; telecommunications and media; fintech, insurtech and artificial intelligence; intellectual property and deep technology; hospitality and tourism; and climate technology.

Ms. Dawoud is recognised as one of the leading international arbitration practitioners in the region, having handled more than seventy domestic and international arbitration cases before the world's foremost institutions — including the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), the American Arbitration Association and its International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA/ICDR) in New York, the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and the Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA) in London. Between 2024 and 2026, she acted as sole legal counsel of record before an AAA/ICDR arbitral tribunal seated in New York under New York law.

Alongside her arbitration practice, Ms. Dawoud heads the firm's mergers and acquisitions practice, having advised on hundreds of M&A transactions, joint ventures, capital raises, and corporate restructurings — including the articulation of more than one hundred shareholder agreements and advisory on farm-out agreements in the Egyptian upstream energy sector. Among her most prominent recent mandates was acting as lead counsel to BBI's shareholders in the 2024 minority investment by Amethis MENA Fund II in BBI Group.

Areas of Expertise

  • International Arbitration
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Capital Markets
  • FinTech & Deep Tech
  • Energy & Climate Tech

Nine strategic sectors, one unified practice

International Arbitration & Mediation

ICC, LCIA, DIAC, AAA/ICDR, CRCICA, GAFTA — institutional and ad-hoc proceedings across the MENA region.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Cross-border transactions, joint ventures, capital raises, corporate restructurings, and 100+ shareholder agreements.

Capital Markets, Banking & Investment

EGX listing, FRA disclosure, project finance, escrow structures, and regulatory engagement.

Energy, Farm-out & Climate Tech

Upstream farm-out agreements, joint operating structures, renewable energy, and clean technology.

Telecommunications, Media & IP

Licences, broadcasting law, frequency disputes, content rights, and media regulation.

Fintech, AI & Deep Technology

Digital payments, regulatory engagement, AI consultancy structuring, and deep-tech advisory.

Hospitality & Tourism

Hotel management disputes, tourism licence due diligence, and management agreements.

International Trade & GAFTA

Agricultural commodities arbitration, distribution disputes, maritime and air shipping.

Corporate Governance & Compliance

Listing policies, disclosure regimes, risk allocation, and dispute avoidance strategy.

Career Trajectory

  1. 2009 – Present Managing Partner & Head of M&A

    Dawoud & Dawoud Law Firm, Cairo

    Leading a fully fledged Egyptian law firm built on a 50-year legacy. Direct senior counsel, associates, and paralegals across capital markets, M&A, project finance, banking, energy, media, intellectual property, dispute resolution, hospitality, antitrust, and tax matters.

  2. 2024 – 2026 Sole Legal Counsel — AAA/ICDR Arbitration (New York Law)

    American Arbitration Association / International Centre for Dispute Resolution, New York

    Acted as sole legal counsel of record before an AAA/ICDR tribunal seated in New York under New York law. Assumed full responsibility across all phases — from the request for arbitration through hearings and the final award — over the full two-year duration of the proceedings.

  3. 2018 – Present Listed Arbitrator & Lecturer

    Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA)

    Listed arbitrator handling commercial disputes with emphasis on energy, telecommunications, and competition claims. Lecturer on energy and telecommunications dispute resolution.

  4. Founding – Present Co-Founder & Non-Executive Director

    Jadeed Climate Tech

    Co-founded a climate-technology venture developing smart hydrogen-cell devices designed to materially reduce carbon emissions. Provide strategic and legal direction on structuring, intellectual property, and cross-jurisdictional operations.

  5. 2009 – 2015 Senior Arbitration & Disputes Counsel

    Hafez Avocats, Cairo

    Six years of focused practice on multi-million dollar complex litigations, international arbitration, and ADR at a firm recognised by The Legal 500 as the leading arbitration practice across the Middle East.

  6. 2006 – 2008 Head of Legal & Corporate Attorney

    EgyptCall S.A.E. (Orascom Telecom Affiliate) & Arab Call Group

    Closed negotiations, deals, and due diligence with Orascom Telecom Holding on second-tier telecommunications closures in value-added services. Concurrent consultancy on international commercial contracts at Arab Call Group.

  7. 2008 – 2009 Head of Legal Affairs

    Nile FM & Nogoum FM (Nile Radio Production)

    Headed legal and departmental affairs for leading private Egyptian radio stations, building substantive expertise in media law, broadcasting regulation, and content licensing.

Institutional & Policy Engagements

Egypt's Legal Expert — OECD SIGI 2027 Legal Survey

Selected by the OECD Development Centre as Egypt's legal expert for the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) 2027 Legal Survey. Completed Egypt's legal data collection for the comparative international assessment. Certificate issued 22 September 2026

Contributor — Survey of Legal Indicators for Egypt

Contributor to the World Bank Group's Survey of Legal Indicators for Egypt, providing expert input on the state of the Egyptian legal and regulatory environment for the Group's comparative assessments. 2026 — 2027 cycle

Accredited Board Director — Corporate Directors Certification

Completed the Corporate Directors Certification Program at the Egyptian Institute of Directors (EIoD) — affiliated with the Financial Regulatory Authority, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Passed with Merit. 2026

UNIDO Clean Energy Focus Group — Egypt

Member of the UN Industrial Development Organization's Clean Energy Focus Group for Egypt, contributing legal and policy perspectives on the clean-energy value chain and enabling regulatory framework. Ongoing

Deep Technology Advisor

Advisor on legal frameworks for emerging deep-technology ventures across the MENA region, covering structuring, IP, regulatory pathways, and cross-jurisdictional operations. Ongoing

Clean Tech Focus Group Member

Contributing to the development of legal and policy frameworks supporting the clean-technology sector's expansion in Egypt and the broader region. Ongoing

Professional Appointments

Listed Arbitrator — CRCICA

Panel of Arbitrators of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration since 2018.

Accredited Mediator — CRCICA

Registered on the Centre's Panel of Mediators upon completing all mediation procedures and examinations.

Accredited Mediator — Egypt GAFI

Mediator accredited by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), Arab Republic of Egypt.

Judge — Willem C. Vis Moot Regional Pre-Moots

Recent appointment as judge in regional pre-moot competitions of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.

Judge — Oxford Media Price Regional Tournaments

Recent appointment as judge in the regional tournaments of the Oxford Media Price (Monroe E. Price Media Law Moot Court Competition).

Lecturer — American Bar Association

Lecturer at the ABA Rule of Law Initiative and frequent speaker at ABA conferences since 2009.

Investment Committee — Camel Ventures

Member of the Investment Committee of Camel Ventures, in partnership with the National Bank of Egypt and Al Ahly Capital.

Speaker — FRA, EGX & Capital Market Authority

Regular speaker before the Financial Regulatory Authority, the Egyptian Exchange, and the Capital Market Authority on financial legislation, listing, disclosure, and corporate governance.

Representative Clients

  • Anghami Holding — NYSE
  • Incorta Inc. — USA
  • Jadeed Climate Tech
  • Super Pay (Etisalat & Bank Misr)
  • Geidea
  • L&V Lines & Visions
  • BBI Holding
  • Plasitco Holding — KSA
  • Misr Beni Suef Cement — EGX
  • Al Ahly Momkn
  • DAF Holding
  • Sehetna Holding
  • DFin Holding
  • Hedgestone
  • Fitness Prime
  • Maak Consumer Finance
  • Tanami Financial Advisory
← ALL TEAM

Speak with our team

Our lawyers handle matters in Arabic, English, and French.

CONTACT US