Partner- Corporate and Commercial/ Banking and Finance/ Dispute Resolution

LAW HOUSE-Shaikha Almehrzi Advocates & Legal Consultants

Arbitrator-Roster of Arbitrators of Lebanese Arbitration and Mediation Center (LAMC)
Mediator-Roster of Mediators with Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA)
CEDR Accredited Mediator

Currently based in Abu Dhabi, Zouhdi is a Partner at Law House with over 21 years of experience, including 16 years in the UAE. His practice areas include corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, and dispute resolution. He advises on business transactions such as business setups, corporate structuring and restructuring, banking and finance (including debt and retail financing), M&As, joint ventures, as well as drafting and reviewing of complex agreements. He handles legal matters related to various business types comprising, inter alia, construction, architecture, commercial finance and banking (conventional and Islamic), insurance and brokerage services, corporate finance, real estate, IT, employment, and commercial agencies.

Zouhdi counsels and represents both domestic and international clients in matters related to UAE laws and regulations, compliance and corporate governance. He oversees all arbitration matters at Law House, including enforcement and annulment of arbitral awards before competent courts, and negotiates and advises on out-of-court settlements and appropriate alternative dispute resolution ADR venues, processes and procedures. 

He has experience in international arbitration in disputes involving international sales, banking, B.O.T. and construction (FIDIC), and has participated in arbitration hearings (pleadings, examination and cross-examination of witnesses) in Lebanon, Paris, Geneva and Lausanne. 

Additionally, he has mediated disputes in a variety of substantive areas and worked with the leaders of JAMS, the American Institute of Mediation, and the California Academy for Mediation Professionals. He co-trained for a 40-Hour Mediation Training Course organized by the American Bar Association and Pepperdine University in Jordan.

Zouhdi has published several articles, including a comparative study titled “The Adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law by Egypt and Tunisia”. He contributed significantly to the revised 3rd Arabic version of the Encyclopedia of Arbitration (3 volumes) and has lectured on the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) of the WTO at ESCWA-Beirut, and participated in the preparation of recommendations to the Expert Group Meeting for the Arab Ministerial Meeting on the WTO Sixth Ministerial Conference. 

Most recently, in 2023, Zouhdi was a speaker in the Republic of Korea at: (i) the Seoul ADR Festival (SAF), particularly during the Yoon & Yang Seminar on “Emerging Technology and Market in International ADR”, focusing on “Recent Developments of ADR in the UAE”, and (ii) the “Forum on Investment Environment & Opportunities in the UAE and KSA”, hosted by Korea International Trade Association (KITA) jointly with Yoon & Yang LLC, Korea-Arab Society, UAE Embassy in Seoul, and Saudi Arabia Embassy in Seoul.

Zouhdi received his LL.M. in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University, California, USA. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the Lebanese American University and an LL.B. from the Lebanese University. Zouhdi is an attorney at law and a member of Beirut Bar Association.