Hussein Salama Saad
Legal Counsel Middle East l LLM International Business Law | Legal Counsel of Year 2025

Professional Profile:

A versatile and bilingual (Arabic/English) Legal Counsel, holding a master’s in international business law, with significant experience in corporate & commercial law, governance & compliance, and dispute resolution across the GCC and MENA regions. Possesses specialized expertise in Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in the UAE, Qatar, and KSA.

Awarded LexisNexis Middle East Legal Counsel of the Year – 2025, in recognition of outstanding legal leadership and contribution to the regional legal community.

Demonstrates a strong ability to adapt to evolving legal environments while delivering strategic, business-focused advice. Renowned for technical excellence, empathetic communication, and risk management skills, thriving in both independent and collaborative environments. Confident working autonomously or as part of a multidisciplinary team, with a proven ability to navigate complex legal landscapes, respond to change swiftly, and guide business units through risk-based decision-making.

Admissions:

Sept 2008         Registered Lawyer at the Egyptian Bar Association.

Core Legal & Ancillary Skills

Litigation & Dispute Resolution | Commercial Drafting |Regulatory | Contract Review & Negotiation | IT/IP | Mergers & Acquisitions | Investigations | Legal Translation | Risk & Compliance | Corporate Governance | Procurement | Verbal & Written Communication | Training & Development | Human Resources & Employment | Restructuring & Business Reorganisation | Fraud & Corruption | Anti-Trust | Energy & Projects | Analysis & Legal Research | Detail Oriented & Commercially Aware.

Achievements:

Projects:

A.    UAE
•    Khalifa University Student Accommodation Project, Abu Dhabi: Served as the lead legal advisor for BESIX Group on the GCC's largest student accommodation project, structured under a 23-year public-private partnership (PPP). Successfully navigated complex regulatory frameworks, negotiated high-value contracts, and ensured seamless stakeholder collaboration to deliver over 3,260 world-class student residences, enhancing the university’s global standing.

•    Zayed City Schools PPP Project: Provided comprehensive legal oversight for BESIX Group in the development of the UAE's first school infrastructure public-private partnership. This landmark project involved the financing, design, construction, and 20-year maintenance of three state-of-the-art school campuses in Abu Dhabi's Zayed City, collectively accommodating 5,360 students. Led the negotiation and drafting of complex contracts, ensuring compliance with UAE regulations and international standards. Facilitated collaboration with consortium partner Plenary Group and government entities, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), to ensure seamless project execution.

B.    KSA
•    Al Haer Independent Sewage Treatment Plant (ISTP), Riyadh: Provided expert legal leadership for the development of a 200,000 cubic meter per day sewage treatment facility, including an extensive Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) re-use system. Delivered strategic solutions to complex contractual and regulatory challenges, supporting Saudi Arabia’s sustainable water management objectives and critical infrastructure development.

Career History:

June 2025 – current

Mirage Leisure & Development LLC
EMAAR Group
Legal Director, UAE and Egypt

Key Responsibilities:

•    Directed the legal strategy, governance, and risk management for all real estate, development, and leisure projects across the UAE and wider GCC.

•    Provided high-level legal advice to the Board and C-suite on corporate structuring, land acquisitions, joint ventures, development agreements, and operator contracts.

•    Oversaw the drafting and negotiation of construction contracts (FIDIC-based and bespoke), consultant appointments, procurement frameworks, and facility management agreements.

•    Led cross-border M&A, hospitality brand partnerships, and large-scale investment deals, ensuring compliance with UAE Commercial Companies Law, free zone regulations, and sector-specific frameworks.

•    Advised on licensing, regulatory approvals, and stakeholder negotiations with government bodies, master developers, and international operators.

•    Managed external counsel across jurisdictions and optimized legal spend through panel frameworks and strategic outsourcing.

•    Ensured compliance with data protection, ESG-related disclosures, and evolving regulatory obligations in tourism, leisure, and consumer law.

•    Implemented contract lifecycle systems, legal risk registers, and internal training programs to promote proactive risk management and governance.

Feb 2022 – June 2025

BESIX Construct LLC
BESIX GROUP – Dubai, UAE
Legal Counsel, Middle East

Legal counsel to BESIX Group and its affiliates across the Middle East region, reporting to BESIX Construct LLC legal manager, managing large scales construction claims and disputes, involved in non-contentious (including dispute avoidance, training, and workshops, drafting agreements and standard terms and conditions, contract reviews, and negotiation, implementing legal strategies and solutions. Main duties and responsibilities include:

• Providing legal advice in a variety of contractual matters during the whole life of mostly (design and) build projects from business opportunity stage, on to tender, contract negotiation, project execution and close out.

• During business opportunities, assisting in reviewing the necessary MoU's, pre-bid joint-venture / consortium agreements.

• During tender stage, reviewing, amending, and negotiating tender documentation as well as participating to tender contractual handover meetings with the project execution team.

• During the execution stage, supporting the business in the realization of projects by ensuring correct commercial contractual engagement of subcontractors and suppliers and managing claims

• Creating “legal awareness” and ensuring that the business is fully aware of its contractual obligations and the commercial impacts of their actions.

• Providing front-end advice on contracts.

• Ensuring correct commercial contractual engagement of subcontractors and suppliers.

• Managing claims both offensive and defensive by analyzing the contract and setting up the strategy in order to optimize the business position.

• Managing litigation cases and disputes in collaboration with external advisors (including but not limited to experts, claims consultants, Arbitration) and law firms.

• Monitoring law updates and providing interpretations of law and regulation to internal clients.

• Preparing the appropriate legal documents for trial or court proceedings and reviewing expert reports.

• Analysing the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.

• Manage external law firms, monitor, and approving external legal costs.

Aug 2020- Jan 2022

Master Builders Solutions Construction Chemicals LLC,
MBCC Group – Dubai, UAE
Legal Counsel, Middle East & Africa

In-house Counsel to MBCC Group and its affiliates across the Middle East and Africa, working closely with senior leaders and across business departments, advising on a wide range of legal-related matters while identifying risk and providing real time, pragmatic solutions. Specific responsibilities include:

•    The negotiation and drafting of transactional project documentation including: 

o    the creation of joint ventures (starting from the appointment of law firms, preparation of the legal due diligence report, up to the execution of the different contractual documents related to the transaction such as Shareholders Agreements, Memorandums of Association)
o    acquisitions (Share Purchase Agreements, Business Transfer Agreements, related agreements); and
o    corporate restructurings.

•    The creation of subsidiaries across the MENA region (LLCs, Branches, Establishments, Free Zone companies) with responsibility for all documentation and liaison with relevant public bodies.

•    Drafting, review and negotiation of all day-to-day agreements as required by business departments (and support functions) including supply agreements (short- and long-term), sale of equipment, distribution agreements, framework supply agreements, NDAs, T&C’s.

•    Responsible for all Human Resources-related matters, including labor disputes, employment contracts, advice on labor law provisions.

•    Driving the implementation of Corporate Governance principles and guidelines, ensuring they are adhered to, including organizational documents, GM and Board nominations, limitation of powers, delegations of powers and matrix of authority, etc.

•    Conducting training sessions on Anti-Corruption / Anti-Trust, contractual guidelines and more generally, ensuring compliance of contracts and activities with applicable laws and regulations.

•    Handling litigation in the ordinary course of business; following up on procedures and filings before local courts; handling administrative claims and disputes.

•    Identifying and escalating - as appropriate - legal risks arising out in the normal course of business.

Jan 2019-July 2020

Air Liquide Middle East and North Africa FZCO – Dubai, UAE        
Senior Associate, Legal Affairs, Middle East                                                                                      

Sept 2017-Jan 2019

Air Liquide Middle East and North Africa FZCO
Associate, Legal Affairs, Middle East

Assisted the Chief Legal Officer across the full spectrum of legal tasks, including the preparation of legal cases, lawsuits and more generally to interact with external law firms on various litigious matters. Specific experiences included:

•    Reviewing a wide variety of contracts and other legal forms, including service level agreements, IT/IP agreements, distribution contracts, gas supply agreements, healthcare related agreements, consultancy agreements, maintenance contracts, lease and rental agreements among other legal documents and more generally, supervising the implementation of the company’s contractual guidelines.

•    Supervising the implementation of the Air Liquide corporate governance in the affiliates and subsidiaries of the Middle East & North Africa clusters.

•    Providing guidance, advice and counselling to affiliates on a wide range of matters relating to compliance with local laws, regulations and policies.

•    Responsible for the preparation, production, translation, legalisation of documents in connection with projects, contracts and corporate secretarial duties.

•    Handling the creation, restructuring, liquidation of subsidiaries with the various governmental authorities of the zone (ministries, municipalities, Free Zone departments, notary public, courts, embassies, consulates). That includes assisting subsidiaries in matters relating to licensing, restructuring and more generally, on subjects involving interactions with local authorities.

•    Holding training sessions re. competition, data privacy and anti-corruption laws in the ME region, carrying out legal research / studies on a wide range of topics.

Sept 2016-Sept 2017

Azizi Developments L.L.C/Azizi Investments - Dubai, UAE                                              
Legal Counsel

Providing ongoing legal advice on different legal issues, often business sensitive, while supervising and managing legal analysis and research on various legal matters affecting the organization. Specific experience included:

•    Responsible for drawing up and arranging terms of various types of contracts including SLA’s agreements, subcontract agreements, sale and purchase agreements, contracting and subcontracting agreements, agency agreements, leasing agreements, and following up with suppliers and service providers.

•    Drafted and developed the company standard legal documentation.

•    Advising the organisation on the legal risks and the alternatives ensuring compliance with corporate and anticorruption laws (federal and local).

•    Managing commercial disputes and negotiating contracts related to everyday operations with vendors/suppliers as well as clients & customers.

•    Responsible for the establishment of companies in the UAE and GCC region, as well as in India and Pakistan

March 2015-March 2016

Clyde & Co. LLP- Dubai           
Legal Researcher 
                                                                                                                              
Provided research support to fee earners of the firm in MENA, generating current awareness information for the firm and by supporting the firm's knowledge management systems. Key responsibilities included:

• Took instructions and queries from fee earners (partners, associates, trainees, paralegals and, on occasions if required, support or Admin staff).

• Analysed, interpreted and defined enquiries and requirements.

• Reverted to fee earners to clarify requests.

• Estimated likely time costs for the research.

• Advised fee earners on further questions to ask of clients.

• Presented research findings in good English, using a clear structure based on a template.

• Identified solutions to legal queries based on research findings and legal knowledge of the region.

• Identified fee earner awareness requirements.

• As guided by practice areas, ensured a current awareness of new legislation, updates, amendments, key judgments and relevant news by scanning press, official federal and local gazettes and other media sources / international law reviews.

• Obtained policy statements from relevant ministerial departments and free zone offices to confirm the application and enforceability of new legislation and policy.

Feb 2013 to March 2015

Bin Sevan Advocates & Legal Consultants, Dubai, U.A.E. 
 Legal Consultant 

• As a legal consultant, I managed comprehensive litigation portfolio spanning commercial and civil disputes, developing strategic legal approaches and representing organizational interests in court proceedings and arbitration. Expertly drafted and reviewed critical legal documents including contracts, agreements, compliance reports, and legal opinions, ensuring rigorous legal compliance and risk mitigation.

• Provided strategic legal guidance to senior management, developing corporate legal policies and conducting internal legal audits to ensure regulatory adherence. Delivered clear, actionable legal advice to internal and external stakeholders, translating complex legal concepts for diverse audiences and maintaining highest standards of professional communication.

• Conducted extensive legal research, performed due diligence for corporate transactions, and advised on potential legal implications of business decisions. Developed proactive risk mitigation frameworks, negotiated settlements, and managed alternative dispute resolution mechanisms with precision and strategic insight.

• Demonstrated exceptional capabilities in legal analysis, ethical standards, and adaptability across dynamic legal and business environments. Maintained comprehensive understanding of multi-jurisdictional legal landscapes, providing nuanced guidance that balances legal requirements with organizational objectives.

Nov 2008 to Jan 2013

Mohamed Zeed Law Firm- Alexandria, Egypt
Corporate Lawyer

•    Read through original material and rewriting it in the target language, ensuring that the meaning of the source text is retained.

•    Studied source text to understand the meaning and convert it into another language to convey the original meaning, spirit and feeling.

•    Utilised dictionaries and other online and offline reference materials to determine meanings of words and phrases and to establish their closest equivalent in the target language.

•    Used appropriate software for presentation and delivery.

•    Edited and proofread final translated versions & then provided direct manager with well-expressed final version of the translated text.

•    Maintained company's quality standards and attended to client feedback.

•    Attended internal and external training courses and sessions as required by the department manager.

•    Met semester objectives as set out by the department management

Education & Training:

Education

Sept 2022
Middlesex University – Dubai, UAE
LLM in International Business Law (Class 2022- 2024)

Oct 2008
Alexandria University, Faculty of Law (English Dept), Egypt
LLB at Law- General Law

Oct 2011
The American University in Cairo (AUC)
Professional Diploma in Legal Translation

Aug 2009
Alexandria University, Faculty of Law (English Dept.), Egypt
International Arbitration Law Courses

July 2009
Alexandria University, Faculty of Law (English Dept.), Egypt
Commercial Contracts Drafting Courses

Sept 2008
American Chamber of Commerce, Alexandria, Egypt
Essential Human Resources Certificate 

Training

June-Sept 2006
Egyptian Navigation Co. (Insurance Department)

July-Sept 2007
Banking and Finance training courses at the Egyptian Banking Institute

June 2007-March 2008
Trainee at “Mohamed Zeed” law firm for Legal Consulting

Languages:

•    Arabic – Native
•    English - Fluent

Interests:

•    Graphic designing
•    Long-distance running
•    Team sports
•    Travelling

Personal Information:

Date of birth: 1st May 1986
Marital status: single
Children: none
Driving licenses: UAE Driving license