John Matouk

Co-Founder, Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy

John Matouk is the co-founder of Matouk Bassiouny and heads the firm’s dispute resolution and commercial groups. A New York-qualified lawyer and dual national, John has been practising in Cairo for over 15 years and is consistently recognised in industry publications as a leading lawyer in Egypt. John is also an associate professor of practice in the department of law at the School of Public Affairs and Global Policy at the American University in Cairo. John’s disputes work encompasses a large and varied practice across the Middle East and North Africa. His recent experience includes representing parties in high-value complex commercial arbitrations, oil and gas disputes, and investment disputes. 

Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy is a full-service independent MENA law firm with offices in Algeria, Egypt, Sudan and the UAE. We specialise in advising multinationals, corporations, financial institutions and governmental entities on all legal aspects of investing and business in the MENA region. Our team of 32 partners and over 200 fee earners are trained both locally and internationally and are fully conversant in English, Arabic and French.

The firm prides itself on its in-depth understanding of cross-border cultural and business practices and on providing a commercial problem-solving approach to its legal services.

Headed by F John Matouk – co-founder of the firm – the dispute resolution group consists of nine partners, three counsels and 12 senior associates and 42 fee earners. Grounded in both common and civil law jurisdictions, our team provides our clients with comprehensive dispute resolution services in Arabic, English and French. Our primary goal is to effectively manage risk and resolve disputes pursuant to clients’ strategic interests – whether through amicable negotiation, litigation, arbitration or other ADR mechanisms.

Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy’s arbitration team, headed by Dr Amr A. Abbas, consists of 15 lawyers. Our team is active in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), representing clients in high-value and high-profile disputes in various sectors including, but not limited to, oil & gas, construction, hospitality, automotive, heavy industry, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, real estate, telecommunications, and tourism sectors.