Ahmed AlKotby

Mr. Kotby joined Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) following the shutdown of Agha & Co. The primary job of Mr. Kotby was to manage the litigation profile of the international operations of the group; however, during the course of his employment Mr. Kotby was heavily involved in the corporate governance of the group as well as the government relationships and establishment of new companies/branches in UAE and worldwide. Furthermore, Mr. Kotby was involved in a large number of potential acquisitions during 2015.

Moreover, Mr. Kotby handled a large group restructuring and number of internal acquisitions to accommodate and place the newly acquired Fotowatio Renewable Energy B.V. (FRV). In addition, Mr. Kotby was closely involved in a number of energy projects of FRV.

At Agha & Co, Dubai, Mr. Kotby was exposed to the firm’s Islamic Finance and Islamic Banking, Arbitration/Litigation, Project Finance, Energy, Public-Private Placements (PPPs), Construction, Commercial, Corporate M&A, Joint Ventures, Restructuring, Islamic Insurance (Takaful), Trusts and Estates (including novel Waqf constructs), High Net Worth Estate Planning (including Wills), Intellectual Property, Business law, Labor and Employment, Real Estate and Family law practices. His responsibilities included estate planning, incorporation of free zone companies, advising clients on Shari’aa compliance matters, and working on multi-national sugar refinery projects. He represented clients before the DIFC Courts in the liquidation of ES Bankers (Dubai), Ltd. (the Dubai arm of the Espirito Santo Financial Group). His has litigated personal, commercial, real estate, and criminal cases in the Dubai courts.

Mr. Kotby’s duties at Horizons & Co Law Firm, a leading UAE litigation boutique, included: reviewing case files; assisting senior lawyers in deciding case strategies; drafting notices of noncompliance, complaints, settlement agreements, petitions and memoranda; acting as the connecting link between clients and the Firm; researching new legislation and analyzing its impact for Firm clients; general legal research; preparing witness testimony outlines; and drafting commentary memoranda after testimony had been provided. Moreover, Mr. Kotby drafted and reviewed Memoranda of Associations, Share Sale Agreements, Boards of Directors’ Resolutions, Shareholders’ Resolutions, General Assembly Meeting Minutes, and other corporate documents. He handled matters for companies such as Salama, Tiger Steel Industries, and Union Properties Group.

In addition, Mr. Kotby handled low and medium risk litigation matters on his own, while some high-risk matters were assigned to him under the supervision of a senior lawyer. Eventually, Mr. Kotby was assigned to more complex matters on his own and acted as a senior lawyer supervising newly qualified associates.

Mr. Kotby had his legal apprenticeship with Advocate Hossam Sha’ban. During his time at Samer Karabawy and Hossam Sha’ban Law Office, he developed necessary legal skills by representing clients before different courts and other judicial and executive institutions. Further, Mr. Kotby’s training including oral pleadings and drafting of relevant legal memoranda. His responsibilities included following up on the procedural matters on his cases as well as assisting clients in a variety of legal contexts. In addition, Mr. Kotby started his own practice under the mentorship of Advocate Hossam, in which he had his first clients and cases under his own name.

• Research the current e-safety needs of young people
• Assess the most appropriate guidelines for young people in safe use of the net and champion the issues of e-safety and foster those guidelines into current legislations.
• Research cyber security laws and regulation to embed the international standards into the current Egyptian legislations.
• Developing codes of conduct for various institutes (governmental, semi-governmental, non-governmental, and private) for the use of internet and technology in general.
• Conduct assessments (self/third party) to monitor and mentor the work progress at different local governorates and sub groups.
• Assess current status of legal system in compliance with the international standards, and propose amendments for the same.
• Being a member of the National E-Safety Working Group and its Law Enforcement committee which was drafting a new legislation on Fighting Cybercrimes, suggesting amendments to existing laws and regulations to set them at the standard level of the related international treaties, laws, and regulations.

As an intern at the largest integrated company for the production and marketing of oil in Egypt, Mr. Kotby reviewed employees’ probes (investigations), drafted final report of conducted probes, and reviewed pending cases against the company. Further, he drafted minor amendments to existing contracts and assisted in research to prepare legal department opinions upon upper management requests. Moreover, he learned about various operational aspects of the company.

While a freshman law student, Mr. Kotby interned at a boutique law office in his home city, Alexandria. During his time there, he became versed in court procedures. He also assisted lawyers in preparation of legal memoranda, as well as assisting clients in dealing with various governmental bodies and in registering claims or documents at competent authorities.