Rooted in Justice
Dr Dany M. Samaha is an attorney of the Beirut Bar Association, a former dean of a faculty of law and political science, and director of the Bar's centre for the training of lawyers. The firm advises companies, institutions and individuals in Lebanon and abroad.
Doctorate in law. Postgraduate studies at Université Panthéon-Assas, Paris II.
Former dean of a faculty of law and political science. Associate professor, and visiting professor in the UAE.
Director of the centre for the training of lawyers at the Beirut Bar Association.
Board member of the centre for mediation and arbitration at the Tripoli Bar Association.
Practice
Forming, restructuring, merging or selling a company in Lebanon, including where shareholders or buyers sit abroad. You are told at the outset what the process costs in time, not only in fees.
Mergers of local and international companies, shareholder arrangements, and the corporate, financial and social administration of a practice managed since 2000. Available on a co-counsel basis where Lebanese law governs one limb of a wider transaction.
Not every dispute belongs in court. Where a contract allows it, arbitration or mediation is usually faster, stays private, and travels better across borders. You will be told plainly when it does not suit your case.
Board member of the centre for mediation and arbitration at the Tripoli Bar Association. Clause drafting, seat and institution selection, appointment questions and the conduct of proceedings, informed by the doctrinal reading the teaching role requires.
If your agreement crosses a border, three questions decide what it is worth: whose law reads it, which court or tribunal hears a dispute, and whether a judgment can actually be enforced where the assets are. They are answered before you sign.
Drafting and negotiation of international commercial agreements and joint venture documentation, with counterparties across France, Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon. Choice of law, forum and enforceability against Lebanese assets treated as substantive negotiating positions.
Dealings with public bodies, licensing, and questions about how an institution is properly constituted and run. Slow to become urgent and expensive once it does, which is why it is worth asking early.
Governance, constitutional culture and rule of law questions, informed by a deanship that included academic partnerships with human rights organisations on accountability in Lebanon, and by participation in the Rule of Law Forum in Beirut.
Universities, hospitals and organisations do not have legal problems occasionally; they have them continuously. A standing relationship means the awkward question gets asked in March rather than in court in November.
Eight years as legal consultant to a university and a hospital, with continuing consultancy to international companies and non-governmental organisations in Lebanon and abroad. Governance, contracting, employment and regulatory exposure viewed at institutional level.
Buying, holding or selling Lebanese property from abroad, whether you are an expatriate, a returning family, or a foreign company. Title and permissions are verified before any payment is made, in that order.
Acquisition of real estate in Lebanon and abroad for international companies and individuals, including asset restoration and resale. Five years as a legal expert on the Commission Régionale des Experts in collaboration with the French Embassy in Lebanon.
Nothing is hidden behind the switch. Both readings describe the same work: one is written for the person who has the problem, the other for the professional who has to justify the instruction.
Academic authority
Most litigators learn the law once and then apply it. A dean, and the director of a bar training centre, has to re-derive it every year in front of people whose profession is to find the weak link in an argument. That is an unusual discipline to bring to a client file.
Selected experience
Contracts and joint ventures negotiated with counterparties in France, Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon.
Standing counsel to a university and a hospital over eight years, and consultancy to non-governmental organisations in Lebanon and abroad.
Five years as a legal expert on the Commission Régionale des Experts, in collaboration with the French Embassy in Lebanon.
The practice areas listed on this site are those the firm has confirmed. If an area is not listed, ask rather than assume.
Dates matter more than detail at the first contact. If a decision or a deadline has already been served on you, bring that date first.