“Clarity and structure are essential where legal decisions carry lasting impact.”
The Firm’s work is guided by principles of responsibility, trust, and careful decision-making.
Legal advice is developed with attention to structure and context, recognising the significance of decisions that carry commercial and regulatory consequences. These principles inform how matters are assessed, structured, and communicated throughout an engagement.
Our Team
Our work is led by our core team of lawyers with a strong understanding of commercial and regulatory matters in Saudi Arabia. Depending on the nature of the matter, this core team is supported by specialist consultants and, where cross-border coordination is required, by a broader network of lawyers and partners through our association with AMERELLER.
Sofana Dahlan
Founder & Managing Partner
Sofana Dahlan is a Saudi lawyer, arbitrator, and social entrepreneur, widely recognised as the first female lawyer licensed to practice law in Saudi Arabia. She specialises in corporate and commercial law, intellectual property, arbitration, mediation, and mergers and acquisitions, with a strong focus on the creative and innovation-driven sectors. She currently serves as the first female member of the Fee Assessment Committee at the Saudi Bar Association and is a Board Member of Al Ittihad Club NPO. She previously held the role of Vice Governor for Entrepreneurship Advancement at Monsha’at (SMEA), becoming the first Saudi woman to serve as a senior economic policymaker in this capacity.
Beyond her legal practice, Sofana has founded several pioneering initiatives at the intersection of law, technology, and entrepreneurship, including Mustanad, an AI-powered digital marketplace for Arabic legal documents, Legal Digital Solutions (LDS), and creative economy platforms such as Tashkeil, Kayanspace, and the Saudi National Creative Initiative (SNCI). Internationally recognised for her leadership, she is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a Misk 2030 Leader, and holds an LLB (Hons), a Master’s in Shariah, an MBA, and executive training from Harvard University, Oxford University, and Apolitical Academy.
Sheeza Shehzad
Senior Associate
Sheeza Shehzad is a senior legal professional with over ten years of experience advising on Saudi corporate, commercial, intellectual property, and regulatory matters. Her work spans complex business structuring, investment-related matters, and regulatory positioning for local and international clients operating in Saudi Arabia.
Sheeza advises across the full lifecycle of business activity, including market entry, establishment and governance of Saudi entities, and ongoing regulatory and operational considerations. Her experience also encompasses intellectual property, including brand protection, licensing structures, and portfolio management, as well as advisory on commercial arrangements, employment compliance, and broader operational risk considerations across technology-driven and service-based sectors.
Sheeza holds an LL.M. from Cardiff University, an LL.B. from the University of Essex, and a Certificate in Global Financial Compliance from the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).
Karim Kobeissi
Consultant
Karim Kobeissi is a lawyer with extensive experience in corporate, regulatory, and policy-driven matters, particularly in the energy, telecommunications, and infrastructure sectors. Karim’s experience includes structuring and negotiating oil and gas transactions, including host government arrangements, joint ventures, exploration and operating agreements, as well as advising on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, project finance, and real estate transactions. He has also worked extensively on telecommunications and ICT matters, advising on licensing frameworks, regulatory reform, and digital-sector policy initiatives.
He has advised the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water on sector restructuring and petroleum legislation, and previously served as senior legal and policy advisor to the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications, where he contributed to the development of the national ICT regulatory framework and the Beirut Digital District project.
Karim holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, law degrees from Université Saint-Joseph, and a B.S. in Computer and Communications Engineering from the American University of Beirut. He is admitted to the New York and Beirut Bar Associations and is fluent in Arabic, English, and French.
Roula Abou Chabke
Consultant
Roula Abou Chabke is a lawyer with significant experience in corporate, regulatory, and intellectual property matters, with a practice spanning complex transactions, restructurings, and IP-driven business frameworks. Her work includes mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, private equity and venture capital transactions, and regulatory compliance. She has substantial experience in developing legal infrastructures for certification marks, advising on jurisdiction-specific trademark classifications, and managing multi-jurisdictional intellectual property portfolios. Her practice also covers arbitration and dispute resolution, and she regularly acts as a certified mediator in commercial disputes.
She has contributed to national and international legal initiatives, including authoring the legal aspects of the National Geothermal Atlas of Lebanon, co-authoring a legal guide on upstream energy regulation, and serving as a reporter for the International Bar Association’s Arbitration Guidelines. She has also contributed to the Arabic editions of the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest.
Roula holds an LL.M. in Litigation, Arbitration, and Alternative Dispute Resolution from the Lebanese University and Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), is admitted to the Beirut Bar Association, and is fluent in Arabic, English, and French.
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Nawaf Alsharif
Associate
Nawaf Alsharif is a legal professional with experience across litigation, corporate, and regulatory matters in Saudi Arabia. His work includes supporting contentious and advisory matters, with exposure to commercial disputes and internal corporate issues.
He has been involved in disputes relating to the supply, construction, logistics, and transportation sectors, including matters concerning contractual obligations and operational risk.
Nawaf is currently pursuing an LL.M. at Umm Al-Qura University and holds an LL.B. from Umm Al-Qura University. He has also completed professional training in corporate governance and corporate law.
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Leen Batterjee
Trainee
Leen Batterjee is a legal trainee who supports corporate and regulatory work through legal research, document review, and drafting, under the supervision of the Firm’s senior team.
Leen holds an LL.M. in International Financial Law from King’s College London and an LL.B. from Dar Al-Hekma University. She is fluent in Arabic and English.
Kilian Bälz
Partner (Berlin)
Kilian Bälz is a partner at AMERELLER, focusing on project development and finance. He divides his time between the firm’s Berlin, Cairo, and Tripoli offices.
He has extensive experience advising on debt and equity investments across the energy, transportation, telecommunications, and financial sectors in the Middle East and North Africa. His practice includes advising on project development, cross-border investments, trade sanctions, and business and human rights considerations, as well as representing clients in arbitration proceedings under all major arbitration rules.
Dr. Bälz heads AMERELLER’s Libya practice and has advised international companies for many years on all aspects of doing business in Libya.
Prior to joining AMERELLER as a partner in 2010, he was a partner at Gleiss Lutz and served as Acting Director of the Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Cairo. He publishes widely on Middle Eastern business law and is a regular speaker at international conferences. In 2008, he was a fellow at Harvard Law School.
Jonathan Noble
Partner (Dubai)
Jonathan Noble is a partner based in Dubai, advising multinational companies and regional businesses on international transactions and corporate matters across the UAE, the GCC, and the wider MENA region.
His practice includes company formation, agency and distribution arrangements, joint ventures, and corporate governance, as well as advising on complex cross-border commercial transactions. As a fluent Arabic speaker, Jonathan regularly handles sensitive contentious matters in the region, including arbitrations, local litigation, internal investigations, compliance reviews, and senior executive employment disputes.
Jonathan is admitted to the Texas State Bar and the Washington, D.C. Bar. He holds a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, an M.A. from the University of Washington, and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Sherif El Saadani
Partner (Cairo)
Sherif El Saadani is a partner and Head of Arbitration at the Cairo office of AMERELLER. He specialises in dispute resolution, with a particular focus on commercial and investment arbitration.
He acts as counsel and arbitrator across a wide range of sectors, including international sale of goods, agency and distributorship arrangements, joint ventures, infrastructure projects, mergers and acquisitions, oilfield services, construction, and real estate development. Sherif has been involved in arbitration proceedings under the rules of leading arbitral institutions, including CRCICA, ICDR-AAA, DIAC, ICC, and DIS.
In addition to his arbitration practice, Sherif has an interdisciplinary background that includes corporate and transactional work. Prior to joining AMERELLER, he worked with law firms in Cairo and London and served as Vice President and General Counsel in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Sherif regularly contributes commentary on legal developments and has published articles in academic and professional journals in Freiburg, Rome, Leipzig, and London. He studied law at Cairo University, the American University in Cairo, and Harvard Law School, and was a visiting scholar at Heidelberg University and UNIDROIT. He is fluent in Arabic, German, and English and is admitted to the Egyptian Bar.
Hussam Mujally
Partner (Berlin)
Hussam Mujally is a partner working across the Berlin, Cairo, and Tripoli offices of AMERELLER. He maintains a broad commercial practice with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa.
Hussam has been involved in major infrastructure and development projects, advising on EPC contracts, tender frameworks, and project-related commercial arrangements. His experience includes acting for international clients in the oil and gas, healthcare, and hospitality sectors.
Born and raised in Yemen, Hussam has a particular focus on matters relating to Yemen and regularly advises international and regional clients on legal and commercial issues connected to the country. He also advises Middle Eastern investors on establishing and conducting business in Germany.
In addition to his advisory work, Hussam represents parties in court proceedings in Germany and in international arbitration under all major arbitration rules, and he also sits as an arbitrator. He is admitted to the Berlin Bar.