Dr. Sally El Sawah is the Co-Founder and Head of Arbitration & Litigation of Junction |Paris and the Founder of El Sawah Law |Cairo. She is Egyptian and French qualified and Registered Foreign Lawyer with the SRA in England & Wales, acting as Arbitrator, Counsel, Consultant and Legal Expert. She is also a Board Member of ArbitralWomen, the African Arbitration Association, the IBA Arab Regional Forum Committee, The ICC ADR & Arbitration Commission, the former Editor of the Africa Construction Law Blog for the North African Region, and the former Deputy Secretary General of the African Arbitration Association.
As International lawyer and Arbitrator, Dr. El Sawah has been involved in high-profile cases and projects in Egypt and the “Europe, Middle East and Africa” region (EMEA). She has gained a wealth of experience during a career spanning over eighteen years in Paris, London, and Cairo, both in reputable law firms and as an independent practitioner, particularly in practice areas such as foreign investment, construction infrastructure, debt recovery, industrial transfers, oil and gas and renewable energy, corporate, joint-ventures, agency and distribution, commodities and shipping, international sale, hotel industry, pharmaceuticals, State contracts and telecommunications.
She regularly advises and appears as Counsel before French and Egyptian Courts, in projects and cases involving States, State Entities, State-owned companies, SMEs and major multinational companies in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Fluent in Arabic and having broad knowledge and experience in Egyptian law, she can easily navigate between the different laws of Arab countries, as Egyptian Law is the primary source for legislations in the Middle East. Working between Cairo, Paris and London, Dr. El Sawah has deep knowledge of these different legal, business, social and cultural environments, thus providing the best client-oriented service required.
Dr. El Sawah is also a leading authority on State and International Organisations Immunities and her book on the subject, “Immunités des Etats et des organisations internationales – Immunités et procès équitable”, Larcier, Brussels, 2012, is “The Reference” for all specialists on this matter.
Dr. El Sawah is laureate of the African Arbitration Association for young arbitration/ADR Practitioner for the year 2020. She is recognised by Chambers & Partners Global Guide 2022, 2023 and 2024 for expertise based abroad, by Africa Business + (Jeune Afrique) among the 100 Legal Powerlist in 2024, by Leaders League-Africa Desk 2022 as Arbitrator with solid reputation and Décideurs as Arbitrator with solid reputation in Africa.