Mohamed Bou Daher

Mohamed is the Co-Founder and the Managing Partner of Spes Legalis in Beirut and Riyadh. His diverse specialties include Arbitration and International Investment and Dispute Resolution, Corporate Governance, Compliance, Money Laundering, Terror Financing, Risk Management, Construction contracts and Disputes (FIDIC specialist), Banking and Regulatory matters, Insurance and marine insurance, Franchise, and fintech law.

Mohamed is a listed arbitrator and served as counsel in domestic and international commercial and construction under the ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, AAA, LMAA, and other arbitration rules. As a FIDIC specialist and academic, Mohamed currently advises and trains a number of large contractors and real-estate developers in KSA and Lebanon.

Mohamed frequently reviews the governance policies and practices of companies and corporations listed on stock exchanges. He also regularly advises boards and management on directors’ and officers’ liability issues and independent committee deliberations and assists organizations in KSA and Lebanon in cost-effectively designing corporate compliance programs and in aiding organizations in dealing with apparent violations of those programs and the underlying laws and regulations.

Mohamed has been consistently identified among the leading dispute corporate governance and compliance experts; he is an expert in and often advises on matters related to the models of board structures in Lebanon, KSA, the United Kingdom, the United States, and also in continental Europe and Japan, on key provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, stock exchanges and their listing requirements, internal enforcement measures (internal investigations, training, surveillance, monitoring), the role of civil regulators in compliance, whistleblower policies, information and data security, codes of ethics and social responsibility, legislation concerning bribery and corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing, with a specific focus on the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the UK Bribery Act 2010, the UK Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the UK Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 and the UK Terrorism Act 2000, compliance issues in the financial sector, insider dealing regimes, and bank fraud.

Mohamed advised startups on a number of fintech products and financial technology services including blockchain technology, digital assets, non-fungible tokens (NFT) and cryptocurrency, consumer and data privacy, E-commerce and e-payment platforms, marketplace lending and alternative lending mechanisms, decentralized network platforms, and compliance technology providers and anti-money laundering.

Mohamed also represents and advises a large number of clients representing a wide variety of industries, namely FMCG, hospitality, food & beverage, and retail, and assisted these businesses in all aspects of their franchising, distribution and trademark registration, and international protection.

Practice Areas

• Arbitration and ADR
• Construction
• Corporate and Governance
• Franchise
• Banking and compliance
• Islamic Finance
• Fintech
• Insurance

Education

• Bachelor of Law Degree from the Lebanese University/Filière Francophone de Droit
• DEA in Private Law (Arbitration Law Section) from the Saint Joseph University/University Pantheon Assas | Paris 2
• Certificate in Arbitration from the McGill University, School of Law
• LL.M. in International and Comparative Dispute Resolution from the Queen Mary University of London School of Law
• S.J.D. in Arbitration and Derivatives from the Penn State University Dickinson Law

Academic Teachings

• Program coordinator and Part-time Professor at the American University of Beirut
• Part-time Professor at the Lebanese American University L.L.M. Program
• Part-time Professor at the Phoenicia University | College of Law and Political Science
• Academic coordinator and Part-time Professor at the University of London International Programs LL.M. Support Program AUT/BBA in Lebanon
• Trainer at LACPA Lebanon in Commercial Companies and Establishments under Lebanese Law

Bar Admissions

• Beirut Bar Association (2008)

Memberships

• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators London, United Kingdom (2008)
• British Institute of International and Comparative Law London, United Kingdom (2008)

Languages

• Arabic
• English
• French
• Spanish