White & Case has launched an office in Cairo, Egypt in partnership with newly created local firm MHR & Partners.
The new office will be led by White & Case partner Philip Stopford, who will divide his time between London and Cairo.
Stopford is a partner in the firm’s energy, infrastructure, project and asset finance group and currently serves as chair of White & Case’s strategic growth council.
White & Case has relocated partners Tarek Mohanna and Sherief Rashed, from London and Abu Dhabi respectively, to the Cairo office.
Two other newly appointed partners to the US firm will join them.
Said Hanafi has joined White & Case as a partner from Orascom Development Holdings, where he was general counsel, and Waleed El Daly has joined from Zaki Hashem & Partners, where he was a partner.
Stopford said: “With the introduction of a number of economic initiatives and reforms, Egypt is increasingly attractive for foreign investment.
“We’re excited to be making this move, which will also enable us to serve our Egyptian clients – who have extensive operations in EMEA and the Americas – more effectively.”
The new office is expected to open in October. It will be the firm’s second base in Africa, alongside its existing base in Johannesburg. It will also support the firm’s Middle East offices in Riyadh, Dubai and Doha.
Other international law firms with an on-the-ground presence in Cairo include Dentons and Baker & McKenzie.
In 2014, Trowers & Hamlins shut its Cairo office, citing the unclear outlook for the country in the long term.
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