Houda Law Firm - Dakar, Senegal

Houda Law Firm is a full-service Senegalese law firm based in the capital Dakar that specializes in all forms of corporate and general business, intellectual property, international trade, investment fund, and banking and financial service practice law. The firm is well known for its work with mergers and acquisitions and project finance in several key sectors such as banking, industry, new technologies, mining, energy, oil, gas, and infrastructure. Founded in 1977, the firm has extensive experience in establishing foreign companies in Senegal and the sub region and providing counsel, legal advice and assistance, and litigation representation in court.

The firm consists of a 31-person staff, half of which are specialized and highly qualified lawyers and legal advisors working in both  

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French and English. The firm assists clients such as private companies, public entities, and individuals with all of their legal needs in Senegal and WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union) member states. It also represents local and foreign clients that include international institutions, multinational corporations or their subsidiaries, investment funds, credit brokers, and commercial companies.

The firm regularly works with high-profile international law firms, namely Allen & Overy, Gide Loyrette Nouel, Hogan Lovells, Jones Day, Mayer Brown, McCarthy Tetrault, Simmons & Simmons, and Global Law Office. Such entities frequently appoint the firm to provide general overview reports and opinions about Senegalese law for international investors in private equity and derivatives finance.

Under the leadership of attorney-at-law and current managing partner Khaled Abou El Houda, registered with the Senegalese Bar Association since 1999 and Honorary Member of the Senegal Mining Chamber, the firm assigns and entrusts every case to a dedicated and competent team in order to ensure excellence and client satisfaction. Houda is also the General Secretary of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (ICM) Senegal and the General Secretary of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Senegal.

Houda holds a Master’s Degree in Business Law from Aix-Marseille University (France) and a Masters Degree in Banking and Finance Business Law from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (Senegal). As a mediator and conciliator in OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa) law, he is recognized as a chartered arbitrator at the OHADA Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA) and the Center of Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation (CAMC) in Dakar. Houda is also a member of the African Business Law Firms Association (ABLFA) and the International Bar Association (IBA).

Houda is an outstanding practitioner in business law and has developed proven strengths and qualifications in banking, restructuration, major infrastructure financing, and energy projects. He has been involved in the establishment of numerous mining projects in Senegal and the sub region. He also co-authored the book “The Register of Trade OHADA” and “Retour sur l”Exequatur des Sentences CIRDI.” Additionally, he is involved in the drafting of the book “Doing Business” published annually by the World Bank. Most recently, Houda was the contributing editor of the Senegal country chapter for the 2017 African Law and Business Special Report on Investment in Africa.

Due to his linguistic (fluent in French, English, Arabic, and Wolof) and multicultural aptitudes, Houda has worked with clients from Africa (Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Togo), Europe (United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands), North America (United States, Canada), Asia (India, United Arab Emirates, China), and Australia.

Africa’s economic attractiveness requires significant investments that must be accompanied by effective legal advice adapted to country-specific regulations. Thus, to support these projects and facilitate their installation, the firm operates throughout the WAEMU sub region with a team of skilled lawyers in Senegal and other African countries covered. The firm’s mission is to support clients in all stages of development on the continent, including legal and tax structuring, negotiations with national and foreign authorities, and representation before administrative and judicial authorities.

“We work with private companies, public and private institutions, and investment funds to provide legal assistance. In each WAEMU and OHADA country, we are committed to assisting customers with our perfect knowledge of local markets as well as our expertise in community law. We believe law is a structuring element in business as it contributes to growth through organization and adaptation to its technical and social developments,” says Khaled Houda.

Today, Houda Law Firm is ranked as a leading firm for general business law by Chambers and Partners Global, recognized as a mining expert by Who's Who Legal, and rated a financial and corporate recommended firm by the International Finance Law Review based on its competence in providing legal support and counsel in litigation in Senegal and throughout WAEMU.

The firm has opened a branch in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, which will make it the very first foreign law firm from the WAEMU region established in the country.