Simon El Kai

Simon El Kai is a partner at Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm and heads the Corporate practice group. With the corporate practice area being at the cornerstone of several other practices, namely tax, M&A and private equity, Simon’ s broad multidisciplinary knowledge and experience have led major companies and groups to rely on him to provide legal advice to with regard to their corporate and tax structures, upon establishment and throughout their operation. His recent representative work includes:  Advising issuers on several corporate finance schemes including issuances of a wide range of public and private debt and equity instruments;  Advising on the structuring of large scale real estate projects;  Representing investors in high profile disposals and acquisitions in the fields of media, pharmaceutical, F&B and retail;  Counseling corporations, banks and other legal entities on all aspects of corporate governance matters, including systems of checks and balances and internal control measures, board and committee membership and operation issues, executive and director compensation and liability, conflicts of interest and audit committee responsibilities and requirements, internal controls, compliance matters and disclosures; and  Devising incentive and compensation packages including severance and change-in-control agreements, stock options, equity and other incentive compensation plans. He holds a Master in French and Lebanese Law from the St. Joseph University in Beirut, a master of law degree (DEA) in Private Law from the University of Paris II-Assas in Paris and a master of laws degree (LLM) from Columbia University in New York. He is admitted to the Beirut Bar and is fluent in Arabic, French and English.