F. John Matouk
F. John Matouk
Founding Partner, Head of New York Office, Head of Dispute Resolution Group
John is the Founding Partner of Matouk Bassiouny and the head of the firm’s New York office, international Dispute Resolution Group and hospitality sector. A New York-qualified attorney with over twenty-five years of disputes expertise in the Middle East and North Africa, John has vast experience advising on and managing complex cross-border disputes as well as commercial and investment treaty arbitrations in both local courts and under the auspices of major arbitral institutions. John Also has an excellent track record in achieving his clients’ commercial goals through amicable settlements.
Referring to John, recent legal periodicals have stated:
Practice Focus
John’s disputes work encompasses a large and varied practice across the Middle East and North Africa. He has developed vast experience advising on major cross-border disputes before the local courts as well as on arbitrations under the auspices of major arbitral institutions including the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA).
Recent Rankings
Selected Recent Experience
- Successful representation of Uber concerning regulatory and contentious legal matters pertaining to Uber’s market penetration and continuing operations in Egypt.
- Successful representation of Volkswagen Group - member Skoda Auto - before Egyptian courts, Egyptian Consumer Protection, and Competition authorities. Leading to a USD 225 million dispute involving the termination of a contractual distributorship with an Egyptian distributor.
- Successful representation of Sony Pictures in an intricate debt recovery claim. Leading to a successful multi-million USD recovery, including a ground-breaking trademark enforcement action that marked a watershed case for intellectual property in Egypt.
- Successful representation of Union Fenosa Gas in connection with Egyptian law issues regarding a multi-billion dollar claim against an Egyptian state entity, for its failure to perform its contractual obligations under a Natural Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement signed between the parties. The dispute included different arbitration proceedings filed by the Spanish Gas company against the Egyptian State Entity at CRCICA, and another proceeding registered with ICSID against the Egyptian Government.
- Successful representation of ArcelorMittal in connection with the prosecution and subsequent amicable settlement of a USD 600 million investment dispute in proceedings registered with ICSID against the Arab Republic of Egypt.
- Successful representation of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in connection with defending client against claims in Egyptian courts exceeding USD 1 billion in complex cross-border litigation.
- Successful representation of a major glass manufacturing client in connection with a formal mediation process leading to the amicable settlement of a high-value CRCICA arbitration.
- Successful representation of a blue-chip GCC corporate client in connection with a high-value commercial dispute before CRCICA.
- Successful representation of over 10 multi-national blue-chip manufacturing companies in connection with high-value disputes before Egyptian courts relating to termination of agency/distribution relationships.
Education
George Washington University, Law School: Juris Doctor (with honors)
1997
Yale University: BA (Double Thesis, International Relations/Literary Theory with high honors)
1993
Cairo University, Faculty of Law: LL.M. Yale University: BA (Double Thesis, International Relations/Literary Theory with high honors)
1993
Professional Associations and Memberships