Areas of Expertise
The firm provides specialist regulatory advisory counsel across six practice areas at the intersection of law, regulation, and institutional governance. The firm's practice is exclusively advisory. The firm does not conduct litigation.
Regulation, Risk & Compliance
The firm advises on AML/CFT/CPF programme design, regulatory licensing, supervisory engagement, and compliance architecture for financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions, and virtual asset service providers — operating under Lebanese, regional, and international frameworks. Advisory services include risk-based programme architecture, proliferation financing risk integration, beneficial ownership transparency frameworks, and calibration of enhanced and simplified measures consistent with the risk-based approach.
Data Protection & Privacy
The firm advises on data governance frameworks, privacy compliance, and the legal dimensions of cybersecurity risk management. The firm advises on breach response obligations, cross-border data transfer arrangements, and the integration of GDPR-aligned principles into institutional information governance policies. Advisory work in this area specifically includes counsel on the legal interface between AML/CFT information obligations — including suspicious transaction reporting, customer due diligence data retention, intra-group information sharing — and applicable data protection frameworks.
Financial Crime Investigations
The firm provides advisory support to institutions and executives navigating regulatory scrutiny or internal reviews arising from suspected financial crime. Advisory services include investigation framework design, transaction analysis, customer due diligence and beneficial ownership remediation, SAR quality review, and analytical support in the context of asset recovery — including pre-confiscation analysis and cross-border exposure mapping. The firm's role in this practice area is exclusively advisory and analytical; it does not conduct enforcement proceedings, appear in court, or serve as lead counsel in adversarial financial crime litigation.
FinTech & RegTech
The firm advises payment service providers, money or value transfer service providers, virtual asset service providers, digital asset platforms, and technology-driven financial services firms on licensing and registration requirements, compliance architecture, and regulatory strategy under evolving Lebanese and international frameworks. Advisory counsel includes payment transparency and travel rule compliance obligations, virtual asset risk governance — including AML/CFT and proliferation financing risk integration for VASPs — and the compliance implications of deploying RegTech solutions within supervised institutions.
Corruption & Fraud
The firm advises on anti-corruption compliance programme design, corruption risk assessment, and internal control frameworks consistent with the UN Convention Against Corruption and relevant international standards. Advisory counsel extends to enforcement response support, internal review frameworks, and the governance measures required to prevent, detect, and remediate bribery and fraud across all sectors. Advisory work in this area routinely encompasses the AML/CFT overlay — including proceeds analysis, asset tracing and recovery advisory support, SAR quality review, and the personal liability exposure of directors and senior management under applicable frameworks.
Corporate Governance
The firm advises boards, executives, and institutional stakeholders on governance frameworks, director liability, codes of conduct, and accountability structures for regulated entities. Advisory work encompasses board and senior management responsibility for AML/CFT and CPF compliance — including the personal liability exposure of directors and senior management under applicable frameworks — fit and proper assessment support for director appointments and ownership changes in regulated entities, and the governance architecture required to withstand supervisory scrutiny during periods of regulatory stress and institutional reform. Advisory capacity in this area is directly informed by experience in central bank governance and supervisory engagement at the institutional level.