Coffee with: Ayman Nour, partner at Al Tamimi: EnterpriseAM sat down with Ayman Nour (LinkedIn), partner and head of office and corporate structuring at Al Tamimi & Company ’s Egypt office, to mark the firm’s first ten years in the country. As the Dubai-headquartered law firm looks ahead to ten more successful years in Egypt — and hopefully many more — we got Nour’s insights on how AI is shaking up the industry, challenges weighing on businesses, and more. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

EnterpriseAM: You’re celebrating 10 years since Al Tamimi opened its first office in Egypt. How has the legal sector changed over the past decade?

Ayman Nour: The biggest change over the past 10 years has been the introduction of artificial intelligence. When I graduated in 1995, a good lawyer was someone who, of course, understood the law well and knew how to draft well. Now, AI has become better than the best lawyer when it comes to drafting — and that’s the biggest thing that has changed the business.

Al Tamimi is one of the very few firms in Egypt — you can count them on one hand — that are using Harvey, which is widely considered the best AI platform in the legal world. The adoption of this highly confidential AI platform has allowed Al Tamimi to greatly perfect its services.

EnterpriseAM: But we’re still in the drafting stage only, or does AI go further than that?

AN: It helps in drafting, due diligence reports, comparisons, narratives, conclusions, and summaries — it’s extensive. That’s the kind of work that would take an associate with three years’ experience two days to do — and Harvey produces it in minutes.

EnterpriseAM: What will the lawyer of the future look like? And how do you see the career path for young lawyers changing?

AN: Just like we all learned multiplication tables and manual calculations — now everything is done with a calculator. It’s the same thing with AI. You don’t need to memorize every law, but you need to understand it. The young lawyer entering the field must have strong language, strong soft skills — AI will never replace your soft skills.

You must be able to understand the client and their business and figure out how to help them even if there are legal obstacles. A young lawyer entering the profession today still needs the same important qualities that a lawyer needed 30 or 100 years ago. He or she has to expose themselves to all kinds of experiences in all legal fields — nothing should be off-limits.

You just become more selective in choosing young lawyers, but we haven’t reduced our numbers. We’re still hiring — AI doesn’t replace people. It makes associates more productive so we can provide more services, generate more revenue, and fulfill our social responsibility by not cutting jobs.

But the lawyer’s skill set must adapt to AI. I don’t want someone mechanical. I want someone with soft skills, who understands the business, understands what the client wants, who can reassure the client, who can do public speaking, who can write articles — while using AI as a tool.

This is what differentiates an exceptional lawyer from the rest. Everyone in our firm knows the law — if you ask any of them a legal question, they’ll answer perfectly. But the cherry on top is the one who knows how to get clients, how to present himself well, how to moderate a panel in his field, how to speak to the business community — those soft skills are what make all the difference.

EnterpriseAM: You have two offices in Egypt — Cairo and Port Said. Why Port Said?

AN: Port Said is a center of shipping, and we have a very strong practice in shipping, ins., and maritime law. So Port Said was an obvious choice, because most agents of these companies are based there.

EnterpriseAM: When you deal with foreign investors before they enter Egypt, what’s the first question they ask?

AN: Foreign investors usually come after already doing their due diligence on their business model. What really comforts them is that they can do their business without a local partner — they can have 100% foreign capital and shareholders. That gives them a lot of reassurance.

In terms of entry and company establishment, I see Egypt as one of the best and most advanced countries in this area. There are no real obstacles.

The issue is when you want to exit. Liquidation takes a very long time because you need to close your tax and social ins. files. It’s not about the financial situation of the country, but about bureaucracy. If the state uses AI in this area, what takes months could be done in hours.

The second challenge isn’t legal, but practical — the repatriation of funds abroad. Companies in Egypt make earnings in EGP, but they can’t convert them into foreign currency for offshore transfer. Many investors, especially from the UAE, are frustrated. They’re investing heavily in Egypt but can’t get their proceeds out.

EnterpriseAM: What should policymakers do to improve the business environment?

AN: There’s been progress — especially from Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib and Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk — along two parallel routes. First, they’re facilitating imports and shipping, reducing time and logistics costs. Second, they’re trying to reduce the number of revenue-collecting agencies in Egypt.

When a client asks about corporate tax, we say 25%, but they don’t realize how many other levies there are — social ins., VAT, fees — so the effective tax rate is much higher.

The ministers want to unify all of this under the Tax Authority, making it the single channel for everything — and that’s very important.

The mindset is key. Either you have a mindset that’s rewarded for success and achievements — for bringing in business — or you have a mindset that’s driven by fear of oversight, fear of being accused of wrongdoing. That mindset needs to change.

EnterpriseAM: How are client expectations evolving today?

AN: The client wants to do business, succeed, and make bank — whether it’s the investor, the lender, or the community benefiting from the project. Our core focus is removing obstacles. If there’s a legal or bureaucratic problem, we find a solution. Some lawyers stop at “this can’t be done.” We don’t. We think about how to make it work in the client’s best interest and for the benefit of the wider economy. That’s our edge. We don’t look for problems — we look for solutions.

EnterpriseAM: You have 17 offices in 10 countries. Any plans for expansion?

AN: Once there’s political and economic stability, we have our eyes on countries like Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Algeria, and Tunisia. Africa as well — but we haven’t yet seen the prospects that would pull us in.

Al Tamimi has 60 nationalities speaking 25 languages — Syrians, Lebanese, Algerians, Tunisians, South Africans, Latin Americans — so once we see a window, we’ll be ready to move.

EnterpriseAM: What are your focus areas right now?

AN: We cover all the practice areas that businesses need. The newest one we’re focusing on is energy — clean, green, and sustainable energy. Energy projects are very important, and our clients are investing in them. The technology keeps evolving — so as long as there’s innovation, there’s a need for legal services.

EnterpriseAM: And what do you think Al Tamimi will look like ten years from now?

AN: It will be bigger and more efficient. Honestly, we’ll see it together — because I might not even be around in ten years (laughs). Al Tamimi is a source of pride, because it’s the only Arab-founded law firm that competes directly with international firms that have been around for over a hundred years — and we do it with the most advanced skills, technology, infrastructure, and compliance.

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