Dr. Karim A. Youssef is founder, CEO, and Managing Partner of Youssef & Partners Attorneys, a GAR 100 firm and regional leader in dispute resolution.
Karim is an attorney, mediator, and arbitrator, renowned in the fields of media and entertainment, and commercial law. He is the author of Consent in Context: Fulfilling the Promise of International Arbitration, published by Thomson West and prefaced by Jan Paulson. Karim has delivered some of the highest-profile speeches at any event in the MENA region, including a speech at the Sharm El Sheikh VII conference on the Role of State Courts in International Arbitration, which received the 2019 GAR global award for Best Speech; and the Keynote Speech at the 8th ICC MENA Conference on International Arbitration, which was shortlisted for the 2021 award.
Karim has headed the international law and international arbitration practices at the firm since its establishment in 2016. He also heads the high-net-worth individuals’ practice. He has served as arbitrator and counsel in a wide range of media, entertainment, and commercial disputes, at both the domestic and
international levels. Highlights of his work include successfully securing a historical award for the CBC Chanel in claims against Egyptian satirist Bassem
Youssef and over the exclusive broadcasting rights to ‘The Show’. The award was the first of its kind in Egypt and has had a long-lasting impact on the
television and broadcasting market. Karim and the firm continue to advise broadcasting channels in disputes pertaining to broadcasting rights and with
senior staff, as well as advising producers on their relationships with TV channels.
Karim is a member of the Advisory Board of the CRCICA, the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages in International Arbitration, and the newly established BVI IAC Arbitration Committee. He is also a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Arab Arbitration.
Karim has law degrees from Yale Law School (where he earned LL.M. and J.S.D. degrees) and Paris and Cairo Universities.