Our practice advises aviation clients on contracts, regulations, and commercial deals in Jordan. We have experience with respect to all types of local and cross-border aviation transactions, including dry and wet lease contracts, cabin and crew recruitment, IOSA standards audits, and a variety of agreements including concession agreements. In addition, we have significant knowledge with respect to the legal and regulatory aspects of civil aviation and other issues pertaining to registration and de-registration, airworthiness, parking, and storage of aircrafts on both a domestic and international level.

Khalifeh & Partners represents corporate entities of varying sizes and provides an array of services, including drafting all required articles and memorandum of association, shareholders’ agreements, intercompany financing agreements, and shareholder loan agreements, as well as advising on and assisting in obtaining licenses and permits necessary to commence operations. This also includes all M&A work, including public and private acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, disposals, and private equity.

Additionally, we provide legal services to a variety of local and international companies on the legal framework of agency and distribution arrangements in Jordan. Our services include drafting and reviewing relevant contracts, revising foreign law contracts to comply with local law requirements, and providing advice and opinions on regulatory issues. We also have litigation experience on claims relating to agency and distribution contracts.

Our well-established litigation practice handles high-profile cases spanning a wide range of industries and sectors within Jordan including energy, pharmaceuticals, insurance, banking, real estate, construction, technology, and telecommunications. Additionally, our litigators handle high-value cross-border litigation matters in relation to aviation, shipping, transport, and international trade. We frequently assist with the Jordanian component of major international disputes.

Given that both the legal and business communities in Jordan have increasingly shown a preference for arbitration as a forum for dispute resolution, our firm has developed a high range of skills in alternative dispute resolution in Jordanian and international law and is now recognized in Jordan as a leader in domestic and international alternative dispute resolution. In addition, we have significant experience with the processes of both domestic and international arbitration bodies, including the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, UNCITRAL Rules, and the ICSID.

Banking

We regularly advise banks, arrangers, sponsors, and borrowers across all industry sectors in respect of their banking and restructuring arrangements and regulatory compliance. The firm’s banking lawyers are constantly involved in bank lending deals which vary from straightforward lending arrangements to complicated syndicated structured arrangements. We often advise on bank regulatory requirements and have advised on the establishment of banks in Jordan, including an Islamic bank.

Finance

The firm advises numerous corporate and financial institutions in relation to financing transactions particularly in the oil, gas, and energy sectors. The firm is involved in reviewing and revising various project financing arrangements, especially in relation to concession contracts, syndicated loan agreements, and key project covenants. We also have considerable experience in Islamic financing, which includes Islamic financial instruments such as Al Murabaha and Al Istisna as well as Islamic Real Estate Funds, Islamic Project Finance, and Islamic insurance (Takaful).

The projects group is recognized as ‘Tier 1’ in all major legal directories. It has advised sponsors, financiers, and governments across all sectors on some of the largest and most complicated project finance transactions in Jordan. Our team has extensive experience in infrastructure projects, including advising on the expansion of the As-Samra wastewater treatment plant and the Dead Sea-Red Sea project. Our lawyers are experts in every aspect of the oil, gas, and energy sectors in Jordan, and we are widely considered the leading renewable energy firm in Jordan. We also specialize in large-scale water and waste management projects.

We continue to be leaders in the Public Private Partnership and Privatization sectors, having advised the Executive Privatization Commission, regulators, bidders, consortiums, leading companies, and key industry players. Our scope of services includes reviewing and analyzing existing legal frameworks relating to PPPs, making sector-specific legal analysis of eligibility to conduct PPP projects, providing local legal advisory services in relation to potential PPP projects, and providing local legal advice in relation to the establishment of a fund that aims to support PPP projects in Jordan.

Our firm leads in expertise on renewable energy in Jordan. We were involved in the creation of the first wind farm in Jordan, and we are currently advising a number of consortiums implementing photovoltaic solar power projects in Jordan as part of the national renewable energy strategy. 

Our firm also advises generation and distribution companies in connection with their operations in Jordan, including their power purchase agreements. We are involved in many major transactions in the oil and gas sector, such as advising on the establishment of LPG storage facilities in Aqaba, advising a number of companies on exploration and production sharing agreements, and advising on oil brokerage and transportation agreements.

We often act for clients in relation to large-scale residential and commercial real estate developments and financings, including joint ventures and leasing structures. We provide advice on all types of construction projects and have the requisite knowledge and capability to advise on all aspects of the construction process, including procurement, financing, negotiation, and document preparation. The firm has established a strong reputation in this area and has advised large developers and financiers as well as hotels and leisure companies on major projects, infrastructure works, and facilities operation and management agreements in Jordan and the Middle Eastern region.

Our firm is recognized as one of the leading firms in regulatory and legislative drafting in Jordan, and the breadth and depth of our experience enables us to provide a comprehensive and integrated service to our clients. Khalifeh & Partners has handled many major transactions such as advising the Aqaba Special Economic Authority on its economic mobilization project (USAID funded), advising the Executive Privatization Commission on its Regulatory Reforms and Privatization in Infrastructure initiative (EU funded), and advising on the legal and regulatory framework for the downstream petroleum sector (World Bank funded).

Highlights of our legislative work with the Government of Jordan include advising on the liberalization of the media sector and dissolution of the Ministry of Information, advising on amendments to the trademarks law and patents law, and advising on reforms to the Government Special Tendering Provisions for the IT sector. We have also assisted a number of sports organizations in the drafting of their regulations and statutes, including the Jordan Olympic Committee and Jordan Football Association.

Khalifeh & Partners continues to be the leading capital markets firm in Jordan and acts as the lead adviser to Ithmar Invest PSC, the leading underwriter, arranger, and private placement firm for bonds in Jordan. The firm has also advised the Government of Jordan on several sovereign Eurobond issues under 144A and Regulation S with values up to USD $1.5 billion.

The firm’s practice offers a market-leading service combining legal and commercial expertise to help clients achieve their objectives.

We provide legal advice relating to all aspects of Jordanian Labor and Employment Law as well Social Security law. Our firm has extensive experience in employment matters relating to internal regulatory frameworks and internal bylaws as well as employment matters in the context of mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, privatizations, and public-private partnerships. We often advise on employment matters related to the establishment of new companies or the structuring of international companies’ operations in Jordan. We also advise on employment disputes.

Khalifeh & Partners has provided legal services to a variety of local and international sports bodies and entertainment companies. Our services include drafting and reviewing relevant laws and contracts, revising foreign law contracts to comply with local law requirements, and providing advice and opinions on regulatory issues. We have experience representing corporations, federations, committees, associations, and individual athletes and advising them on sponsorship and partnership agreements. We also have litigation experience on claims relating to sports federations and committees.

Technology

Khalifeh & Partners has advised on electronic commerce such as e-contracting and the provision of goods and services through electronic systems, including the Internet and other forums. Our practice services all needs in information technology and e-commerce law including online transaction processing, supply-chain management, Internet marketing, business to business (“B to B”) websites and business to customer (“B to C”) websites.

The firm has been heavily involved in the regulation of this sector; our lawyers advised the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology in privatizing certain services and advised the Government of Jordan on its recent e-government initiative.

Media

The firm has been at the forefront of legal developments in the media sector, especially in light of the rapid and extensive growth in this area in Jordan and the Middle Eastern region. The firm has participated significantly in the regulation of the media sector, with our lawyers having assisted in its liberalization and restructuring, as well as in the establishment of private broadcasting stations and the assignment of radio frequencies. We represent a number of licensed broadcasting radio stations, media and PR agencies, newspapers, magazines, software companies, and printed press.

Telecommunications

Khalifeh & Partners is recognized as a market leader in the telecommunications sector in Jordan, as we were involved in the first transactions and acquisitions in the country. This sector has seen a surge of activity in recent years, and we have acted for participants in every sector of the industry.

Drawing on our specialized expertise on the telecom sector in Jordan, we advise clients with respect to all aspects of telecommunications transactions, including partnering agreements, privatizations, licensing, civil works agreements, cable supply and installation agreements, lease agreements of pipelines to install fiber optic cables, interconnection agreements, and regulatory and procedural requirements related to the telecom sector.

We advise various local and international insurance and reinsurance companies as well as insurance brokers regarding their dealings in Jordan. Recently, we acted on the acquisition of a controlling stake in a local insurance company. Our litigation team has been involved in a number of high-profile insurance claims pertaining to maritime, construction, and power generation, among other sectors. We also extended advice on legal issues associated with officers and directors’ liabilities under Jordanian law and mitigation measures through procuring D&O policies.

We provide services in all aspects of intellectual and industrial property including copyright, trademarks, patents, domain names, industrial designs, models, and trade secrets. We also file copyrighted work at the National Library and pursue and defend claims of copyright infringement to litigation. Our services cover registration, administrative procedures, and the utilization of intellectual property rights such as licensing, franchising, and master production and distribution agreements.