Category: practices

There is nothing worse than having Tax authorities chasing after you. We understand the tax pressure you face and that dealing with a Tax problem can be a very stressful experience; therefore, we are at disposal to take the weight of dealing with tax controversies off your shoulders by providing you with the right advice, and if necessary litigating a tax matter. We also have knowledge of tax regimes spanning multiple jurisdictions.

Our areas of work include:

• Wealth and private clients
• Domestic and international Tax advice
• Corporate Tax
• Business Tax
• Income Tax
• Tax on transactions
• Property and Real Estate Tax
• Inheritance Tax
• Employment Tax
• Customs duties and Taxes
• FATCA compliance
• Tax treaties, including Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements
• VAT and other taxes
• Tax fraud problems
• Tax controversies and disputes

Starting you own business is one of the boldest and most challenging thing a person can do. With all the punches and curveballs that come with you running your own startup, it is still worth to take the risk.

How we see the “business cycle” of your startup

1. The first step is to find the right idea. Once you have figured it out, research the market and the opportunities for growth.
2. After validating your business idea, decide on the name and the product. Make sure you own the rights to your chosen name and register it as a Trademark to protect your IP rights.
3. Consider the most appropriate legal structure that matches your business and needs.
4. Draft a business plan and plan your budget; consider salaries, office rentals, marketing costs, product-building costs and so on.
5. Protect your ideas, product, logo, brand image, name and design rights.
6. Start selling your products and services to the public; prove that your startup is successful and you gained market share.
7. Consider attracting funding and look for investors to invest capital in exchange for an equity stake in the company.
8. Hire the right people and start signing Employment agreements with your employees.
9. Rent an office space or find a co-working space.
10. Purchase equipment.
11. Raise money to optimize your products and expand your business.
12. Find partners and expand your team.
13. Your business is successful and growing exponentially.
14. Consider international expansion: Raise more money to scale other markets.
15. Exit option, by selling all or part of your shares in the company to an investor.

Take away the anxiety of the unknown

We can assist you with:

• Drafting and/or reviewing Term Sheets, Shareholder’s agreements, Partnership’s Agreements, Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreements, Subscription agreements, IP Assignment Agreements, Investment Agreements, letter of Intent, Employment Agreements, Consultancy Agreements, Lease Agreements, Terms and Conditions for provision of services or sale of goods, Terms and Conditions of your website/app, staff handbook etc.
• Company Incorporation and structuring (we provide advice to founders how to structure their personal shareholding)
• Providing advice on raising Capital
• Providing advice on corporate governance
• Providing advice on share vesting
• Establishing and structuring Employee share schemes and offer letters
• Negotiating with venture capital and sophisticated investors
• Tax treatments
• Due diligence and legal compliance
• Trademark and Patent registration, (nationally and internationally)
• Contracts review
• Providing advice on International Trade Agreements

Real estate has become increasingly attractive for investors seeking diversification, predictable income, stable yields and capital preservation. We at Nasr Lawyers, handle transactions of all sizes and degrees of complexity, and assist clients throughout the entire life cycle of their investments. We understand the business of real estate and offer a full range of real estate services in areas including:

• Asset Sales and Transfer
• Acquisitions
• Financing
• Real Estate Taxation
• Leasing, Landlord and Tenant issues
• Corporate Real Estate
• Development projects and joint ventures
• Estate Development and Planning
• Real Estate Investments and Transactions
• Real Estate Funds and Private Equity
• Contract terms and clauses, including FIDIC contracts
• Legal and regulatory issues, including Construction, Property and Environmental laws, land use regulation and zoning
• Real Estate Litigation

Strong intellect. Technical skills. Emotional intelligence.

Our legal team working on private clients affairs is part of a team of external advisors (accountant’s, financial experts, international consultants…) and deal with legal and practical issues that need to be solved. Clients vary from property-owners with inherited wealth, to net worth individuals, leading families, entrepreneurs, CEO’s, celebrities or high profile people. The best part of the job is to understand their thinking, getting to know them very well and helping to navigate them through the tax and legal hurdles they face to achieve their objectives.

Our legal services include matters involving:

• Management, transfer and protection of personal wealth
• Legal challenges related to multi-jurisdictional estate valuation, administration and disputes
• Structuring the purchase of houses, companies, yachts or expensive artwork
• Business succession
• Wills and inheritance
• Tax planning
• Estate planning
• Charitable giving
• Private foundations
• Planning for entrepreneurs
• Life insurance planning
• Regulatory considerations

Lebanon has finally reached an important milestone in the oil and gas industry with the Council of Ministers approving recently the awarding of exploration and productions licenses to a consortium made of “Total”, “Eni” and “Novatek” on the open blocks within the country’s first offshore licensing round. We are of service to assist clients with any type of agreement relating to oil and gas, in addition to entity formation and transactional matters relating to exploration and operations.

We can assist with:

• Concession agreements
• Production Sharing Agreements
• Production Sharing Agreements
• Technical service agreements
• Unitisation agreements
• Sales and rental agreements
• Confidentiality agreements
• Tax Provisions and considerations related to petroleum activities
• Due Diligence, compliance and regulatory issues

Nasr Lawyers provide a wide range of services to non-profit, charitable and other tax-exempt organizations, advising in all aspects of organization and management. Our clients include developmental disability, social welfare and economic development organizations and associations. Our lawyers advise and assist on a broad range of matters including:

• NGO’s and charitable laws, regulations and policy
• NGO’s formation: Bylaws, articles of incorporation, internal regulations
• Organizational and governance structure
• Structuring and documenting charitable giving arrangements
• Charitable administration
• Qualifications for tax exempt status
• Donations
• Conflicts of interest
• Volunteer labor issues
• Strategic decisions
• Compliance
• Ethics
• Communications with relevant departments

We at Nasr Lawyers provide effective guidance to clients on import and export related matters, customs regulations, restrictions and requirements, trade and economic sanctions, enforcement procedures, tax issues, trade agreements, anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering and related laws, free zones and warehouse matters among others. We also provide representation to clients subject to investigations and enforcement actions resulting from alleged non-compliance. We draw on our extensive experience to help clients navigate, comply with and find solutions to most complex legal challenges, wherever and whenever they occur.

We can assist with:

• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating complex agreements, including procurement, sales, distribution, purchases, franchises, logistics and ocean carrier contracts.
• Export and import related matters, customs procedures and control restrictions
• Due diligence on trade controls issues
• Effective guidance on anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering and related laws
• Multilateral, bilateral and regional trade agreements
• International terms of sale (Incoterms)
• International letters of credit and collections
• Tax considerations
• Joint-Ventures
• Free zones
• Dispute resolution through litigation or arbitration

With an increase in cross-border investments and trade, International Arbitration has become the most popular method of resolving international disputes arising out of both commercial and investment transactions. “Relationships” between individuals, businesses and investors dealing transnationally break down during business cycle and parties need to consider the best means of resolving their disputes. In many cases, that will be arbitration.

Arbitration offers a neutral forum of resolving disputes as long as a party prefers not to submit to the jurisdiction of another party’s national court. Arbitration awards are more widely enforceable than court judgments. Arbitration rules are flexible and less complex than most national rules. Arbitration provides more privacy and confidentiality than litigation. Parties to an arbitration can select the governing law, the place of arbitration, the arbitrators who are capable to offer their technical expertise and experience and many other aspect of the arbitral procedure. Parties may also select international institutions that will administer the arbitration, among them we note: The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), Dubai International Arbitration Centre and numerous others.

Our lawyers ensure the highest services that meet the client’s needs regarding the dispute, help clients select arbitrators with appropriate experience, expertise and availability and ensure that their case is managed cost-effectively. We represent clients through the dispute’s lifecycle, from drafting the arbitration clause in a contract, to arbitration proceedings (International commercial arbitration and Investment treaty arbitration), to arbitration-related litigation such as enforcement actions or criminal lawsuits.

Our practice embraces disputes from a broad range of areas, including:

• Commercial and business transactions
• Investments
• Sale of goods
• Distribution
• Import and export
• Construction
• Telecommunications
• Procurement
• Joint Venture
• Intellectual Property

We coordinate strategy with local lawyers in a multi-jurisdictional dispute.

Intellectual Property rights are like any other right. This category of property includes intangible creations of the human intellect, and primarily encompasses copyrights, patents, and trademarks. It also includes other types of rights, such as trade secrets, publicity rights, moral rights, and rights against unfair competition. Artistic works like music and literature, as well as some discoveries, inventions, words, phrases, symbols, and designs can all be protected as Intellectual Property. These rights are outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, which provides for the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests resulting from authorship of scientific, literary or artistic productions. Our practice involves a variety of aspects, services, defense and enforcement in Intellectual Property and related areas, including:

Trademark services

• Trademark search
• Trademark application preparation, filing and registration in Lebanon and throughout the Middle East
• Consulting on Trademark protection strategies
• Post-registration services: Licensing, transfer, franchise etc.
• Brand counseling
• Litigating Trademark infringement matters, including false a
  dvertising, counterfeit etc.
• Royalty disputes, litigation and arbitration

Patent services

• Patentability search and opinions
• Patent application preparation, filing and registration in Lebanon and throughout the Middle East
• Designs, prototypes and technology
• International patent prosecution
• Patent licensing and negotiation
• Patent infringement, enforcement and litigation

Copyright services

• Copyright filing and licenses
• Litigating Copyright infringement actions
• Royalty disputes, litigation and arbitration

Trade secrets

• Confidentiality, Non-disclosure and Non-competition Agreements
• Protection strategy
• Trade libel and passing off
• Infringement matters, litigation and arbitration

IP Licensing, including valuation, negotiation and preparation of contracts and Licensing agreements and due diligence on venture capital transactions.

Customers who invest in an insurance policy are looking to be protected in case of an unforeseen incident or claim. Some insurance companies neglect their responsibility to their policyholders and act in bad faith by underpaying, delaying or completely refusing to honor claims, therefore leaving policyholders who have suffered significant damage and income loss to pay for their losses out of their own pockets. We at Nasr Lawyers offer legal services in various insurance litigation matters and represent the insured as well as insurance companies, brokers, and agents.

We can assist with: