ABOUT
Al Wakeel Law Firm
Al Wakeel's legacy dates back to 1981, when the prominent lawyer Othman Sheikh Khalid started his career as an attorney and counselor in law, in Sulaimani city of Iraqi Kurdistan Region. From that day on, Al Wakeel has remained as the leading law firm in the market, providing legal services at its highest level to those individual and institutions, who seek for the best.
During eighties and nineties of last century, Othman Sheikh Khalid and his team showed up as the best attorneys and counselors in law, in civil law, national insurance regulations, property law, inheritance regulations and agricultural reform law, not only in Kurdistan, but also in entire Iraq. Othman Sheikh Khalid handled hundreds of lawsuits and won absolute majority of them. Not only as a lawyer, but sometimes as an arbitrator, he has settled many prolong disputes. Considered as the doyen of law in Kurdistan Region and Iraq, Othman Sheikh Khalid trained hundreds of young lawyers and paved their way to become successful lawyers, prosecutors and judges. This made him been known as a generous teacher of all lawyers, sharing the whole knowledge he had with them. When Othman Sheikh Khalid was assigned to be a prosecutor in 1997, Handren Othman Sheikh Khalid replaced him in the law firm. Othman Sheikh Khalid was subsequently promoted to become a judge and then a member in the Legal Documentation Council. Meanwhile, Handren Sheikh Othman continued to keep the legacy of Al Wakeel Law Firm.
In early 2006, Al Wakeel was registered as on of the very first legal expertise companies in Iraq. In this new stage, Handren Othman Sheikh Khalid and his team mastered civil law and entire laws and regulations of oil and gas, communications, industry and trade, becoming pioneers in providing legal services to the leading Iraqi and international companies working in the country. Coca Cola, Russian giant oil operator Gazprom Neft, leading Iraqi telecom operator Korek Telecom, leading Iraqi automotive services provider Sardar Group Holding, leading Croatian demining company Dok-Ing, International Medical Corps and Norwegian Refugee Council are just some of those institutions to which Al Wakeel Law Firm has provided legal services.
The wide vision on which Al Wakeel's keystones were built, combined with its the experiences it obtained during the last decades guarantee the fact that not only for today, but also for the future Al Wakeel is going to remain as the strongest law firm in the country and is going to continue to provide legal services in its highest level.
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Our Team
With its main staff based in Erbil, Baghdad and Sulaimani, having decades of experience, and more than 20 lawyers working under the umbrella of the Firm all over Iraq, Al Wakeel Law Firm has the widest network of lawyers to serve its clients. Please find a brief profile of Al Wakeel’s key staff bellow:
Handren Othman
MANAGING PARTNER, CEO
With a Bachelor degree in Law from the Salahuddin University in Erbil and 22 years of experience, 46 year old Othman is a prominent lawyer in Iraq, known for his excellence and success in his career. Othman has handled more than 500 lawsuits with a percentage of winning cases up to %95. He is one of the pioneer lawyers who provide legal services, in civil law and laws and regulations on telecommunications, oil and gas, media, trade and industry, in addition to the laws and regulations on non-profits and tax-exempt organizations, real estate, government grants and contracts, labor and employment, and general business operations, to the leading corporations, INGOs and individuals in the country. Othman is a multilingual lawyer and has excellent linguistic skills in Arabic and Kurdish.
Abdulkarim Haidar Ali, former judge of KRI’s Court of Cassation
SENIOR CONSULTANT
With a Bachelor degree in law from University of Baghdad and a Higher Diploma from Judicial Institute in Iraq, 68 year old Ali has 45 years of experience in judiciary and legal practices. Starting his judicial career as a forensic investigator, Ali has served many courts in Baghdad, Erbil and Sulaimani. His knowledge and extraordinary success in legal profession and education combined with his capability of continuous professional development made his way to hold crucial positions in judicial institutions, including chief judge of Court of Appeal in Sulaimani and Judge of Court of Cassation in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Despite his professional career, Ali has also served as an academic, giving lectures in law schools of universities and also the Judicial Institute in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Ali is a bilingual and has perfect command in Arabic and Kurdish.
Randan Ismael
LAWYER
With a Bachelor degree in Law from the Salahuddin University in Erbil and Leadership certificate from the Indiana University in the United States, Ismael is an attorney and counselor in law. Thirty one year old Ismael, who has been in the industry since 2010 is well-known for her excellence and accuracy in drafting and reviewing all kind of contracts and agreement in different fields, in addition to her capabilities to understand the needs and represent multi-national organizations. Meanwhile she is a successful lawyer, providing litigation services with a very high rate of winning cases. Ismael is a multilingual and has perfect command in Arabic, English and Kurdish.
Mahabad Ahmed
LAWYER
With a Bachelor degree in Law from University of Sulaimani and 13 years of experience as an attorney and counselor at law, 37 year old Ahmed is well-known for her accuracy in following up official procedures and litigation. She has handled more than 100 lawsuits with a success rate up to 90%. Ahmed who has been in the industry since 2007 developed a wide network of relations within the governmental offices and has deep knowledge on the legal operations in Iraq. Ahmed is bilingual and has perfect command in Kurdish and Arabic.
Suzan Jaff
LAWYER
With a Bachelor degree in Law from Dijla University in Erbil and Baghdad, a diploma in Law Administration from Salahuddin University in Erbil and continuing Business Law MA studies in Saint Louis University in the United States, 32 year old Jaff has experience in legal services and business administration. Before joining Al Wakeel Law Firm, Jaff has successfully served Korek Telecom’s legal department. Being a multilingual person with perfect command in English, Arabic, Turkish and Kurdish, has paved the way for Jaff to successfully work for international organizations, in addition to the local and national ones.
Siva Dlshad
LAWYER
With a Bachelor degree in Law from University of Sulaimani, 41 year old Dlshad has 18 years of experience in legal practices. Dlshad is specialized in civil law, in addition to laws and regulations on telecommunication. With up to 50 lawsuits she has handled Dlshad has a winning rate of %85. Dlshad is a bilingual and has perfect command in both Kurdish and Arabic.
Bestoon Khalid
GENERAL COORDINATOR
With a BA in English language from International Tishik University in Erbil and 15 years of experience in marketing communication, linguistics and journalism, 33 year old Khalid is holding a crucial position in the firm, maintaining continuous communication and coordination between the clients and different departments within the firm; despite of that, Khalid is well-known linguist, providing translation and interpretation services from and to English, Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish.