Our Lawyers

ALG stands ready to assist, advise, and advocate across all stages and in all manners and sizes of international dealings and disputes. The following practice areas form the core of our extensive experience.

DR. ZEWDINEH BEYENE HAILE

Managing Partner

Dr. Zewdineh Beyene Haile is a renowned Ethiopian lawyer who holds double doctorate degrees: a Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD) from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and a PhD from the Moscow State Academy of Law. He also holds Master of Laws (LL.M) and Master of International and Area Studies (MIAS) degrees from Berkeley. Dr. Zewdineh regularly lectures at law schools and is currently an adjunct professor at Bahir Dar University School of Law. Trained in both the civil law and common law systems, he has taught courses in international business transactions, international dispute settlement, construction, and trade as well as company law and investment law. He is the author of many studies on topics ranging from law reform to institutional policy.

Dr. Haile transitioned from a position as a government lawyer within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, where he headed departments including the United Nations Specialized Agencies and International Organizations and the Neighboring Countries and Nile Basin States, to private practice nearly two decades ago. He has since become one of the most preeminent High Court, Supreme Court and Court of Cassation litigators in Ethiopia and has litigated numerous high-stakes cases. He also regularly advises foreign companies conducting business in Ethiopia.

Dr. Haile has represented State agencies and State-owned enterprises in many negotiations and international arbitration proceedings in Africa, Asia, and Europe. He has also appeared as an expert witness in transnational litigation matters including before the High Court of London. His areas of expertise include international arbitration and litigation, government relations, public contracts, construction law, corporate law, private equity and other forms of investments. He has served as lead counsel representing African Governments in international arbitration cases in such areas as transportation, construction, oil and gas, mining, maritime, trade and investment.

Dr. Haile serves on the boards of institutions including a university, non-profit organizations, and corporations and is a member of the American Society of International Law, the Ethiopian Lawyers’ Association, the Ethiopian chapter of Advocates Africa, the Pan African Lawyers’ Union and the east africa law society. He was a member of the Legal and Justice Affairs Advisory Council of the Ministry of Justice of Ethiopia and the Global Council on the Rule of Law of the World Economic Forum. He speaks Russian.
He is the author of the Ethiopia chapter in the prestigious Law Over Borders Comparative Guide to Arbitration, published by the Global Legal Post.

Email: zewdineh@algllp.law

PROF. WON KIDANE

Partner

Professor Dr. Won Lemma Kidane is a Fulbright Scholar, a Professor of Law at the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, and the Director of the International Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Cape Town. Prior to that Prof. Won taught at the Seattle University School of Law, the Pennsylvania State University School of Law, and the Peking University School of Transnational Law for a total of fifteen years. Prof. Won earlier practiced international arbitration and litigation at the global law firms of Piper Rudnick (now DLA Piper) and Hunton & Williams in their Washington, DC offices.

Professor Won has represented States, their subdivisions and instrumentalities in a wide array of international litigation and arbitration matters ranging from mining, infrastructure, construction, railway, and oil and gas to commodities trading. He has represented SOEs at critical stages of relationship formation ranging from contract negotiations, dispute prevention, contract management, mediation, and conciliation to arbitration and court litigation. He also frequently counsels companies in private equity ventures, contract negotiations, and dispute avoidance and resolution.

Professor Won is a prolific author and one of the leading scholars in the areas of international investment law in Africa and globally. He is the author or co-author of five books and more than 40 law review articles and chapters in leading international law journals and books. His book on China-Africa Dispute Settlement (Wolters Kluwer, 2011) is the first of its kind and has been translated into Mandarin Chinese. His fourth book on The Culture of International Arbitration (Oxford University Press, 2017), is widely considered a groundbreaking work in the field. Prof. Won’s fifth title is a comprehensive examination of Africa’s International Investment Law Regimes (Oxford University Press, 2024).

Professor Won holds a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degree from Georgetown, a Juris Doctor degree (JD) with honors from the University of Illinois, and a Master of Laws degree (LL.M) from the University of Georgia as well as a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B) from Addis Ababa University. He is a member of many professional organizations including the Academic Council of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration, the American Society of International Law, and the Academic Forum on Investor-State Arbitration Reform.

Professor Won is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Illinois, and the State of Washington.

Email: won@algllp.law

JACKSON SHAW KERN

Partner

Jackson Shaw Kern is an international lawyer who advises and represents private interests as well as sovereign clients in a diversity of matters. He capably counsels in all non-contentious settings to achieve varied client goals in international commerce, international investment, and international affairs. An advocate of acknowledged litigation instincts, Jackson equally thrives in all aspects of internationally contentious proceedings. This range extends from initial appraisal of merit to argumentation, witness confrontation, and post-award practice. He has delivered successful results in complex international disputes of the highest stakes.

Jackson is a frequent guest lecturer and speaker at institutions around the globe with appearances including the Peking University School of Transnational Law, the Catholic University of Peru, Addis Ababa University and the University of Cape Town. He is a past visiting fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. In addition to authoring numerous articles and chapters, he is a co-author of the title Arbitrating the Conduct of International Investors (Cambridge University Press, 2018) and co-editor of the forthcoming collection of essays entitled Investor Obligations in International Law (Brill, 2026).

Jackson spent the largest part of his youth in the Middle East before earning a degree in economics and anthropology at McGill University. He then studied law, earning a Juris Doctor (JD) summa cum laude from Seattle University, during which time he also attended the Bucerius Law School of Hamburg and was inducted into the Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society.

Jackson is a member of the Bars of New York, Washington, DC, and Montana and of the American Society of International Law, the African Society of International Law, and the International Bar Association. He is a fluent speaker of French and avails lesser proficiency in other languages.

Email: jsk@algllp.law

ALG LLP

ALG LLP offers a proven record of successful advocacy in international disputes including those of the very highest stakes.

ALG acts for sovereign clients, private establishments, and individuals in fora across the globe. ALG acts in matters of both private and public international law including international commercial and investment arbitration and has counseled and represented clients in diverse economic sectors including mining, oil and gas, energy, infrastructure, construction, corporate governance, shareholder disputes, real estate, private equity investment, and commodities trade.

Established in Washington, DC, ALG maintains additional offices in Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Ethiopia is the political capital of the African continent while the Emirates lie at a critical crossroads of the global North, South, East, and West.

ALG’s modern institutional structure and profound sensitivity to culture allow the privilege of offering commensurately world class legal services against competitive fees with a deep sense of duty and commitment.

ALG’s representation model is immeasurably unique. It offers extraordinary agility and unmatched cost effectiveness.

Our Lawyers

DR. ZEWDINEH BEYENE HAILE

PROF. WON KIDANE

JACKSON SHAW KERN

ALG LLP

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