Managing Partner
Dr. Zewdineh Beyene Haile is a renowned Ethiopian lawyer who holds double doctorate degrees: a Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD) degree 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 the University of California at 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 African Lawyers' Union. 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.

zewdineh@algllp.law

Of Counsel
Aseel Barghuthi is an international lawyer with roots in public policy and economic development. She began her professional career at the World Bank in Washington, DC. Between 2006-2011, Aseel worked as a consultant and advisor to government entities, NGOs, and policymakers.

As an international arbitration lawyer, Aseel has represented States, State-owned entities, and private parties in both international commercial arbitration and investor-State arbitration across multiple sectors and under all major institutional rules. She works fluidly between common and civil law jurisdictions and has represented high-profile clients in complex cross-border disputes.

Aseel has significant experience in investor-State proceedings brought under bilateral treaties involving the Middle East and Africa, and under less common multilateral treaties such as the OIC Agreement and Arab Investment Agreement. Her experience spans all stages of the arbitration process, from advising a client on the merits of a possible claim or defense to initiating enforcement / annulment proceedings after an award has been issued.

Aseel began her international arbitration career with ALG in 2014 and rejoins the team after an interlude with big law, during which time she worked in the international arbitration group at Eversheds Sutherland International LLP in Amman and the global arbitration practice at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP in New York.

Aseel maintains her academic interests by lecturing and speaking in international arbitration fora and is a Committee Member of The Pledge for Equal Representation in Arbitration, Middle East Sub-Committee. In addition to her role as Of Counsel with ALG, Aseel acts as international arbitrator and legal counsel in international disputes involving both public and private entities.

Aseel graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Literature and Cultural Theory as well as minor concentrations in History and Political Science. She obtained her Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the George Washington University Law School and is a member of the New York State Bar.

Aseel speaks fluent Arabic and intermediate Spanish. She is working on her Amharic.

aseel@algllp.law

Partner
Jackson Shaw Kern is an international lawyer who advises and represents private interests as well as sovereign clients in a diversity of matters. An advocate of acknowledged litigation instincts, Jackson 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 also advises in non-contentious matters, particularly with a view to reducing the risk of disruptive disputes in international commerce, international investment, and international affairs.

Jackson has been a visitor to leading law firms in London, Lima, and Kuala Lumpur and is a past visiting fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge. He is a frequent guest lecturer and speaker at institutions around the globe. Appearances have included the Peking University School of Transnational Law, the National University of Singapore, the Addis Ababa University, the Catholic University of Peru, the International Law Association, the African Arbitration Association, the Society of International Economic Law, and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes of the World Bank Group. In addition to numerous articles and book chapters, he is a co-author of the title Arbitrating the Conduct of International Investors (Cambridge University Press, 2017) which has gained renown for its reform proposals in the realm of international investment law.

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 and the International Bar Association. He is a fluent speaker of French and avails lesser proficiency in other languages.

jsk@algllp.law

Partner
Professor Dr. Won Lemma Kidane is a Fulbright Scholar who holds a tenured faculty position as a Full Professor of Law at the Seattle University School of Law where he has taught since 2008. Prior to that Professor Won taught at the Pennsylvania State University School of Law for three years. Before joining the legal academy in the United States, Prof. Won practiced international arbitration and litigation with the global law firms of Piper Rudnick (now DLA Piper) and later Hunton & Williams in their Washington, DC offices.

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 four books and more than 40 law review articles and book chapters in leading international law journals and books. His book on China-Africa Dispute Settlement is the first of its kind. His fourth book on The Culture of International Arbitration by Oxford University Press is widely considered a groundbreaking work in the field. Prof. Won is currently writing a comprehensive book on Africa's International Investment Law Regimes for Oxford University Press.

Professor Won has also taught law in South Africa, Ethiopia, and China. He is a member of many 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.

He 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 School of Law, as well as a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B) from Addis Ababa University.

Professor Won has represented African 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 has also counseled companies in private equity ventures, contract negotiations, and dispute resolution.

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

won@algllp.law