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Dr. Wael Ghozlany took a well deserved coffee break at his busy Law office here in Hurghada, which gave the Red Sea Bulletin the rare opportunity to chat with him and find out a little bit more about his life, business and career.

 

Can you tell us a little but about yourself and your career?

I was born in 1963 in Cairo, Egypt where I grew up.  Finally graduating at the age of 23 from the faculty of law Cairo, in 1985.  I then decided to move to Germany in 1989 where I met my wife and started a family while building up my life and professional existence.  I continued my Law studies in Germany finally graduating from the faculty of Law, Fribourg in 1993.  I was also honoured to receive the title of Lawyer with the authorization of the high federal court of justice – Egypt since 1988, and received admittance as a lawyer in Europe as well as in the Arab League in Cairo, member of the Arab Lawyer’s Association, member of the International Mediation centre (Cairo-London) and a member of the German-Arab Society, Berlin.

 
 

What made you decide to return to Egypt?

Early in 2006 I followed an invitation that I had received and travelled to Egypt to start a new job as a commercial lawyer and legal consultant on behalf of the Trans Maritime sector Egypt, this was in connection with the new port being constructed in Port Said.  I was also heavily involved with the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the federal state Baden-Wuertemberg and the federal state bank Baden-Wuertemberg I went to Egypt to increase the interest for foreign investors for projects in Egypt. In the first half of the year 2006 I took, at the request of the German Embassy Cairo – which was represented by Mr. Reinhard Ludwig, the task as a Lawyer of confidence for the German Embassy Cairo and this meant that my work as a commercial lawyer was placed on the back burner.

 
 

Where did you open your first Law office and why?

I had noticed that there was a lack of information available for German Nationals and the amount of disputes, misunderstandings and cases of fraud were increasing this lead me to believe that there was a real need for specialised lawyers.  So in 2006 I opened my first office in Cairo.  Only a few weeks later Mr. Ludwig asked me to expand my consultation activities to the touristic area of Hurghada, Red Sea, for 2-3 days per week, this was due again to the fact that there had been an increase in law cases and insufficient legal advice available.

 
 

What do you feel have been your major achievements here in Hurghada?

I received an invitation from the German Embassy in Cairo to meet the German Vice-Consul at his office in September 2006 and starting that very month I was appointed as the lawyer of confidence, also representing the Hurghada and Red Sea area with an office inside the German Honorary Consulate. In April 2007 I decide to open my own lawyer’s office at my current address in El Hadaba.

 

Which fields of the law do you specialise in and which do you find the most interesting?

Since the opening of the two offices I have worked on a lot of law cases predominantly in the field of law of contract (marriage contract, sales contracts etc), founding of  companies including tax accountancy, legal real estate as well as cases of fraud.  Furthermore I have given legal advice in the field of mediation, cases of civil and family law and I have undertaken requests and information with regards to Visa and work permissions.  I would have to say that I find all types of mediation interesting, but especially on a case by case basis.

 

 

Red Sea Bulletin would like to thank Dr Wael Ghozlany for his time and contribution to this article.