1. Executive : You are the only Lebanese lawyer to hold both an LL.M. from Harvard and France’s “Agrégation.” What makes that academic path so distinctive—and so useful to Lebanon today?
Najib Hage-Chahine :
The agrégation is France’s most competitive national exam for university professors. A handful of candidates succeed biannually across all legal disciplines; passing it confers the highest academic rank in French faculties of law and a lifetime appointment. That rite of passage drilled into me the habit of dissecting legal problems comparatively—Roman-civil roots on one hand, common-law pragmatism on the other—while Harvard trained me to translate theory into cross-border deal architecture. That twin lens now shapes everything we do, from drafting GCC construction contracts that anticipate Paris enforcement, to proposing a unified Lebanese civil code that can speak fluently to both Francophone investors and Anglo-American funds.
2. Executive : Hage-Chahine Law Firm has morphed from a Beirut boutique into a Beirut-Dubai-Paris corridor—and recently Kuwait and Doha. What is driving that expansion?
Najib :
The region’s giga-projects are no longer litigated exclusively in London or Paris; boards want counsel who can sit with engineers in Riyadh at dawn, negotiate with French lenders at noon, and, if needed, appear before the Paris Court of Appeal the next morning. We therefore built a hub-and-spoke model: Beirut remains our R&D and cost-efficient drafting center; Dubai – where we operate in association with Habib Al Mulla & Partners– anchors GCC transactional work; Paris handles EU enforcement. Strategic memoranda with Al Sulaiti Law Firm in Doha and with Al Yaqout & Al Fouzan in Kuwait plug us straight into two of the most reform-minded jurisdictions in the Gulf. Clients get one integrated team and a single billing philosophy—fixed-fee or success-based—across five time-zones.
3. Executive : You have been named a “Business Titan,” a “MENA Super 50 Lawyer,” and “Lawyer of the Year by the Legal 500”. How do such accolades translate into value for clients?
Najib :
Awards matter only if they convert into leverage for the people we serve. When Gulf Entrepreneur listed me among its 2025 Business Titans and Thomson Reuters’ ALB put me in the MENA Super 50, it signaled that a Beirut-headquartered practice can export excellence rather than import it. That global visibility lets us negotiate tougher settlement terms—opponents know we can escalate to international tribunals—and it inspires junior associates in Lebanon who suddenly see Harvard, Paris 2, and billion-dollar arbitrations as attainable milestones, not distant dreams.
4. Executive : The inaugural Beirut Arbitration Days drew an eye-catching crowd. What was your original vision, and where is the event headed?
Najib :
We wanted to show that Beirut can host Paris-level arbitration debate at Middle-East prices and in three working languages. The debut in May 2025 brought in over 1,500 delegates from from 40 countries, 60 speakers, and 40 partner organizations.
The impact was swift and strategic. It repositioned Beirut as a serious regional arbitration hub, revived dialogue between our judiciary and arbitral specialists on court support for tribunals, and let international practitioners trade playbooks with Lebanese lawyers on energy and sovereign disputes. Just as important, it gave Lebanese law students their first close-up of arbitration in action, complete with mock cross-exams and mentoring clinics. On that momentum, Beirut Arbitration Days is set to become an annual fixture, with upcoming satellite sessions in other Levantine countries to cement Lebanon’s role as the Gulf’s legal bridge and brain-trust.
5. Executive : You have long championed a civil code that would sit beside Lebanon’s confessional personal-status laws. Why is that so crucial?
Najib :
A civil code is far more than paperwork for marriages—it is the connective tissue that lets a diverse society speak one legal language. In a single, intelligible volume it would gather rules on conflict of laws, succession, marriage and divorce, child custody, alimony, contracts, torts, property, sureties, and more. Mixed-faith couples could choose between their confessional rules and the civil code, ending the ritual of flying to Cyprus for a ceremony—or a separation—and wiping out the grey zones that follow foreign proceedings.
For business, the same text would offer clear, investor-friendly standards for contracts and property, sparing companies the need to decode scattered, aging statutes or contradictory jurisprudence. Recent reforms prove the payoff: Saudi Arabia’s 2023 Civil Transactions Law has drawn praise for giving foreign investors a predictable baseline, while France’s 2016 contract-law overhaul spurred new deal flow by letting parties price risk with confidence. A Lebanese civil code would bring the same dividend—lower transaction costs, faster dispute resolution, and a legal system global capital can read in one sitting.
Above all, a civil code would be a unifying instrument. Just as the French Civil Code under Napoleon welded together provinces with disparate customs, a Lebanese code would give citizens of every confession—or none—a shared reference for private rights and duties. It turns pluralism into choice rather than destiny, while signalling at home and abroad that Lebanese rule of law is both inclusive and commercially fit for the twenty-first century.
6. Executive : Judicial backlog and perceptions of influence plague Lebanon’s courts. Which reforms are, in your view, non-negotiable?
Najib :
Judicial renewal rests on six levers. First, insulate the bench from politics: a High Judicial Council—not ministers—should run appointments, promotions and discipline, with ring-fenced, indexed salaries so judges never need outside income. Lebanon ranks 108 out of 142 in the 2024 World Justice Project Rule-of-Law Index—behind every GCC state – and this ranking will not improve until courts can act without fear or favor. Second, enforce real accountability: expedited ethics panels must be able to suspend or remove judges for undue delay or bias, rewarding performance instead of connections. Third, streamline procedure: mandatory case-management conferences, fixed timelines and compulsory mediation windows can cut disposition times in half. Fourth, digitise end-to-end: secure e-filing, virtual hearings and open dockets—already flagged in the national Digital Transformation Strategy—will slash clerical delays and make justice reachable from Tripoli to Tyre. Fifth, enact a modern civil code: a single, secular text for contracts, torts, property and family matters would give mixed-faith couples an at-home option and offer investors a predictable legal framework. Finally, publish every final judgment and key performance metrics online within 30 days; transparency deters interference, builds precedent and shows taxpayers exactly where reform money lands.
7. Executive : Technology is changing law everywhere. What will e-courts mean for Lebanese citizens and businesses?
Najib :
Think of e-courts as an online portal for justice. Instead of carrying stacks of paper to Beirut, a contractor in Baalbek can upload a claim from his laptop, and a witness in Paris can testify by video call. Judges sign orders on screen, and lawyers focus on arguments rather than waiting in courthouse lines.
Putting cases online also helps fight corruption. Every filing gets a digital time-stamp, every payment goes through a traceable system, and every step in the case is stored in one place—so files can’t “disappear” and no one can charge a hidden fee to speed things up. With the help of simple AI tools that read thousands of pages in hours, cases move faster, cost less, and unfold in plain sight. In short, e-courts promise quicker, cheaper, and cleaner justice for everyone, from Tripoli to Tyre.
8. Executive : What is your broader vision for Lebanon’s legal ecosystem and its role in economic recovery?
Najib :
Legal certainty is venture capital’s favorite language. My horizon is a Lebanon where contracts are enforced, arbitral awards are paid without hesitancy, and the state acts as a facilitator, not an obstacle. Pair a unified civil code with fully digital courts and genuinely independent judges, and you create a rule-of-law dividend: lower risk premiums, cheaper capital, more jobs. The endgame is simple: unlock private-sector dynamism by letting justice flow at the speed of business.