The company is expanding its property group in a bid to become a key player in…
The company is strengthening its property group in a bid to become a key player in the region’s legal market.
DNA has hired a real estate associate Youssef Benamar for its French-language offering in Africa, with the company announcing his arrival yesterday (March 21). He joins a new multidisciplinary practice and his arrival in the Casablanca office comes as the firm aims to build a leading real estate practice in the French-speaking African market.
Benamar specializes in advising domestic and international clients on real estate law across the spectrum of commercial, logistics, residential, hospitality and industrial. He has guided investors in the development of industrial projects in Morocco, with key clients including the aluminum alloy wheel manufacturer Hands Corporationtogether with Cantor Capital Group.
The incoming partner has also handled arbitration disputes in the real estate sector, mainly in the construction and promotion areas, and has provided expertise in legislative reform consultations at the Ministry of Industry and the Morocco Millennium Challenge Account for Morocco industrial zones.
Co-founder of ADNA Safia Fihri, who founded the firm in 2021 with three other lawyers, said in a statement: “Youssef brings extensive expertise in real estate law and a deep understanding of the real estate market. Our goal is to further expand our presence in French-speaking Africa to effectively respond to the needs of investors.”
The company said it intends for Benamar to work closely with the project team it leads as well Gita Benis and the arbitration panel led by Orphee Haddad, who was a speaker at Paris Arbitration Week on Wednesday (March 20). Fihri added: “The real estate sector is a key strategic focus at ADNA. The arrival of Youssef Benamar follows recent developments in our project/project finance and arbitration practices and is perfectly aligned with our desire to further develop our African practice and expertise across the continent.”
In additional legal moves in the French-speaking African market, Bennani & Associates joined the Lex Mundi network of independent law firms in October 2023 as a member firm for Morocco and Algeria.