Law Offices of Sonya Shaykhoun, Esq.

An award-winning internationally trained New York attorney with a Middle East focus

A NYC law firm - law with a global reach

“The Law is reason unaffected by desire.”

~Aristotle

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About

Who is Sonya Shaykhoun, Esq?

When seeking out a cutting-edge counsel capable of handling high-value contracts in technology, media, and telecommunications, look no further than the Law Offices of Sonya Shaykhoun, Esq. Within her Manhattan-based solo practice, the New York City native is also highly adept at doing business in the Middle East, after having spent nearly thirty years living, studying, and working abroad in Italy, Scotland, England, Egypt, Bahrain and Qatar.

Shaykhoun’s 18+ years of international legal experience has her offering world class services to a global clientele. Also fluent in Arabic, she is a shining example of female achievement within a hyphenated ethnic world.  Her “aha moment” came when she read an article in Cosmopolitan about an Anglo-Arab woman who studied Arabic at university. This led her to pursue a BA in Arabic and Law, which included one year studying Arabic at Alexandria, Egypt, in addition to having studied at the University of London. Read full bio.

Case Studies

Throughout her more than 17-year-long award-winning legal career, Sonya has handled a wide variety of high value contracts in the Middle East and globally. Highlights include:

Project managed Orbit’s cutting edge, multi-million dollar new broadcast center in Manama partnering with SONY Middle East

Seconded to Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain while at Charles Russell LLP (as it was then known), for six months stints each

Provided dedicated legal consultancy to MyHD, a satellite HD platform operating out of Dubai

A founding member of Qatar Airways’ first Compliance Department

Closed a cutting-edge, multi-billion dollar agreement between Qatar Airways and Inmarsat for first WiFi connectivity agreement for two fleets of planes in record time

US$50 million dollar space capacity agreement with NileSat, the Egyptian satellite company

Litigated and won a case in Qatari civil court (in Arabic)

Project-managed Al Jazeera Media Network’s global network of bureaus, including opening bureaus and dissolution of bureaus

Handled a wide range of global IATA contracts for Qatar Airways and its subsidiaries, especially Qatar Airways Cargo

Handled a multi-billion dollar agreement between Qatar Airways and Spanish facilities management company for Hamad International Airport’s facilities management

Articles Published

From the BLOG

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Is admitted to the New York State Bar (2008)

Is a member of the NYC Affairs Committee of the NYC Bar Association

Holds an MA Honours Degree in English Language and Literature from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland (1995)

Holds a BA in Arabic and Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (2000)

Holds an LL.M. in Corporate & Commercial Law, from SOAS, University of London (2003)

Holds an LL.M. in Corruption, Law, and Governance from the University of Sussex and the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center (ROLACC) in Doha, Qatar (2018)

Core Values

Commercial savvy

Professionalism and accountability

Integrity, transparency, honesty, and ethics

Commitment to quality and delivering results

Building trust and relationships

Cultural sensitivity

Work ethic and relentless commitment to follow-through

Service-oriented and collaborative

Open communication

“COMMON SENSE OFTEN MAKES GOOD LAW.”

~WILLIAM ORVILLE DOUGLAS

Testimonials

I worked with Sonya in one of the largest Pay-TV companies in the Middle East region. As an executive in charge of sales and distribution, I needed the support of our legal department on a daily basis. I worked closely with Sonya on a wide range of different types of Agreements including Corporate Cooperation agreements with partners and commercial distribution Agreements with TV platforms. Sonya played a supporting and crucial role in negotiating, drafting and finalizing agreements on time every time.

~Ali Ajouz
CEO of SAWA Group of Companies

I met Sonya in 2004, when I was the CEO of Noorsat, a one-stop shop satellite company based in Bahrain and now owned by Eutelsat. Sonya was a Senior Legal Counsel for Noorsat’s sister company, Orbit Communications Company, and assisted me in developing and drafting Noorsat’s contracts. Sonya’s legal and people skills are excellent. Sonya demonstrated a solid grasp of satellites and the satellite business, a willingness to learn more, and an unparalleled level of dependability, integrity, and professionalism. I trusted Sonya with some of Noorsat’s most time-sensitive, valuable, and complex contracts during her time at Orbit, including the multi-million-dollar deal with NileSat, the Egyptian Satellite Company.

~Omar Shoter
CEO of Noorsat

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Services

  • Transactions: cross border, technology, media, satellites, telecommunications, and aviation
  • General corporate and commercial matters
  • Contract negotiation and drafting
  • High-value projects
  • Compliance projects
  • Outside General Counsel Services
  • Power connector and deal matchmaker.
  • Doing Business in the Middle East
  • Doing Business in New York
  • Fashion Law

Contact

By submitting this Contact Form, you are not creating an attorney/client relationship between you and Sonya Shaykhoun. Please be mindful about what information you share via this Contact Form. There is no attorney/client confidentiality between Sonya Shaykhoun and anyone using this Contact Form. Since the Internet is inherently insecure, Sonya Shaykhoun does not guarantee the cyber security in this Contact Form.

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