Hdeel Abdelhady brings to the table a unique combination of legal technical skill and situational awareness. With cross-practice transactional, regulatory and disputes experience gained in the United States and augmented abroad, Hdeel lends distinctive value to clients with her ability to spot issues and connect dots across legal, commercial, territorial, and cultural lines.
Noted by clients and colleagues for her client commitment, Hdeel’s approach is to understand clients’ business and strategic needs, and engage meaningfully to ensure that she and her clients are working toward the same goals.
Prior to founding MassPoint, Hdeel was an associate with Fulbright & Jaworksi (now Norton Rose Fulbright) in Washington, D.C. and a senior associate with DLA Piper based in Dubai (with stints in Washington, D.C.). As a former large firm lawyer and in her independent practice, Hdeel has acted as lead transactional and regulatory counsel to U.S. and foreign banks, companies and non-profits. On their behalf, Hdeel has negotiated, drafted and concluded conventional and Islamic finance, corporate, and commercial transactions. Hdeel has advised U.S. and foreign banks, money services businesses, companies, and non-profits on sanctions, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and counter-terrorism financing matters, including providing client training and drafting compliance programs. In addition, Hdeel has represented U.S. and foreign companies in international treaty and commercial arbitration opposite sovereigns and private parties. Her matters have involved the United States, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Having handled transactions, compliance matters and disputes, Hdeel understands how transactions are put together, and why they fall apart. She is well-positioned to identify and address legal, commercial and political risk issues for clients entering or operating in foreign jurisdictions, including those in political transition or with rule of law deficiencies.
Hdeel earned her Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School, where she has since 2004 been a Professorial Lecturer in Law and teaches Transactional Islamic Law and a specialized American legal skills course for international graduate students from around the world. Hdeel’s experience teaching non-U.S. lawyers has deepened her ability to connect and work productively with non-U.S. entities and their personnel.
Hdeel has long served as a leader in the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law, and is currently a Senior Advisor to the ABA’s Middle East Committee, a member of the ABA ROLI Middle East Council, and the ABA’s Liaison to the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts.
Hdeel’s pro bono and civic engagements have included representing a Washington, D.C. church in securing a commercial mortgage of its building (that included a homeless shelter), serving on the Board of Directors of a DC-based international non-profit that advocates for women’s rights, and spearheading fundraising to finance a significant donation of legal books from Books for Africa to a library in North Africa.
“Hdeel Abdelhady’s standard of work and attention to detail are excellent, resulting in consistent output of very high quality.”
-Senior In-House Counsel, Global Bank
“Hdeel Abdelhady developed a good working relationship with the team in a short period of time which resulted in an open dialogue and free flow of ideas.”
-Senior In-House Counsel, Global Bank
“Hdeel Abdelhady displays an obvious affinity for her clients.”
-Senior In-House Counsel, Global Bank
Current Appointments
- Senior Advisor, Middle East Committee, American Bar Association Section of International Law
- Liaison to the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts, American Bar Association Section of International Law
- Liaison to The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), American Bar Association Section of International Law
- Board Member, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative Middle East and North Africa Council
- Professorial Lecturer in Law, The George Washington University Law School
Recent Honors
- MassPoint PLLC, Corporate Law Firm of the Year, USA 2017, Finance Monthly Global Awards
- Nominated, Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, 2017.
- Recognized for Corporate: M&A and Governance, Who’s Who Legal 2016 (client and peer research-based listing of world’s leading Mergers & Acquisitions and Governance lawyers).
Recently Concluded Appointments
- Liaison to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), American Bar Association Section of International Law
- Member, World Bank Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes Task Force
- Former Co-Chair, ABA Islamic Finance Committee; Former Vice-Chair, ABA Africa Committee
- District of Columbia
- Commonwealth of Virginia (associate status)
- State of Maryland
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
JD, The George Washington University Law School (2002)
Activities and Awards
- Member, Moot Court Executive Board
- Chairwoman, Van Vleck Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition
- “Best Overall Competitor” and “Best Oralist” awards, Van Vleck Constitutional Law Moot Court competition
- Class of 2002 Clinics Volunteer Service Award (Immigration Clinic)
- President, Street Law Student Association
- Law Clerk, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
- Judicial Intern, Superior Court of the District of Columbia
BA; Political Science, History (Middle East and Africa), University of Pittsburgh (1997)
- Hdeel Abdelhady was re-appointed a Senior Adviser to the American Bar Association Middle East Committee.
- Hdeel Abdelhady commented on reported banking transactions involving Michael Cohen, the “personal attorney” to the U.S. President, on The Beat With Ari Melber on MSNBC.
- Hdeel Abdelhady was quoted by the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists on the NYDFS’ enforcement action against Pakistan’s Habib Bank.
- Hdeel Abdelhady was appointed American Bar Association Section of International Law Liaison to the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts.
- Hdeel Abdelhady was quoted in Islamic Finance News (IFN) on the potential impact of the U.S. Election (2016) on Islamic finance and investment in the United States. IFN is the world’s leading provider of Islamic Finance news, November 2016.
- Who’s Who Legal recognized Hdeel Abdelhady for Corporate: M&A & Governance in 2016.
- Hdeel Abdelhady was re-appointed as the American Bar Association Section of International Law’s Liaison to UNCITRAL.
- Hdeel Abdelhady’s article in Ahram Online on changes to Egypt’s investment laws were mentioned in Weekend Reading: Investing in Egypt, Haunting 1967 Photos, and August in Turkey, Council on Foreign Relations, June 6, 2014.
- Hdeel Abdelhady was quoted on the Dubai Islamic Economy in Spark Your Legal Career With These In-Demand Jobs, U.S. News & World Report, March 12, 2014.
- Hdeel Abdelhady was quoted in Political divisions slow Islamic Finance in Egypt, Reuters, April 22, 2012.
- Hdeel Abdelhady was mentioned in Arab International Women’s Forum to host first US conference, Business Intelligence Middle East, June 22, 2008.
Representative Experience
- Lead counsel to mid-sized Gulf Cooperation Council-based bank in developing and drafting suite of standard leasing documentation and advising on related matters, such as legally efficacious and cost-effective forum selection provisions and practices to enhance admissibility of documentation, such as through dual language documentation and notarization (where appropriate).
- Lead counsel to Gulf Cooperation Council-based bank in drafting Islamic lease financing (ijarah) documentation.
- Provided market-entry and related transactional, compliance and risk management advice to a U.S. company entering the agriculture market in a West African jurisdiction, including on the legal and practical aspects of debt and equity financing; key differences between U.S. and relevant civil law issues, such as related to land rights and taking and perfecting security; and, country and asset-specific legal and political risk and mitigation measures.
- Lead counsel to lenders, borrowers and arrangers on bilateral, syndicated, multi-jurisdiction and single and multi-currency commercial financing transactions (conventional and Islamic), including commercial real estate refinancing, corporate family financing and refinancing, project financing and post-transaction step-in rights, equipment lease financing, real estate development financing, agricultural commodities financing, and import-export financing.
Advised U.S. and foreign banks, companies, sovereign-affiliated entities, money services business, and non-profit organizations on the mechanics of and compliance with U.S./OFAC sanctions programs, U.S. anti-money laundering laws and regulations, and the U.S Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and international anti-corruption standards. Work in this area has included providing advisory analyses, drafting and reviewing compliance programs, and providing compliance training. Relevant regulatory counseling and compliance experience contexts include:
- Pre-investment or joint venture counter-party, jurisdiction and commercial risk assessment, and
- Compliance in operating phases, both generally and in response to specific events,
- Drafting or review of counter-party contractual provisions on AML/CFT, sanctions, and/or AML obligations and compliance.
- Advised on obtaining (and maintaining) state money services business (money transmitter) licenses and related compliance with applicable FinCEN regulations and registration requirements, FTC Safeguards Rule, OFAC Sanctions, and other legal and practical matters, including drafting AML/CFT and OFAC Sanctions compliance policies for filing, preparing for pre-filing meetings with regulators where appropriate, and navigating the NMLS system (particularly in connection with filings that must be filed directly by principals/contain sensitive financial and other information).
- Represented and advised parties on de novo bank licensing at the federal and state levels in the United States (as commercial banks and trust companies) and practical steps pertaining to the development of business plans, preparing for pre-filing meetings with regulators, pre-filing self-vetting of control persons and proposed managers, and other steps designed to measure likelihood of success (and avoid surprises) and lesson time and resource expenditures as feasible.
- Legal counsel, as part of a multi-disciplinary consortium of advisors, to a UAE-based non-governmental organization backed by a regional government and a multilateral development bank, on the selection and establishment of an endowment vehicle and related issues of corporate governance and compliance with relevant regulations and standards, including those applicable to charitable fundraising and funds management, including anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism rules relevant to non-profit fundraising.
- Advised officials of an interim government of a North African country on investment climate stabilization measures, including integrity in investment administration and dispute avoidance; recovery of assets illicitly obtained by former government officials, particularly obtaining assistance in and from foreign jurisdictions; and, specific strategies for developing specific sectors and assets for economic development.
- Advised non-profit organizations on corporate governance requirements and best practices designed to enhance governance and effectiveness of boards of directors independently and vis-a-vis other leadership bodies, such as boards of advisors. Advice has included separating, where appropriate, board chair and executive leadership roles where appropriate; proactively tapping into relationship and other resources offered by boards of advisors and other non-profit bodies and drafting strategic plans.
- Developed, on behalf of a sovereign agency, an Islamic trust (waqf) based agricultural investment blueprint utilizing best practices in asset management and corporate governance and designed to bolster food security and create mutual value for investors, farmers, distributors and other parties in the food supply chain.
Publications/Speaking Engagements
- Guest, The Beat With Ari Melber, MSNBC (on reports of Michael Cohen banking transactions), May 2018.
- Speaker, Islamic Finance, Principles and Strategies, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass., March 2018.
- Speaker, Know Your Business Partners: A Must to Managing Money Laundering, Trade Sanctions, and Corruption Risks, ABA Business Law Section Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C., November 2017.
- Advisory Board Member and Speaker (Invited), IFN Islamic Finance Forum (USA), New York City, October 2017.
- Speaker, Planning for Market Uncertainty When Investing in or Managing Social Enterprises, Managing Local Issues in Emerging Markets, Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship, New York University School of Law, New York City, May 2017.
- Moderator and Program Chair, The Panama Papers, Lawyers’ Professional Ethics and Due Diligence Obligations, ABA International Section Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2017.
- Moderator and Program Chair, Iran After Partial Sanctions Relief and U.S. Elections: Legal, Risk, and Practical Issues for Business, MassPoint PLLC, ABA International Section and Bryan Cave LLP, Washington, D.C., November 2016.
- Speaker (invited), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Asia Pacific Incheon Spring Conferences, Incheon Korea, June 2015.
- Moderator and Program Chair, Managing Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Risk for Financial Institutions, Moderator and Program Chair, American Bar Assn and Arab Bankers Assn, New York City, May 2015.
- Speaker, The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods in Foreign Legal Systems, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)-Georgetown Law School, Washington, D.C., January 2015.
- Speaker, Investor-State Dispute Prevention: Pathways for Egypt, Presentation for the Egyptian Ministry of Justice and General Authority for Investment, International Finance Corporation, Washington, D.C.
- Speaker, Effective Insolvency Regimes for Islamic Finance, World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2012.
- U.S.-China Trade War on Three Fronts (Tariffs, Intellectual Property, Law), May 2018.
- ZTE and U.S. Law as Trade War Weapon, Law360/MassPoint PLLC, May 21, 2018.
- House Bill “Blocks Bailout” of ZTE After Export Ban, May 19, 2019.
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The Curious Case Of Trump Attorney’s Suspicious Activity Report, Law360, April 2017.
- From Anti-Money Laundering to Immigration Enforcement: Time to Reassess the Law Enforcement Role of Banks, Credit Unions and Other Financial Intermediaries, September 2017.
- Hdeel Abdelhady Discussed the NYDFS Habib Bank Enforcement Action, September 2017.
- FinCEN Expands Geographic Targeting Orders, August 2017.
- Congressional Hearing on Terrorism Finance Probes Bank Secrecy Act Data Processing Effectiveness, Lack of Beneficial Ownership Transparency, and Potential BSA and Patriot Act Amendments, April 2017.
- Nonfinancial Risk For Banks: Incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) to Identify and Manage Banks’ Legal, Commercial and Reputation Risk, April 2017.
- Senate Bill to Combat ISIS Targets “Jurisdictions of Terrorism Financing Concern,” March 2017.
- Trump’s Foreign Policy May Further Strain Foreign Correspondent Banking (Derisking), January 2017.
- Do U.S. Banking Regulators Like the NYDFS Have Authority to Enforce OFAC Sanctions?, July 2016.
- Panama Papers Renew Relevance of Proposed U.S. Beneficial Ownership Rule
- FIFA, the U.S. Financial System, and U.S. Jurisdiction Over Foreign Parties and Events
- MONEY IS NOT ENOUGH
Emerging Markets-Based Private and State-Owned Enterprises Need Entrepreneurial Governance to Advance Strategic Objectives - BNY Mellon to Pay $14.8 Million to Settle “Corrupt” Hiring Charges for Providing Internships to Sovereign Wealth Fund Officials’ Family Members
- United States Adds Russian Direct Investment Fund, Other Russian Financial Services Actors to Sectoral Sanctions List, August 2015. Certain Financing, Debt, and Equity Transactions Remain Prohibited; Action Relevant to U.S. Persons and Non-U.S. Persons (particularly Middle East- and Asia-based)
- A Great BRIC Wall? Emerging Trade and Finance Channels Led by Non-Western Nations Could Curtail the Global Reach of U.S. Law, June 2015.
- Proposed U.S. Rule Requires Banks to Collect Beneficial Ownership Information, November 2015.
- Cross-Compliance for Financial Institutions: the Anti-Corruption-AML Nexus, September 2014.
- Globalized Anti-Corruption Enforcement: Direct and Collateral Consequences for Private and State-Owned Enterprises (financial institutions focus), MassPoint Occasional Note, November 2013.
- Anti-Corruption Enforcement and State-Owned Enterprises: Understand Unique Risks and Incentivize Compliance
- Panama Papers Renew Relevance of Proposed U.S. Beneficial Ownership Rule
- FIFA, the U.S. Financial System, and U.S. Jurisdiction Over Foreign Parties and Events
- BNY Mellon to Pay $14.8 Million to Settle “Corrupt” Hiring Charges for Providing Internships to Sovereign Wealth Fund Officials’ Family Members
- Proposed U.S. Rule Requires Banks to Collect Beneficial Ownership Information, November 2015.
- Cross-Compliance for Financial Institutions: the Anti-Corruption-AML Nexus, September 2014.
- Globalized Anti-Corruption Enforcement: Direct and Collateral Consequences for Private and State-Owned Enterprises (financial institutions focus), MassPoint Occasional Note, November 2013.
- Global Magnitsky Sanctions “a Central Tool of U.S. Foreign Policy,” May 28, 2018.
- Some U.S. Individuals and Entities Have Direct Sanctions Exposure Under Global Magnitsky Sanctions, MassPoint Magnitsky Series, No. 5, April 10, 2018.
- Departing from Prevailing Legal Standards, United States Directly Sanctions Foreign Government Officials for Corruption, MassPoint Magnitsky Series, MassPoint Magnitsky Series, No. 4, April 6, 2018.
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How the Trump Administration Supercharged Global Magnitsky Corruption and Human Rights Sanctions, MassPoint Magnitsky Series, No. 3, April 3, 2018.
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From Sergei Magnitsky to Global Magnitsky: United States Asserts Universal Jurisdiction Over Corruption and Human Rights Abuses, MassPoint Magnitsky Series, No. 2, March 27, 2018.
- New U.S. Sanctions Are a Powerful Weapon Against Corruption and Human Rights Abuse Worldwide, MassPoint Magnitsky Series, No. 1, March 5, 2018.
- Foreign Investment in U.S. Agriculture Under Scrutiny: Raising National Security, Critical Infrastructure, and Key Resources Concerns, April 2016.
- MONEY IS NOT ENOUGH:Emerging Markets-Based Private and State-Owned Enterprises Need Entrepreneurial Governance to Advance Strategic Objectives(discussing the role of entrepreneurial governance for entities with direct or indirect interests in food, agriculture, and water assets or resources).
- FAO-OECD Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains: Considerations for Investors, Food-Agri Companies, and Finance Providers, February 2015.
- MassPoint View: Agriculture Investment Requires Multidimensional Approaches, February 2014.
- Investor-State Dispute Avoidance and Mitigation: Egypt Focus, February 2013.
- Go Global, Grow Local: Positioning the DC Metro Area to Tap the Global Aspiration Economy, The 2030 Group Blog, July 2012.
- Nile Water Dispute: Egypt-Ethiopia (radio segment), WVON Radio Chicago, August 2013.
- Global Rush for Agricultural Land: Risk and Reward (presentation), April 2013.
- Islamic Finance as a Mechanism for Bolstering Food Security in the Middle East: Food Security Waqf, Sustainable Development Law & Policy Journal, January 2013.
- Dana Gas Sukuk: Legal Silos and Potential Lessons for Deal Teams (Islamic and Conventional), June 2017.
- Parsing Dana Gas’ Statement that Sukuk is “Unlawful”: Shari’ah, UAE Law, and Factual Questions, June 2017.
- Dana Gas Declares its Own Sukuk “Unlawful”: Revisiting The Investment Dar Case and “Shari’ah Risk,” June 2017.
- Deposit insurance frameworks for Islamic banks: design and policy considerations, Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, 2015.
- Consumer-oriented insolvency risk allocation in Islamic retail profit sharing investment accounts, Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, 2014.
- Specialized Insolvency Regimes for Islamic Banks: Regulatory Prerogative and Process Design, World Bank Legal Review, Volume 5. 2013.
- Islamic Finance as a Mechanism for Bolstering Food Security in the Middle East: Food Security Waqf¸ Sustainable Development Law and Policy Journal (American Univ. Washington College of Law), 2013.
- The Front Office Generates Revenue, the Back Office Creates Value: Operational Excellence is the Key to Unlocking Long-Term Value in Islamic Finance, ABA-Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance (DIFC) joint White Paper (reprinted in Opalesque Islamic Finance Intelligence), 2010.
- Islamic Law in Secular Courts (Again): Teachable Moments from the Journey, International Law News, Fall 2009 (reprinted in Opalesque Islamic Finance Intelligence and ABA GP Solo Magazine), 2009.