BACKSami was admitted to the Beirut Bar Association in 1981 and is licensed as legal consultant by the Dubai Legal Affairs Department.
He has held his own practice in Lebanon under Touma Law Firm since 1994, providing a variety of public and private law-related advice in Arabic, English and French to a number of Middle Eastern and international clients, typically with a multinational and multijurisdictional dimension. His passionate, entrepreneurial drive pushed him to move the border of his legal practice to the Gulf Region and Europe, first in 2009 to Dubai, United Arab Emirates where he co-founded MEG Legal Services, and then in 2014 when he co-founded “EPTALEX” International Law Firm of which MEG Legal Services became a member firm. Thereon, he co-founded in 2022 Eptalex Law Firm LLP in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, United Arab Emirates, and in 2023 as member of the Eptalex Swiss Verein.
His expertise is focused in the areas of regional and local business law, communications, media and intellectual property. In particular, this experience has covered a wide range of media-related matters, such as media policy formulation, drafting of related laws and regulations, venture development and establishment, negotiation and contract development.
An active player in developing media-related legislation and regulatory mechanisms in the Middle East, Sami has a broad overview of the media landscape in the MENA region and has been a pioneer in this area since 1985, acting as the legal counsel for the first non-governmental TV broadcaster in the region. He has an in-depth understanding of the day-to-day functioning of the media, advertising and entertainment industries, its major stakeholders, and the latest tendencies in the industry.
He has developed a variety of media-related draft laws in Lebanon, including the “TV and Radio Broadcasting”, “Creation of the Audiovisual Media Union”, and “Audiovisual Media and Elections” laws, and has decades of experience in the negotiation and implementation of agreements related to production, acquisition, distribution, exploitation, media representation, artist management, entertainment, music, artistic events, sports, advertising, and intellectual property.
He was also appointed to review and propose modifications to the different versions of the Lebanese Copyright Law, and participated in the assessment of the BOT mobile operator’s contracts with the Lebanese government, eventually serving on the ad hoc committee designated for recommending legal and regulatory reforms for the telecommunications sector in Lebanon.
Sami has also advised on a variety of laws for a range of governments including the set-up of Special Economic Zones, and understands the nuances involved behind the structuring of regulatory and governmental activities.
Notably, he teamed with Booz & Company (ME) Ltd and drafted the entire law concerning the implementation of the “Technology City-Technopolis” for the Syrian government in 2009, and assisted Booz Allen Hamilton throughout the 2010 “Suez Special Economic Zone” and 2004 “Aqaba Special Economic Zone” projects.
Sami was also involved in reviewing the legal framework for foreign investment in Cuba further to the adoption of the Cuban Law on Foreign Investment No. 118/2014, including supervising the preparation of the Arabic version of several laws, decrees and regulations relevant to FDI in Cuba.
Sami is currently a member of the “ALAI” (Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale) and has intervened as lecturer in numerous conferences, seminars and events organized by academic and public bodies, including:
- World International Property Organization (WIPO).
- The Annenberg School for Communications & Markle Foundation.
- UNESCO and IRAQI Communication and Media Commission.
- The Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum.
- The Cuban Lebanese Economic Forum.
- The Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade.
- The Beirut Bar Association.