Case Study Snapshot
Role: Head of Legal
Sector: Fresh Produce / US Multinational
Geography: Egypt
Search Type: Retained, Confidential
Key Challenge: Identifying a hands-on legal builder with Egyptian market depth and US compliance exposure, in a talent pool where the two rarely overlap
Outcome: Offer accepted within approximately six weeks of outreach launch
A US Multinational Scaling in Egypt, With No Legal Function in Place
The client was a US-owned business scaling its operations in Egypt — a market with its own distinct regulatory environment, government relations culture, and commercial rhythm. There was no existing legal function in-country. No frameworks, no processes, no institutional knowledge on the ground. The incoming hire would need to create all of that, while simultaneously keeping pace with a business that wasn't slowing down to wait.
The timing created its own pressure. The pace of expansion heightened the need for immediate legal structure and compliance oversight. The longer the role sat vacant, the greater the exposure across contracts, employment arrangements, real estate, government interfaces. These things don't pause while a search runs.
For a US-owned organisation operating to US compliance standards, FCPA compliance isn't optional. It's a baseline expectation that runs through every commercial interaction. Finding someone who understood both the letter of that requirement and how to apply it practically in an Egyptian operating environment was the central challenge of this search.
The Client Needed a Builder, Not a Custodian
The client needed an Egyptian-qualified lawyer with at least seven years of relevant experience, ideally gained within multinational or US-owned organisations. The technical scope was broad — contracts, employment law, real estate, litigation, government relations — but the compliance thread running through all of it was non-negotiable. Anti-corruption and FCPA exposure were requirements, not preferences.
Perhaps more telling than the technical criteria was what the client said about the type of person they needed. They weren't looking for someone who had managed legal risk from a distance, or who had built a career in advisory or outsourced roles. They needed a builder. Someone comfortable with ambiguity, willing to be operational, and capable of creating structure in an environment that didn't yet have any.
The client was open on seniority level, which was a pragmatic position given the market. What they were not open on was the hands-on requirement. A highly credentialed candidate who expected to manage up rather than execute would not be the right fit, regardless of profile strength. Fluency in Arabic and English was assumed.
The Right Profile Existed — Just Not in Abundance
Egypt has a legal talent market, but it's not deep at the intersection this role required. There are experienced Egyptian lawyers. There are lawyers with MENA regional exposure. There are lawyers who have worked within large organisations. But the Venn diagram of Egyptian-specific legal depth, multinational compliance experience, genuine FCPA familiarity, and an entrepreneurial, hands-on operator willing to build rather than inherit. That intersection is far smaller than it appears on paper.
Several of the more senior profiles that emerged early in the process raised a familiar question: were they operationally ready for this kind of role, or had their careers moved them too far toward oversight and delegation? Seniority often comes with a certain distance from the day-to-day, and this role required the opposite.
The market also showed patterns of frequent job movement, which in another context might prompt caution. Here, the client took a considered position — movement alone wasn't disqualifying, provided the candidate could articulate their rationale clearly. That flexibility was important. It opened up the addressable pool without abandoning rigour.
How the Search Was Structured and Why It Moved Quickly
The briefing focused not just on technical requirements, but on what “start-up” meant in practice for this role. Understanding what the first six months would look like and where structure was needed shaped how the team approached candidate qualification from the outset.
Talent mapping ran across a deliberately broad cross-section: food and beverage, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and multinational businesses with Egyptian operations. The thinking was straightforward: the compliance exposure and builder mentality the client needed were not confined to one sector. A lawyer who had navigated a complex regulatory environment in pharmaceuticals, for instance, might carry exactly the right muscle memory.
Outreach was conducted through a targeted LinkedIn campaign, with all positioning handled confidentially. Within the first phase, 30 qualified profiles had been identified and mapped. Eight candidates expressed interest within the first two weeks.
Weekly steering meetings kept the client close to the process, which proved useful when early candidate responses prompted a recalibration on seniority. Rather than moving in one direction, the team intentionally held benchmark candidates in process — partly to maintain decision quality, partly to preserve some negotiation leverage as the shortlist formed.
Competency interviews were structured to probe four specific areas: experience building legal frameworks, navigation of Egyptian regulatory and government environments, practical FCPA and compliance exposure, and the ability to operate with limited structure and support. The last of those is harder to assess than the others, and perhaps the most important.
Offer Accepted in Six Weeks, With Scope Expanding Beyond the Original Brief
Two candidates were shortlisted by 30 October and progressed to first-stage interviews on 6 and 7 November. One candidate emerged as the clear preferred option — viewed by the client as having the right combination of legal operations capability, compliance depth, and cultural fit for the environment they were building.
An offer was accepted on 24 November, approximately six weeks after outreach launched on 14 October.
Notably, the client's view of the role evolved through the process. By the time an offer was made, discussions had extended to potential future regional responsibility — a signal, perhaps, that the hire had landed with more confidence than the original brief had anticipated.
What This Hire Reflects About Legal Talent in High-Growth Emerging Markets
This search highlights something many growth-stage businesses are now facing. As US-linked businesses continue to expand into markets like Egypt, the demand for lawyers who can hold local regulatory knowledge and international compliance standards simultaneously is growing. The supply of lawyers who combine both remains limited.
What this search also illustrates is the gap between advisory legal experience and operational legal capability. These are different skills, and the market doesn't always price or surface that distinction clearly. Candidates who have spent careers in counsel or outsourced roles are not automatically equipped for the kind of foundational build this client required. Identifying that difference early — and being honest with the client about where profiles sat on that spectrum — was probably as important as the outreach itself.
The search concluded with an accepted offer approximately six weeks after outreach launch. The outcome reflected a precise brief, consistent calibration, and disciplined process management throughout.
