For over forty years, Howard L. Stovall has been assisting multinational companies on commercial law matters throughout the Arab Middle East. Formerly a partner in a large international law firm, Mr. Stovall established his own (solo) law office in Chicago, effective October 1996.

 

Mr. Stovall has also served as an expert on Arab commercial law, providing advice for court proceedings in Florida, Virginia and Washington, D.C. (federal district and appellate), in Brussels, in Amsterdam, as well as in International Chamber of Commerce and American Arbitration Association arbitration proceedings.


From his Chicago office, Mr. Stovall maintains a library of laws (in Arabic original and/or English translation) and precedents, as well as a close network of local correspondent counsel for the following countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen.

 

Mr. Stovall advises on Arab matters such as (i) companies and investment laws, and licensing; (ii) trade laws (including commercial agency, distributorship, customs duties, export/import); (iii) government contracts for goods and projects (including joint venture arrangements and the use of intermediaries); (iv) local laws and practices relevant to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (bribery laws, penal codes, civil service laws); (v) income tax and exchange control laws and regulations; (vi) labor laws, employment agreements and "seconding" arrangements; and (vii) laws and regulations relevant to commercial disputes (both litigation and arbitration).


As an adjunct professor at John Marshall Law School (Chicago), Mr. Stovall taught courses on Comparative Commercial Law of the Arab Middle East. He was also co-editor of a book published by the American Bar Association, Arab Commercial Law: Principles and Perspectives (2002).


Mr. Stovall graduated from Albion College (Michigan), and then spent two years drilling water wells in North Yemen for the Ministry of Public Works (under a Peace Corps program). He studied Arabic language at the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, and obtained his law degree in 1981 from the University of Texas (Austin). Mr. Stovall spent two years in the Cairo office, and one year in the London office, of Baker McKenzie law firm, and he has traveled throughout the Arab Middle East.