“…cultivate authenticity, build a solid reputation for integrity, embrace continuous learning…”- Mohamed Abayazid
Mohamed Abayazid is a distinguished lawyer and founding partner of the multidisciplinary law firm, Abayazid and Abdourahman (CAA Law Firm) in Djibouti. He has nurtured his vocation at the intersection of academic rigour and in-depth analysis of business and international law, finding lasting fulfillment in the strategic support of investments and legal development. Admitted to the Djibouti Bar in 2011, he was appointed in the first quarter of 2026 as an Arbitrator with the Shanghai International Economic and Commercial Arbitration Commission (SHIAC), for a term running from 1st May, 2026, to 30th April, 2031. He holds a Master II degree in Business Law and is a doctoral candidate in private international law at the Faculty of Law of Poitiers, France.
Before becoming a lawyer, he was a lecturer and researcher in Fundamental Private Law at the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Management of the University of Djibouti. This academic experience makes him an exceptional practitioner. He has developed a strong interest in the conceptualisation and communication of legal norms. His advanced training has instilled in him a deep understanding of the complexities of contracts and legal techniques. His involvement in diverse sectors (infrastructure, energy, maritime law, alternative dispute resolution, and public investment) fosters an intellectually demanding practice. He contributes to improving the business climate and participates in reforms and litigation at the pan-African and international levels, making his legal practice concrete and dynamic.
He assists public companies and foreign investors in the design, negotiation, and implementation of infrastructure investment projects. He also advises development partners and the Djiboutian government on political and legislative reforms, particularly in lobbying and drafting. He supervises the firm’s staff and interns. Mohamed Abayazid also lectured on ethics and legal practices at the Institute of Judicial Studies in Djibouti. His academic research focuses on the Djiboutian legal system: private law, current state and future prospects; the globalisation of legal practices in the Horn of Africa (competition between major legal systems); and the rights and practices of alternative dispute resolution methods, particularly in Djibouti and Africa in general (mediation, arbitration) . He dedicates his free time to social and charitable projects.
Mohamed Abayazid, a leading figure in Djibouti’s legal landscape, was honored at the 5th LexTalk World – Global Legal & IP conference, held in New Delhi, India, in March 2024. This event, which brought together more than 1,500 legal experts, recognised the Djiboutian lawyer’s contributions to the field.
Selected from among a group of one hundred eminent lawyers from around the world, this prodigious lawyer, originally from the White City of Tadjourah, was awarded the prestigious LexFalcon Global Award for his contribution to the legal profession. He was the winner in the category of Best Independent Lawyer of the Year (Corporate/Commercial, Infrastructure/Litigation).
1. What sparked Mohamed’s passion for the legal profession, and what continues to make practicing law a deeply rewarding activity for him?
Mohamed Abayazid’s story is, by his own admission, one of fortunate chance rather than boundless ambition. After secondary school, his future was far from certain. Accounting and management appealed to him, a subject in which he excelled; his parents had sent him to Poitiers, France, after his baccalaureate to attend a business school. Arriving by plane in Paris around 5:00 a.m., he took the train to Poitiers to participate in the entrance exams for the business school that same morning. Arriving a few minutes late, he was turned away at the entrance to the exam room. So, to avoid wasting a year, he decided to enroll in the first year of the Faculty of Law at the University of Poitiers. It was fate, as much as a deliberate choice, that led him to the Faculty of Law. It was this last-minute change of academic path that brought him to the law lecture halls. He was very shy and had a phobia of speaking in public.
After obtaining his Master’s degree in fundamental private law, he decided to return to Djibouti and, like his father, chose a career in teaching. He applied to the University of Djibouti for a position as a lecturer and researcher in private law. This profession certainly offered a young professional like Mohamed Abayazid intellectual freedom, job security, and financial stability. After a year, Mohamed Abayazid felt that this profession was insufficient to fully utilise his legal knowledge and decided to pursue a career as a lawyer, in order to move from academic theory to the practical realities of the courtroom.
What began as a chance encounter blossomed into a vocation driven by a clear purpose. For Mohamed, lasting fulfillment in the practice of law stems from the pleasure of solving problems in a context that demands creativity and ingenuity. Practicing law in Djibouti, a developing country with complex socio-economic realities, means that conventional solutions are rarely sufficient. This work requires the ability to approach problems from a different perspective and to devise solutions that are legally sound, innovative, and practically applicable.
Mohamed Abayazid chose the legal profession to give concrete effect to his theoretical expertise, to transmit his knowledge in a practical setting, to take on new and stimulating challenges and to strengthen local and regional skills through professional networking.
What continues to make practicing law profoundly enriching for Mohamed is the satisfaction of helping, defending, and overcoming challenges. Each case presents its own unique challenges and lessons, making the work both stimulating and rewarding.
In practicing law, Mohamed’s goal is to inspire, influence, and make an impact. He inspires by sharing his academic and pedagogical knowledge of the law, which empowers the public; he influences by defending his clients’ interests with dedication and integrity; and he makes an impact by contributing to the development of law in Djibouti and by passing on a sense of professional commitment and intellectual rigor to the next generation of legal professionals. This, for him, is one of the most significant aspects of the legal profession, and more specifically, that of a lawyer.
For Mohamed Abayazid, the legal profession goes beyond simply being a legal profession. It is an essential bridge between a society and the globalised world.
2. In Mohamed’s opinion, what qualities define a truly exceptional lawyer in today’s world?
In today’s dynamic and ever-evolving legal world, a truly exceptional lawyer is distinguished by their versatility, adaptability, and continuous commitment to developing strategic and practical skills. The modern lawyer can no longer be satisfied with mere technical legal knowledge.
In Mohamed’s view, the legal profession should be considered a lifelong learning process, demanding curiosity, passion, and constant skill development. In a constantly evolving world, any lawyer who fails to adapt risks becoming trapped by outdated methods and traditional thinking.
For Mohamed, in the face of the rapid advances in artificial intelligence and digital technologies, an exceptional lawyer is one who learns to master these tools, rather than fear them. The adoption of modern technologies and artificial intelligence has become essential. He sees immense potential in using these tools to improve legal research, streamline law firm management, and strengthen decision-making, while ensuring that the lawyer’s role in critical thinking, creativity, and ethical judgment remains irreplaceable.
Similarly, it is essential that young professionals prioritise and develop professional networking. Networking at the local or continental level will allow lawyers to share knowledge, exchange information and best practices, develop their skills through contact with lawyers and professionals from other African countries, and, if they wish, establish enhanced cooperation with other members of their sub-region, etc. The most successful lawyers are those who remain curious, well-informed, humble, and determined to advance through professional networking.
In summary, an exceptional lawyer today is not just a legal expert, but a well-rounded professional who values networking, is comfortable with technology, possesses high emotional intelligence, a keen business sense, and impeccable ethics. For young lawyers, developing these qualities early in their careers is essential for building a long, fulfilling, and meaningful future.
3. What is the next innovative project or initiative that Mohamed is working on or will be working on, and what impact is he hoping it will have?
For over ten years, Mohamed Abayazid has been working on a professional networking project that brings together business law firms in the Horn of Africa region (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Somalia) through a digital platform. This platform allows them to pool their technical and human resources to strengthen and develop the competitiveness of their respective firms in various areas of law through a collaborative and interactive environment. The platform will enable member lawyers to share legal information, best practices, and case law, and to develop and harmonise techniques, contractual practices, negotiation methods, management approaches, and more. The platform aims to become a modern and innovative tool that will allow member law firms to improve their strategic and professional competitiveness.
4. Which legal minds and books have shaped or is shaping Mohamed’s thoughts and perspectives?
Mohamed Abayazid’s career has been marked by the influence of two eminent jurists and thinkers – Jean Carbonnier and René David – these two giants of Francophone law who profoundly shaped modern legal culture by bringing openness to it: one towards the humanities, the other towards the rest of the world.
Jean Carbonnier and René David occupy a special place in his professional development as theorists who, through their rigour, their thought, and their demonstration of what principled legal practice looks like, provide an early and enduring model to aspire to.
Mohamed Abayazid also speaks with evident admiration of the tenacity and talent of these eminent jurists, specifying that Carbonnier teaches lawyers to listen to the human element behind the case and to plead by understanding the social context of a dispute, while David provides the keys to navigating a globalised world where a contract or a dispute almost always transcends the borders of a single state. Furthermore, he has a particular respect for Eric Savaux – his professor of Civil Law – Special Contracts at the University of Poitiers, whose rare ability to foster genuine critical thinking is an intellectual quality that Mohamed considers one of the most valuable assets a law professor can offer.
His intellectual development has also been profoundly shaped by works on treatises in civil law, private international law, and criminal law. For Mohamed, reading is not simply an academic exercise; it is a means of continuous reflection, personal growth, and the renewal of his aspirations. The ideas he explores through literature continue to influence his legal practice, his advocacy, and his leadership.
5. What advice or guiding principles would Mohamed’s give to young legal professionals and lawyers seeking to establish themselves in the legal field?
For Mohamed Abayazid, every young lawyer must understand that success in the legal field is not achieved overnight. To find their place and purpose in the legal landscape, a young lawyer must cultivate authenticity, build a solid reputation for integrity, embrace continuous learning, and align their practice with their personal values to avoid burnout.
He encourages young professionals to never stop learning, to broaden their reading beyond law, and to study philosophy, economics, and history, as these disciplines sharpen a lawyer’s reasoning and broaden their horizons. He also advises them to adopt modern technologies and tools, which are transforming the delivery of legal services.
However, he emphasises that values remain at the heart of the profession. A brilliant lawyer, lacking ethics, will never earn true respect. This is why he urges the new generation to reconcile knowledge and integrity, ambition and humility, innovation and respect for the noble spirit of the law. For Mohamed, the ultimate goal of any lawyer should not be limited to winning cases, but to upholding justice and having a positive and lasting impact on society. Through his work and vision, Mohamed continues to bridge the gap between law, business, and social engagement, inspiring a generation of lawyers to believe that justice, when guided by integrity and knowledge, can truly shape a society.
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