Islamic Law / Sharia Law Expert
Abed Awad has native fluency in Arabic and is an international expert in Islamic law and the laws of the Muslim countries. He is regularly called upon to testify, write expert reports and consults concerning the interpretation and application of Shari'a (Islamic law) and the law of Muslim countries. Awad has testified, consulted and provided expert reports for courts and attorneys throughout the United States, Canada and England concerning the interpretation and application of: Islamic Islamic law, Islamic family law, Islamic inheritance law, Islamic commercial law, Egyptian law, Syrian law, Qatar law, Kuwaiti law, United Arab Emirates law (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al-Khimah), Palestinian law, Jordanian law, Lebanese law, Djibouti law, Saudi Arabian law, Omani law, Moroccan law, Iraqi law, Iranian law, Libyan law, Singaporean law, Pakistani law, Mali law, Indonesian law, Gambian law, Bangladesh law, Ja'fari (Shia), Jewish law (Morocco and Egypt), and Canon law (Coptic Orthodox, Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Protestant).
Awad combines his academic knowledge of shari'a (Islamic law) and the laws of Muslim countries with seasoned practical litigation acumen and strategy to provide his clients with added value and a decisive edge. Abed Awad is the CEO and Founder of Shariawiz, an award-winning Islamic estate planning platform.
TV & Media Commentator
A frequent public speaker at bar associations, universities, conventions and political events, lecturing on subjects ranging from law, politics, gender, Islamic law, religion and culture internationally, with over 200 television and radio appearances. Awad is a regular contributor to many media outlets including PBS, ABC, CNN, Huffington Post Live, Aljazeera, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CNNfn, BBC World Service Radio, BBC World Service Arabic Television, ART, NPR, LBC, Al- Rafidain TV, Al-Qataria, Al-Saah TV, Fox, Al-Arabia, Channel 4 (England), Shams Radio, Vatican-Arabic Radio, Monte Carlo Radio, and The Voice of Arabs Radio (Cairo). Awad is consulted and quoted regularly in numerous media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, CNN.com, Fox.com, Salon.com, Fort Worth Star- Telegram, American Prospect, Star Ledger, Herald News, Bergen Record, Village Voice, New Jersey Law Journal, Chicago Lawyer, ABA Law Student Magazine, Hollywood Reports, Variety, and Screen International and ABA Journal.
New Jersey/New York Lawyer
Abed Awad has been a practicing law for more than twenty years. He is admitted to the New Jersey State Courts, New Jersey Federal Court and Third Circuit and New York State Courts and New York Federal Courts in the Southern and Eastern Districts. A partner at Awad & Khoury, his practice areas include complex civil and family law litigation cases with international or multi-jurisdictional components; Islamic law, including Islamic Prenuptial Agreements, estate planning, including Islamic Wills and Islamic Trusts; commercial litigation; and business and legal advice to foreign and domestic investors in the United States. Abed Awad is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbel and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers.
In 2002, Awad was selected as one of ten “Lawyers of the Year” by the Lawyers Weekly (USA) for his groundbreaking decision enforcing the mahr provision in a Muslim Marriage Contract. Awad has been the recipient of numerous awards, most notably the Community Activism Award, Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) (2007); the Vision & Achievement Award, Mental Health Association in Passaic County (2010); Avenue Magazine's Legal Elite (2010), and Corporate International's Islamic Law Firm of the Year (2017), Scholar of the Year, New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association (2018), Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, Unchained (2018) among others.
Awad earned a juris doctorate from Pace Law School and an MA in Islamic Studies from the University of London (School of Oriental & African Studies) with a focus on al-Muʻtazilah's methodology to authenticate hadith. Prior to entering private practice, Awad clerked for Hon. George E. Sabbath, NJ Superior Court.
Law Professor
Awad was an adjunct law professor at Rutgers Law School, Newark (2003-2020) and has taught at Pace Law School and Seton Hall Law School. Courses taught include Matrimonial Litigation, Islamic Banking & Finance, and Islamic Jurisprudence. Awad was also a contributor and U.S. Editor for Harvard Law School's Islamic Legal Studies Program ShariaSource portal (2016-2019).
Awad has published extensively in various publications, among them The Star Ledger, Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women, New Jersey Law Journal, ShariaSource.blog, CNN.com, National Law Journal, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, Daily Journal (California), The Nation and the Bergen Record. Awad is a regular continuing legal education lecturer nationally, a public speaker at bar associations, universities and conferences.