Hoot Professionals

About Nicholas
Nicholas Kairis navigates the complex nexus of banking regulation, capital-markets innovation, and cross-border M&A. As a dual-qualified advocate fluent in Greek, English, German, and French, he provides strategic counsel to banks, sovereign investors, and fintech ventures on a wide spectrum of matters, from structured-note issuances to the architecture of tokenised-security platforms.
He heads the firm's Investments & Acquisitions Committee and serves as the legal director for the Nexum Foundation in Singapore, overseeing a utility-token ecosystem and a DeFi shipping-finance platform. His background includes roles as Chief Legal Officer of Mohammad Omar Bin Haider Holding and Head of Legal for Khamis Buamim Investments, granting him significant board-level insight into oil & gas, infrastructure, and Islamic finance deals across EMEA and Asia.
A former lecturer in maritime finance, Nicholas remains a sought-after speaker on critical emerging topics such as MiCAR, VARA regulations, and Basel-compliant crypto-securities.
Areas of Expertise
Banking & Capital Markets Regulation
Guiding financial institutions and investors through complex regulatory landscapes and innovative capital market structures.
Cross-Border M&A
Structuring and executing complex mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments across multiple jurisdictions.
Digital Assets & Tokenization
Advising on tokenised security platforms, on-chain custody, stablecoin settlement, and DeFi revenue-sharing models.
Fintech & Sovereign Advisory
Counseling fintech ventures and sovereign entities on structured finance, regulatory compliance, and investment strategies.
Career & Education
Senior Partner
Hoot Innovation Law Hub (Current)
Leads Financial Markets & Digital Assets practice; Head of Investments & Acquisitions Committee.
Legal Director
Nexum Foundation (Singapore - Current)
Overseeing utility-token ecosystem and DeFi shipping-finance platform.
Chief Legal Officer
Mohammad Omar Bin Haider Holding (Previous)
Gained board-level insight into major deals across EMEA and Asia.
Head of Legal
Khamis Buamim Investments (Previous)
Managed legal aspects of oil & gas, infrastructure, and Islamic finance deals.
LL.M. (Magister Legum) in International Arbitration
University of Heidelberg
EducationDiploma in Legal Studies
Democritus University of Thrace
EducationAdvocate Admissions
Greece & Germany
Professional StandingAdmitted to the Supreme Court of Greece and the Düsseldorf Bar (European Lawyer).
Notable Mandates
- US $260m takeover of Aafaq Islamic Finance.
- Facebook's 2Africa Option 25 subsea-cable SPV (US $126m).
- Equity stakes in Baltic International Bank SE involving on-chain custody & DeFi revenue sharing.
- Equity stakes in Union Bank AG involving stablecoin settlement mechanisms.
- Counsel on structured-note issuances and tokenised-security platforms.