Trad was born to an Eastern Orthodox family in Beirut and received a law degree from the University of Paris.

This petition so angered Ottoman military governor Djemal Pasha against Lebanese in general and Christians in particular, that he asked the War Council in Aley for the execution of the six signatories.

His law firm attained fame throughout the region, partly because he would defend the poor, who could not afford his fees.

[3] Trad could not stay neutral in the fierce political feud between the staunchly pro-French Émile Eddé and the independentist Bechara El Khoury.

In fact, Trad believed that both El Khoury and Eddé were incapable of winning the presidency and he promoted himself as a consensus candidate.