Experience & Expertise

Competition & Antitrust

We cover all areas of antitrust and competition law including enforcement and litigation: intellectual property; antitrust disputes including private damages, commercial disputes and judicial reviews; cartels; compliance and counselling; merger control; public procurement and competitive tendering; sector regulation, abuse of dominance/monopolisation and market investigations.

Banking and Finance

We are increasingly active in multi-jurisdictional banking and financial institutions’ litigation. We act not only for banks but also building societies, leasing companies and financial boutiques as well as for a wide range of corporate clients.

Expeditious recovery of debt remains our focus. Empirical analysis suggests that the banking team at the set has, in almost all cases precipitated an early recovery through court or has otherwise been successful in constructing an out of court settlement.

We are actively involved in the drafting of complex financing and banking agreements of all sorts such as Syndicate Financing Agreements and Joint Venture Agreements. Our prowess encompasses the full continuum of financial products including syndicated lending and leveraged and acquisition finance, asset finance, derivative products, project finance, insolvency, restructuring and structured finance.

Constitutional Law & Dispute Resolution

We have remained associated with and handled very significant and high-profile constitutional cases relating, amongst others, to the dismissal of the Federal Government headed by Mr. Mian Nawaz Sharif before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan; the dissolution of the Punjab Provincial Assembly [challenged by Mr. Ch. Pervaiz Elahi] and the case of Pir Sabir Shah [Ex-Chief Minister NWFP] before the Election Commission of Pakistan, and later on before the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The set also successfully persuaded the Hon’ble Lahore High Court at Lahore in a constitutional petition filed on behalf of the Former Chief Technical Advisor, World Bank & United Nations Organization, regarding the construction of Kalabagh Dam.

Judicial review of public actions and the enforcement of public rights and remedies predominantly inform our expertise. We have advised and successfully represented various clients including state-owned entities before the Hon’ble High Court of Pakistan. In equal temper, we continue to handle a significant measure of civil litigation of all sorts, spanning from litigation pertaining to immovable property and land disputes to claims for breach of contract and damages, and specific performance.

Tax

We have successfully represented and handled cases of the Beverage Industry, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and the All Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA).

Aviation Law

Air services largely operate within a framework of bilateral and multilateral agreements that determine the terms under which airlines can operate between countries. In affiliation with our offices in London and Istanbul, we have a fairly rich and rather indomitable experience in advising and representing national and international airlines on key commercial and international aviation law issues pertaining to procurement, risk allocation [liability, indemnity, warranties, etc.), airline conditions of carriage, and marketing and distribution. To the satisfaction of our clients, we have successfully drafted, reviewed and settled, complex contracts and agreements including, but not confined to, comprehensive air transport agreements (enveloping provisions to facilitate co-operation on aviation safety, security, air passenger rights and air traffic management as well as arrangements for investment in airlines), interline agreements, codeshare agreements, maintenance and catering agreements, jet fuel purchase agreements, ground handling agreements, dry, wet and damp lease agreements, charter agreements and blocked space agreements. Our advice, subject to all just and legal exceptions, has encompassed all broad-spectrum commercial, competition and regulatory compliance aspects, with an insight on recent legal developments in the aviation industry.

International Law & Arbitration

We have acted for clients on all sides of the table, representing majority and minority shareholders in joint venture disputes, multinational corporations, medium-sized companies, Independent Power Producers [IPPs] and various state-owned entities and corporations before the London Court of International Arbitration [LCIA], the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes [ICSID], and the International Court of Justice [ICJ].

Labour, Service & Employment

We have successfully represented and handled cases of the Beverage Industry, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and the All Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA).

Power, Energy & Natural Resources:

Our prowess envelops matters such as Fuel Purchase Agreements, Concession Agreements, Power Purchase Agreements, and Gas Supply and Tariff Agreements. We have advised and successfully represented state-owned gas transmission companies, major oil producing and harvesting companies and refineries and the compressed natural gas sector on various contentious issues including the abridgment of the price-differential or parity between the prices of compressed natural gas and petroleum, and the imposition of the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) in view of the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline.

We are advising, on an ongoing basis, various Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Small Power Producers (SPPs) and have thus far successfully represented them on considerably complex legal issues.