Experience

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  BAT

  • United Kingdom
  • Tobacco Manufacturing
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Head of Legal

    • Mar 2024 - Present

  • Company Secretary

    • Aug 2022 - Present

  • Sr. Regulatory Affairs Manager

    • Aug 2023 - Mar 2024

  • Litigation & Marketing Counsel

    • Jan 2022 - Aug 2023

  • Compliance Manager

    • Jul 2020 - Jan 2022

    Anti-bribery & corruption Third party due diligence & risk assessmentSanctions complianceCompliance investigations Compliance TrainingsStandards of Business Conduct

• 

  METRO Pakistan (Pvt) Limited

  • Lahore, Pakistan

  • Senior Manager, Compliance & Regulatory Affairs

    • Jan 2020 - Jul 2020
    • Lahore, Pakistan

• 

  Unilever Pakistan Limited

  • Karachi, Pakistan

  • Legal Manager & Data Protection Officer

    • May 2017 - Dec 2019
    • Karachi, Pakistan

    Legal & regulatory advice (Intellectual property laws, consumer protection law, food laws (marketing, packaging and formulations), competition law, data privacy law)Litigation management & coordination with external counselsLegal Business Partnering (e2e legal support for execution, implementation and closure of construction contracts)Legal review of Product claims and packaging: Home & Personal Care, Foods & Refreshments brandsLegal & statutory complianceMember of Data Governance team: Data Protection & Privacy: Ensuring compliance with Unilever Global DP policies

• 

  Huawei Technologies

  • Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Legal Counsel

    • Apr 2015 - Apr 2017
    • Islamabad, Pakistan

    Legal support, advisory and troubleshooting serviceso Litigation o Sales Support: legal advisory, contract vetting and negotiation support services; legal support to customer key account teams (for provision of equipment/services) o Internal Compliance: 1. Contract vetting for various departments (Including, without limitation, services agreements, supplier/subcontractor agreements, admin/logistics related agreements, etc.) 2. Advice to Company’s affiliate companies on matters pertaining to Huawei Technologies’ global business in relation to Pakistani law

• 

  AJURIS, Advocates & Corporate Counsel

  • Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Associate

    • Mar 2014 - Dec 2014
    • Islamabad, Pakistan

    • FIDIC Forms of Contract: Legal advisory & contractual vetting for Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) under the FIDIC Scheme• Public Private Partnership (PPP) Transportation Infrastructure Projects: a) Legal advisory & support services to National Highway Authority (NHA) on PPP projects for the transportation infrastructure sector; vetting & negotiating concession agreements with private parties b) Projects:i. Overlay & Modernization of Lahore-Islamabad (M-2) Motorway on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Basisii. Construction of 2 sections of Karachi-Lahore Motorway on BOT Basis: Hyderabad-Sukkur Section (296 KM) & Khanewal-Lahore Section (276 KM)c) Legal advisory to NHA under Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) legal framework on procurement of goods, services & construction of works • Contracts: Drafting/Vetting contracts incl., inter alia, construction/FIDIC contracts, shareholders agreements, share purchase agreements, procurement contracts, business collaboration agreements, concession agreements, etc.• Corporate Generalist: Corporate statutory compliance of companies; vetting & filing statutory returns with Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), drafting board resolutions, conversion of status of companies, etc. • Legal Analysis/Policy Work: Legal analysis & policy notes for Bolo Bhi (not-for-profit org. involved in advocacy, policy & research in Internet freedom, digital security, privacy, govt transparency & legislation) for its advocacy initiatives• Legislation Drafting: a) Subordinate legislation under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ehtesab Commission Act, 2014 for the effective functioning & administration of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), KPb) Subordinate legislation for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in support of the Government of Pakistan’s initiative to overhaul and re-organize the Programme• Legal Opinions: Research, analysis & drafting

• 

  School of International Law Islamabad

  • Islamabad

  • Visiting Lecturer - Company Law

    • Sep 2012 - May 2014
    • Islamabad

    Visiting Lecturer for Company Law - University of London LLB Honors program

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  LMKR

  • Legal Associate

    • Sep 2013 - Feb 2014

    Reported to: Inhouse Legal Counsel (Global)• Legal Advice and Support Services in a dynamic multinational petroleum technology company headquartered in the UAE, with presence in the USA, Canada, Trinidad, Mauritius, Pakistan and Malaysia• Contracts: Drafting and vetting, identifying and mitigating legal risks in contracts for the Company’s reservoir-centric interpretation, modeling and analytics software GeoGraphix®, E&P data services, and geoscience and information management consulting solutions • Legal Compliance: Ensured compliance with legal, governance and ethical matters, particularly with regard to international law and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)• Company Secretarial Matters: Assistance in tasks related to statutory corporate compliance including, inter alia, board meetings, board resolutions, statutory corporate filings, etc.• Support Services to Human Resources (HR) Department: Advisory with an aim to mitigate any legal implications that may arise in human resources management • Provision of Legal Advice and Support Services to the Company’s sister concern – LMKT (Private) Limited – that specializes in providing cutting edge solutions and support services in the Information Technology (IT) sector

• 

  AJURIS, Advocates & Corporate Counsel

  • Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Associate

    • Dec 2011 - Aug 2013
    • Islamabad, Pakistan

    • Corporate Advisory & Commercial Consultancy Services: Specific focus on company law, commercial law, contract law, and telecommunications law. Clients: Included, inter alia, National Highway Authority, NayaTel (Private) Limited, TolLink Pakistan (Private) Limited, Pernix Group (USA), Serka Insaat ve Ticaret A.S. (Turkey), Bolo Bhi, UBL Fund Managers Limited• Public Private Partnership (PPP) Transportation Infrastructure Projects: a) Legal advisory and support services to the National Highway Authority (NHA) on PPP projects for the transportation infrastructure sector; vetting and negotiating concession agreements with private parties b) Projects:i. New Benazir Bhutto International Airport (NBBIA) Connecting Road Network on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis (PKR 8B deal)ii. Construction of Service Area and Hotel on Islamabad-Murree Dual Carriageway (N-75) at Lower Topa on BOT basis (PKR 1.1B deal)iii. Construction of Two Service Areas on Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1) at River Haro on BOT basis (PKR 250M deal)iv. Construction and Development of Flyover/Railway Overhead Bridge at Habibabad (Wah Radha Ram) on National Highway N-5 on BOT basis (PKR 1B deal)• Drafting - Corporate/Commercial Legal Documents: Incl., inter alia, multifarious contracts, corporate transactional documents, constituent documents of mutual funds/investment trusts, etc.• Legal Advice to & Representation of International & Local Clients before Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan: Incorporation of companies (subsidiary & otherwise), registration of branch offices in Pakistan, conversion of status of companies, filing of statutory returns, etc.• Legislative Drafting: Actively assisted in drafting the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act, 2014, which provides for the establishment of the KP Ehtesab Commission to curb corruption and increase transparency in the functioning of public office holders

• 

  Amhurst Brown - Barristers & Advocates

  • Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Junior Associate Attorney

    • Jul 2008 - Jun 2009
    • Islamabad, Pakistan

    • International Commercial Arbitration: Assisted the senior partner with research on all procedural matters related to arbitration proceedings at the ICC International Court of Arbitration involving a leading public sector power producer in Pakistan• Corporate Generalist: Handled corporate generalist matters including, inter alia, maintaining company books for clients in compliance with relevant company laws, establishing a record of annual shareholders and board of directors' meeting minutes, and filing of relevant forms with the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan• Trademarks Registration: Independently pursued the progress of various trademark applications (new and renewal applications) in Pakistan for a major international client in the energy drink industry, while liaising with the firm's agents in Karachi• Labor Law: Legal advisory to clients on Labor Law issues including, inter alia, working hours, leave (casual, sick and annual), overtime allowances, wrongful dismissals, termination of employment and gratuity pursuant to, inter alia, the West Pakistan Shops and Establishments Ordinance 1969 and the West Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968

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  Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan

  • Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Intern - Company Law Division, Enforcement Department

    • Jul 2007 - Aug 2007
    • Islamabad, Pakistan

    • Research - Futures Contracts: Research Assistant to the Joint Director, Legislation Wing; performed research for drafting legislation on trading in Futures Contracts and other financial laws; researched and authored a paper, "Trading in Futures' Contracts: Shariah's Perspective"• Drafting - Preparding pleadings & briefs: Assisted senior attorneys in the Commission's Litigation Wing by preparing pleadings and briefs for lawsuits in which the Commission had been made a party

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  British American Tobacco, Pakistan

  • Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Intern - Legal Department

    • Jul 2006 - Sep 2006
    • Islamabad, Pakistan

    • Trademarks Registration: Managed the Company's trademarks portfolio in Pakistan: liaised with the Trademark Registry of Pakistan in order to determine the status of various trademarks and follow-up on all renewal applications• Internship Project - Report on Counterfeit Cigarette Production in Pakistan: Researched and authored a comprehensive report on counterfeit cigarette production in Pakistan which included a legal analysis of the applicable Trademark and Sales Tax laws