Esquare Legal Profileesquarelegal.com/.../2018/12/Esquare-Legal-Profile-2018.pdf · 2018. 12. 11. · Esquare has extensive experience in major construction projects in Pakistan,

The Pakistani Law Firm with a Global Footprint

ESQUARELEGAL

CORPORATE PROFILE

www.esquarelegal.com

The Pakistani Law Firm with a Global FootprintESQUARELEGAL

Table of content

About us

Global view

Expert Lawyers

Client Focus

Local Knowledge

Services

Key Team Members

Contact us


About US Welcome To Esquare The Law Firm

We introduce ourselves as a team of highly qualified professionals providing various commercial, legal and taxation services. We have the necessary infrastructure and expertise to deal with complicated issues of litigation and alternative dispute resolution at all levels. For us the greatest use of our abilities is to help and educate the masses. Reliability and accountability are the two mainstays of our services. From the start to finish solutions on any legal matter, our services are offered in the most professional ways.

Through our methodical approach, we offer comprehensive solutions with complete execution support and implementation guidance. In addition to this, we also work in close relationship with the client to analyze and thereby offer the best solution. Adherence to timely completion of our project is our other specialty. Last but not the least; we also maintain complete secrecy of our clients.


A global View

Esquare works in partnership with many International law firms based around the world to give its clients the gold standard of services.


EXPERT LAWYERS

Our team has lawyers who do not only have legal experience but have the unique experience of having served at the highest positions as bureaucrats, techocrats, field experts and judges.


CLIENT FOCUS

We take every clients business as our own business. Our mainstay is honesty and making decisions that will benefit the client in the long term because we know we will retain our clients.


LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Our experience of Pakistan is holistic and with presence in every province of Pakistan we ensure that our expertise is well connected with local family structures, customs, languages and laws.


SERVICESConstitution

Constitutional Law governs different state entities including the legislature, executive and the judiciary. In many countries this is also known as the customary law, statutory law, conventions and international norms. The crucial aspect of the constitutional law is in understanding the relationship and hierarchy of bodies in power. Constitutional Law may also be used to describe the legislature procedures in parliaments.

At Esquare, we have broad and in depth experience of Constitutional law and have successfully challenged notifications, appointments, laws, by-laws, regulations etc passed by various government bodies that our ultra vires to the basic tenets of the Pakistani Constitution.

Our most famous constitutional matters include:

NRO case

Privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills Case

Privatization of PIA case

Panama Leaks Case

In addition to traditional litigation activities our firm provides a wide range of services on constitutional and related issues that include:

· Formulating and briefing new legal arguments in the trial courts to ensure that legal arguments are developed and preserved for appeal

· Developing and advancing constitutional and policy arguments on proposed legislation and regulations

· Managing complex litigation· Developing novel or complex legal theories, sometimes long

before the suit is filed · Advising on possible constitutional challenges to statutes and

the effects of regulations on proposed transactions or business plans

· Analyzing proposed legislation and regulations from legal and policy perspectives, testifying before the Supreme Court and provincial legislatures, and engaging in other forms of legislative and public policy advocacy

· Counseling government entities, allowing them to anticipate legal challenges and to avoid needless litigation


SERVICESPublic Policy and

Legislative Review

Esquare Legal promotes and protects client interests before the Pakistani

parliament as well as federal, provincial, local and international government

entities.

The Public Policy group's clients receive timely, in-depth information on

potential government actions that may affect their business. Where necessary,

we arrange for, and then prepare, clients to meet with members of the

parliament and their staffs as well as executive branch officials. Other services

include providing:

· Advocacy before legislative and executive branches of government

· Assistance with general legislative, committee and floor strategy

· Analysis and drafting of legislation, including legislative amendments

· Establishment and running of coalitions to amplify advocacy efforts

· Preparation prior to parliamentary committee testimony

· Representation in National Accountability Bureau

· Assistance in securing appropriations and other government benefits

· Assistance with products and capabilities marketing to federal

government agencies

· Ongoing regulatory counsel

Client work crosses industries and interest areas that include:

Financial institutions

Technology and communications

Managed funds

Defense

Housing

Taxation

Local matters

Our work is grounded in traditional analytic and advocacy skills, combined with

broad experience in Pakistani and international government operations. We

have the credibility, access and reputation to be heard, and take pride in our

ability to craft legal arguments and advocate for our clients. We do this in a

carefully targeted manner designed to achieve the desired result without

fanfare or unwanted publicity.

Our firm offers a bipartisan team of representatives who have served in a wide

range of high-ranking government positions. Our goal is to maximize the

potential benefit – or minimize the potential adverse impact – of governmental

action on your business interests.


SERVICESTax

The Tax Practice Group at Esquare Legal provides comprehensive advice and

contemporary tax solutions to its clients. Well equipped to render solution

based advice on direct as well as indirect taxation issues, the inter-

disciplinary team at the Tax Practice Group comprises of the very best of Tax

Specialists that Pakistan has to offer. This places the Tax Practice Group in a

unique position to effectively guide clients on challenging tax issues in a

holistic manner that no one else can.

The Tax Practice Group advises several overseas, domestic and

multinational clients operating in diverse sectors including auto-ancillary

industry, aviation, hospitality, Information Technology, infrastructure

projects, investment funds, media and entertainment, pharmaceutical

sector, retail, real estate, and telecommunications. Armed with the very

finest professionals currently in tax practice with experience on various

taxation matters including experience in policy formulation positions. Our

tax lawyers are former judges, former tax policy makers, former FBR officials

of the highest rank and incredible tax lawyers with has hands on experience

of carrying through its advice to implementation and successful defense of

such advice before Tax Authorities and Courts. Our tax practice has also

pioneered out of the box thinking to provide innovative solutions for tax

optimization and risk mitigation. We have been successful in defending

many of its clients at various forums including the Commissioner of

Appeals, Dispute Resolution Panels, Income Tax Appellate Tribunals,

Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, High Courts, etc.

The Direct Tax Group has been involved in a host of cross border taxation

issues, including structuring of inbound and outbound investments to

optimize tax incidence, advising clients on several withholding and transfer

pricing related issues in respect of transactions undertaken / proposed to

be undertaken, undertaking comprehensive due diligence and identifying

areas of risk, representing multi-national clients at various appellate

forums, including the Commissioner of Appeals, Dispute Resolution Panels,

Income Tax Appellate Tribunals, High Courts, advising clients in connection

with Mutual Agreement Procedures, Authority for Advance Rulings, etc. The

Group also has significant experience in addressing matters pertaining to

corporate tax issues for its domestic clients.

The Indirect Tax Group has been involved in a number of transaction

structuring exercises in order to optmise the tax incidence and also to

prevent leakage of taxes, undertaking comprehensive health checks,

advising clients on complex indirect tax issues, representing clients at

various appellate forums including the Commissioner of Appeals, Customs

Excise & Service Tax Appellant Tribunal, etc.


SERVICESCorporate

The Firm represents and counsels domestic and international

businesses and clients in corporate, partnership, securities and

business law matters. The Firm's expertise includes the

formation of incorporated and unincorporated businesses and

associations, tax structuring, public and private debt financing.

The Firm frequently advises on corporate governance issues,

reporting and disclosure requirements, limitations on foreign

investments, as well as on various structuring alternatives, such

as joint ventures, minority acquisitions and such post

transactional matters as financing alternatives, licensing, public

relations matters and market entry strategies. The Firm also

regularly advises on general commercial and corporate

transactional matters, including commercial agreements,

mergers and acquisitions.


SERVICESConstruction

The construction law practice at Esquare is noteworthy both for its

breadth and depth. Specializing in the FIDIC framework of contracts,

Esquare has extensive experience in major construction projects in

Pakistan, across various sectors including power plants, housing, roads,

bridges, commercial complexes, water treatment etc. and represents

globally reputed developers and project sponsors as well as

contractors.

Apart from standard FIDIC, Esquare is the market leader in introducing

and implementing NEC3 contracts, ICE contracts, JCT contracts, PPC

contracts, IChemE turnkey projects, GC/Works Contracts, modern

forms of EPC Contracts.

In addition to evolving contract structures to reflect the commercial

imperatives of its clients, drafting, negotiation and advising on specific

construction law aspects, the construction law practice leverages the

'full service' capabilities of the Firm to assist clients on issues relating

to land, taxation, financing, dispute resolution, labour and

environmental laws etc. Further, the team is well-versed in

transactions having multi-jurisdictional aspects (for instance, the Firm

recently advised one of Pakistan's largest infrastructure sector

companies in relation to a mega construction project where the

contractor is a foreign entity).


SERVICESTraining

NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED LEGAL AND CORPORATE TRAINING

�Esquare Legal aims at empowering its clients with specialized skill set in handling their business objectives and needs. The firm has created its own in-house training facility comprising the most renowned experts in varying fields of law and especially the legal frameworks of business, commercial, tax, corporate, construction, transactions and alternative dispute resolution. The short or medium term training programs have been designed to cover not just the technical aspects of writing, drafting or understanding contracts relating to the various fields of business, but also negotiation, communication and leadership skills that equip the participants of our courses with an extra edge in their professional roles.

We at Esquare Legal have heavily invested time and money to improve and build the understanding of our clients. This includes regularly publishing books, articles, journals and academic work that keep our clients and participants of training programs ahead of the curve. Our publications are not only quoted by lawyers and arbitration counsels for proceedings in Pakistan's courts or arbitration forums but also constitute reference material being used by the International community of lawyers, contractors, legal and corporate managers.

The focus of our training programs is not only on imparting legal and

corporate expertise, but also on the teaching of industry-specific knowledge

and entrepreneurship. We have structured two categories of courses for

participants of training programs at the Esquare legal. Attendance of one

category of courses here leads to award of certification by the Esquare legal

in collaboration with the relevant professional organizations such as Bar

Council, Pakistan Engineering Council or the FBR. The other category consists

of the training programs in construction related laws leading to award of

certifications by the Esquare legal in collaboration with its Australian partner

namely, the Australian Workplace Training Association which is a globally

renowned and is accredited with Australian Skills quality Authority (ASQA ).

The participation in the courses accredited by the Australian Workplace

Training Association is recognized throughout the world and enhances

opportunities for employment in Australia or any other commonwealth

nations. Additionally, it also helps in securing course credits if the participants

wish to be enrolled in degrees in Australian or other commonwealth

universities. By introducing recognized training programs our goal is to help

the business leaders, managers and corporate executives and lawyers to not

only acquire cutting-edge legal and corporate skills but also massively

increased opportunities of employment and advancement of their career

potential within Pakistan and internationally. We are proud of this very

special asset which sets Esquare Legal further apart from its competitors,

whilst also being recognized throughout the business and academic

community nationally and internationally.


KEY TEAM MEMBERS Hashmat HabibSenior Advocate Supreme CourtMA, LLBPracticing since 1975, Senior Advocate Supreme Court Hashmat Habib is a renowned lawyer and is well known to the Pakistani people because of his television celebrity status. Hashmat Habib is quoted by journalist's every day because of his keen insight into Pakistani laws and incredible gravitas. Hashmat Habib is very active in Supreme Court Bar politics and commands the respect of senior judges and lawyers. It is common for the courts to appoint Hashmat Habib Amicus Curie in major cases. Due to his immense moral integrity he has held the positions of Director Asia of Amnesty International, Chairman Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and has been the spokesperson and lawyer of Transparency International.

Ikram Ullah Ghauri.MA, LLB, LLM (Harvard), LLM (Boston University)Ikram ullah Ghauri has distinguished himself as one of the top legal minds of Pakistan. He has a served in various top positions in the tax and legal bureaucracy of Pakistan and has represented Pakistan in tax and trade conventions the world over. He has also served as a judge for taxation matters and many of his judgments have shaped the tax policies of Pakistan.

Due to his excellent command over constitutional structures he was engaged as a consultant draftsman for drafting the constitutions of Poland and of Mozumbique. His in depth knowledge of constitutional laws led to him being appointed as the head of the legal team of the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) by Former President General Pervez Musharaff. During that time he is credited as having introduced local body elections to Pakistan. Since then he has drafted dozens of parliamentary Acts and constitutional amendments.


KEY TEAM MEMBERS Sajid QureshiMSc (Engineering), MA (Economics), MA (English), MA (Urdu), MA (Political Science), LLB Widely considered as Pakistan's best construction lawyer Mr. Qureshi, an Engineer Lawyer, specializes in advisory and advocacy work in a wide range of commercial and private disputes in litigation and arbitration (both domestic and international/institutional) concerning construction projects, sale of goods and carriage of goods. He has been involved in a number of high value arbitrations, particularly before the former judges of Supreme Court of Pakistan.

He has authored books on Contract Law; Business Laws; Contractual Scheme of FIDIC-4; Thematic Approach to FIDIC; Arbitration & Arbitral Award; Arbitration Manual for Guidance of MES Officers and Construction Claims. These books are now used by lawyers and judges across Pakistan for their construction related disputes. His expertise is widely regarded in judgments of the Supreme Court and even projects in the Middle East. He is experienced in preparing and evaluating construction claims and very well versed in preparing References for Engineer/Dispute Board Decision. He is licensed as a lawyer since 1991 and registered as Professional Engineer with Pakistan Engineering Council.

Sardar Amin ullahMA, MBA, Diploma (Harvard), Diploma (LUMS), Diploma (Singapore), Diploma (Korea)Sardar Amin ullah has served as a former member of the Federal Board of Revenue as Member Implementation and Member Taxation. Owing to his excellent negotiation skills and wide knowledge of the Far East Sardar Amin Ullah has served as Pakistan's Commercial Minister to China. He has participated in over 50 major economic, trade and investment conferences and bilateral talks with China. He has been instrumental in drafting some of the major Pakistan-China Trade Agreements. He is currently the consultant for some of the biggest Chinese and Korean companies investing in Pakistan.


KEY TEAM MEMBERS Ahmed DildarMA, LLB, LLM (Harvard)Ahmed Dildar retired as the Member Legal of the Federal Board of Revenue. Serving in the FBR in key positions Ahmed Dildar understands the taxation laws of Pakistan better than almost anyone. However in addition to tax laws, Ahmed Dildar has served as the joint secretary of Ministry of Law and Justice and consequently dealt with a plethora of legal issues. In addition to this he has served as the registrar of the Federal Shariat Court and has a unique understanding of Islamic Laws. Owing to his understanding of commercial, tax and shariah law Ahmed Dildar is sought after by Middle Eastern companies looking to invest in Pakistan.

Ahmed Dildar has also served as the project director of the $2 Billion Access to Justice Programme funded by USAID and consequently had a very useful experience with the development sector.

Safi ullah GhauriLLB (Hons), Bar At Law (Lincoln's Inn), LLM (City Law School)Mr. Ghauri has the experience of having worked in top golden circle law firms in London, New york and Orlando. In Pakistan he has worked as the senior Partner of a former Chief Justice Mian Allah Nawaz before launching Esquare Legal.

Barrister Ghauri has been consistently involved with some of the biggest issues of Pakistani laws. His LLM thesis on comparative constitutional laws was used by the Supreme Court for their landmark NRO case judgment. Owing to his excellent oratory he was chosen by the PIA unions to stop the privatization of PIA which was successfully halted. He was engaged by PTI in the Panama leaks case to represent their case in the election commission. He continues to advice several political parties and the government of Balochistan on a variety of political issues.

Barrister Ghauri holds the unique experience of himself being a contractor in a $ 30 million FIDIC based contract. Consequently he has developed a very strong understanding of contract laws and is now engaged as a lawyer dealing in construction and contract matters by contractors not only in Pakistan but also in Australia and KSA.


KEY TEAM MEMBERS Kamran HashmatBSc (Hons), LLB, LLM(General), LLM (Cardiff)Mr. Kamran has over ten years of experience as an Advocate of the High Court. He appears before the Supreme Court, High Court and District courts every day on a variety of civil and commercial litigation matters. His legal acumen and persistent nature has led to him being a very sought after lawyer.

Anoosh JaferLLB (Hons), Bar At Law Lincoln's Inn), Diploma (Harvard)Barrister Anoosh comes from one of the biggest political families of Pakistan and is no stranger to the corridors of power. She has worked previously with the Federal Tax Ombudsman, Ministry of Privatization and Ministry of Law. Most of her focus is on legislative drafting and government relationing for our valued clients.

Nawabzada Hisam SalahuddinLLB (Hons), LLM (Greenwich)Hisam Salahuddin has previously worked in the chambers of Justice Ather Minhalla. Mr. Salahuddin is the scion of a political family and has been participating in politics. He is an expert in mining laws and has extensive experience in mining himself and assisting our international investor clients interested in mining projects.

Muneeb SajjidLLBMr. Sajid is a young lawyer who appears before the High Court and the District courts. However his forte is arbitrations and he has appeared in over 30 arbitrations.


KEY TEAM MEMBERS Zahir ShahLLBZahir shah is an advocate of the Supreme Court and holds an excellent command over civil procedures and laws. He is an active participant in bar politics and has been an office holder on several occasions. He has over 20 years of experience and has the honor of being the senior of several district court judges, whom he trained as associates.

Liaqat Shahwani

LLB

Liaqat Shahwani is a one of the most popular personalities from Balochistan

and is invited as a legal and political analysts on television talk shows almost

every day. His political and legal predictions are very popular on social

media and his role in shaping public opinion is noteworthy. Mr. Shahwani is

an expert on election matters and has as his permanent clients some of the

most renowned political figures of the country.

Sarfaraz Baloch

LLB

Mr. Baloch is an advocate of the High Court and is instrumental in handling

lower court matters. He is active, diligent and organized and ensures that

the court cases are well attended to.

Contact us

House No. 10, Street 17, F-8/3Islamabad

Direct: +92-51-8354403, 8354703Mobile: +92-300-5223378

Email: [email protected]

ESQUARELEGAL

Documents

Esquare Legal Profileesquarelegal.com/.../2018/12/Esquare-Legal-Profile-2018.pdf · 2018. 12. 11. · Esquare has extensive experience in major construction projects in Pakistan,