Work Highlights

Company incorporation

• Advised a global home healthcare company on the procedures and regulatory requirements in connection with the import and sale of medical devices in Pakistan.  The issues on which the firm advised the client included requirements relating to licensing, registration and clinical trials of medical devices manufactured outside Pakistan.  

• Advised and assisted a Hong Kong-based IT/Artificial Intelligence company offering services related to a messaging platform in connection with incorporation of its wholly owned subsidiary (Single Member Company) in Pakistan.

• Advised and assisted a Singapore-based sporting goods manufacturer in connection with incorporation of its liaison office in Pakistan.

• Advised a German company that provides engineering services in the area of renewable energies on the choice of legal entity and incorporation of its business in Pakistan. One of the important issues was the structure and composition of the board of directors in view of both local and foreign shareholders of the company and its impact on their rights and obligations.  

• Advised a U.S. based technology company in connection with incorporation of its wholly owned subsidiary in Pakistan, specifically on the structure of the subsidiary’s board and its shareholding.

Corporate due diligence and structuring/shareholding

• Conducted legal due diligence of one of the largest Chinese power companies in Pakistan and advised on relevant issues including the company’s legal status.  

• Advised a leading telecom company on whether two companies could be considered associated companies in view of the shareholding and voting power percentage of a Director.

• Drafted and advised a U.S. based manufacturer of surgical and healthcare devices on its shareholders’ agreement with a focus on the powers and duties of both the local and foreign shareholders in terms of the management of the company.

Drafting and reviewing Agreements/Contracts

• Drafted and advised on a Cost-Plus Design-Build Contract for a commercial property.

• During the past year, the firm advised a large Pakistani consortium on a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) that it was entering into with a Chinese company for manufacturing and selling automobiles in Pakistan.

• Reviewed and advised on employment, lease and dealership agreements for one of the largest Chinese mobile phone companies operating in Pakistan.

• Reviewed and advised on shareholders agreements and asset sale agreement in connection with a real estate development project involving construction of an apartment building in Lahore. The total project value is around USD 2.3 million.

• Reviewed and advised on the draft of the Settlement Agreement between the client, a Malaysia-based ceramics manufacturer and a Pakistani company involving a USD 250,000 dispute. The firm also advised the client on the procedure for execution of the Settlement.

• Reviewed and advised on a software development agreement and a convertible note agreement with a UAE based entity.

• Advised a U.S. based IT company on a consulting agreement it was entering into with consultants in Pakistan.

• Reviewed and advised on agreements including shareholders agreement, loan agreement and transaction agreement in connection with an acquisition of shares of a UAE-based oil company owned by Pakistani nationals by an international oil company in the UAE.

• Advised one of the world’s leading hotel chains on its Long-Term Lease and Sale Agreements in connection with a large shopping and hotel apartment complex in Lahore.

• Advised a hotel owner on a lease agreement with one of the largest hotel groups in Pakistan.

• Advised and assisted a Hong Kong-based IT/Artificial Intelligence company offering services related to a messaging platform in connection with incorporation of its wholly owned subsidiary (Single Member Company) in Pakistan.

• Advised a leading telecom and technology company on the validity of broadband internet services agreements and their compliance with the terms of the license agreement issued by the regulatory authority.

• Reviewed and advised on a project finance agreement in connection with a project worth Rs. 4.6 billion (approximately USD 38 million) involving a client in the automobile sector.

Intellectual Property

• Represented a leading online automobile portal in Pakistan in a case involving claims of intellectual property infringement before the Intellectual Property Tribunal, Punjab.

• Represented a U.S. based outsourcing company in an intellectual property matter involving infringement of its medical software patents by a former employee of the company. The matter was unique in terms of the value of the patents involved and the contractual issues including breach of the non-compete clause by the former employee.

Employment/Labour law

• Represented one of Pakistan’s largest exporters of work garments in court proceedings involving the government authority’s claims of social security and employee benefits for certain employees of the company.

• Advised a Chinese company on relevant labour laws of Pakistan and drafted a template for a labour contract.

• Advised and assisting the company in connection with notices sent by the Employees’ Old Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) demanding payment of certain employees’ share of contribution that are allegedly unpaid.

• Represented Huawei Technologies, a global Information and Communications Technology (ICT) firm, in a civil suit filed by a former employee claiming compensation and damages under his employment agreement with Huawei as well as with an independent staffing firm.

• Represented a foreign national in a civil litigation matter involving a breach of his employment agreement with a ceramics company based in Gujranwala. The amount claimed by the client is around US$ 1 million.

Cross-border transactions/Foreign exchange regulations

• Advised on the cross-border acquisition of a U.S. based healthcare technology company’s wholly owned subsidiary in Pakistan.

• Advised on the procedures and regulatory requirements in connection with the import and sale of medical devices in Pakistan.  The issues on which the firm advised the client included requirements relating to licensing, registration and clinical trials of medical devices manufactured outside Pakistan.  

• Advised a Japan-based banking corporation on Pakistani law in connection with the promotion of its financial products and related services that its representatives could conduct in Pakistan.

• Advised a Swiss law firm on Pakistani banking and financial laws and foreign exchange regulation in connection on ownership of real estate and transfer of cash and securities in and out of Pakistan.

• Advised a Swiss law firm on Pakistani banking and financial laws and foreign exchange regulation in connection on legal issues involving the private placement of structured products/investment funds.

• The firm regularly represents Bank Alfalah in cases involving joint charge on the current and fixed assets of the party and auctioning of a party’s property to recover a non-performing loan.

• The firm regularly represents Faysal Bank in cases in which companies have defaulted on payment of their loan amounts.

Enforcement of a foreign court’s judgment

• The firm advised and represented a client in connection with enforcement of money decrees passed by UK courts in connection with a banking fraud/white collar crime matter in which KPMG (UK) was acting as administrator of a company. The creditors of this company included a consortium of three of the largest banking groups in UK.  The fraud committed on the banks is in the amount of approximately 120 million GBP.  

• Advised a Jordanian firm on Pakistani law in connection with the governing law of a contract between a Pakistani and Jordanian entity and the enforcement of a foreign court’s judgment in Pakistan.

• Advised a U.K. law firm on Pakistani law in connection with reciprocal enforcement agreements between Pakistan and the U.K. and legal issues related to enforcement of a foreign judgment in Pakistan. One of the fundamental issues in this matter was the potential enforcement of a costs order obtained in the U.K. against a claimant based in Pakistan.

White collar crime

• Represented a client in civil/enforcement and criminal proceedings in a banking fraud/white collar crime matter in which fraud was committed on a consortium of three of the largest banking groups in the U.K. The fraud committed on the banks is in the amount of approximately 120 million GBP.

Mergers & Acquisitions/Competition law

• Advised on the cross-border acquisition of a U.S. based healthcare technology company’s wholly owned subsidiary in Pakistan.

• Reviewed and advised on agreements including shareholders agreement, loan agreement and transaction agreement in connection with an acquisition of shares of a UAE-based oil company owned by Pakistani nationals by an international oil company in the UAE.

• Advised on whether a company incorporated outside Pakistan generating an insubstantial revenue amount in Pakistan is required to comply with any applicable merger laws of Pakistan if it is acquiring another foreign company that is generating no revenue in Pakistan. The total value of the global acquisition was approximately USD 36 million.

• Advised clients on whether their Pakistan-based companies that were entering into a Joint Venture (JV) to be incorporated outside Pakistan were required to comply with Pakistani merger/competition laws if the JV did not confer joint control on the companies. The combined turnover of the companies in Pakistan was over USD 130 million.

• Represented the leading online automobile portal in Pakistan before the Intellectual Property (IP) tribunal and the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) in connection with a suit and complaint respectively involving claims of IP infringement, unfair competition and violation of Pakistan’s antitrust laws.

Commercial Litigation – Payment disputes and recovery of money

• Representing a UAE-based conglomerate in three commercial cases in Karachi in connection with recovery of payments for consignments of corrugated cartons delivered to three different companies in Pakistan. The total amount claimed is over US$ 800,000.

• Representing a Kuwait-based technology company, through its subsidiary in Pakistan, in a civil litigation matter in connection with a payment dispute with a telecommunications company operating in Pakistan. The total amount claimed in the suit and counter-suit is over US$ 12 million.

• Represented a globally recognized manufacturer of cosmetics in connection with a civil suit filed against them in Civil Court, Lahore, for recovery of approximately USD 3 million. In view of the dispute resolution clause conferring exclusive jurisdiction on courts in Germany, our firm challenged the Pakistani court’s jurisdiction and was successful in having the suit withdrawn by the opposing party, the local distributor of the company.

Domestic and International Arbitration

• Advised and acted as co-counsel for two leading distributors/suppliers of electronic products in two international arbitration cases administered under the Dubai International Financial Centre – London Court of International Arbitration (DIFC-LCIA) Arbitration Rules filed against one of the world’s largest multinational conglomerates. The amount in dispute is around USD 21 million.

• Advised and acted as co-counsel for one of Pakistan’s leading heavy equipment and food supply chain companies in international arbitration proceedings under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Rules involving one of the world’s leading global groups in industrial refrigeration.

• Acting as co-counsel in Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) arbitration proceedings for a Scottish firm providing services related to Reliability Availability and Maintainability (RAM) study to a UAE-based technical Health Safety and Environment (HSE) and risk management consultancy.

• Advising and representing a leading distributor/supplier of electronic products in connection with a civil suit filed against it in District Court, Islamabad, for recovery of approximately USD 21 million. In view of the international arbitration clauses in the distribution agreements between the parties, our firm is challenging the jurisdiction of the court and seeking a stay of the proceedings under the Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreements and Foreign Arbitral Awards) Act 2011.

• Advised and represented the client in connection with petitions for enforcement in the High Court of two interim foreign arbitral awards rendered by an international arbitration tribunal. Our firm is also representing the client in a civil suit filed against it in Civil Court, Lahore, for recovery of approximately USD 6 million. In view of the international arbitration clauses in the distribution agreements between the parties, our firm is challenging the jurisdiction of the court and seeking a stay of the proceedings under the Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreements and Foreign Arbitral Awards) Act 2011.

• Represented a hotel owner in arbitration proceedings in connection with a contractual dispute involving property title, repairs and termination of a lease agreement with one of the largest hotel groups in Pakistan.