Practice Area

Many local and multinational companies are retainer clients of the firm and are regularly advised on corporate matters. The firm has also recently acted in a number of mergers and acquisitions transactions. The firm regularly represents its clients in drafting and negotiating contracts, including vendor supply contracts, joint ventures and concession agreements.

The firm routinely advises local and foreign clients,  including non-banking finance companies, on matters relating to capital markets and regulatory compliance. The firm has been extensively involved in listing of equity, debt securities and GDRs/ADRs, both in the local and international markets.

The firm has a thriving litigation practice representing  foreign and local clients from the public and private sectors. Primarily, the firm has represented such clients at various judicial and quasi-judicial forums including the High Courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The contentious matters include the following principle areas: main focus is on constitutional remedies, power sector disputes, direct and indirect Taxes, banking and general corporate and civil litigation.
The firm has a long-standing alternate dispute resolution (ADR) practice at both international and local levels. The firm has recently been involved in international arbitrations under the ICC and LCIA regimes in Zurich, Singapore, London and India as well as enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.
At the domestic level, the firm routinely represents local and foreign clients in arbitrations under the Arbitration Act of Bangladesh. In other ADR proceedings, the  firm’s recent engagements include representing one independent power producer in proceedings before BERC.

The firm has substantial experience in banking and finance, having pioneered various innovative financing transactions under the non-interest mode of finance and under various rules and regulations of Bangladesh.

The firm has a strong team specializing in all aspects of the real estate development and construction industry and regularly advises major players in this sector. The firm’s recent engagements include advising the project developers on Bangladesh’s largest housing scheme development as well as the tallest multipurpose commercial building in Bangladesh. The firm is also advising the respective developers of three mega-shopping malls in Dhaka and Chittagong. In the public sector, the firm has recently advised the Government on the proposed mega-development of a new model city near Dhaka.

The firm has throughout been actively engaged in the energy sector and has regularly advised and represented both public and private sector entities. The firm was involved in the first substantial initiative for reform of the power sector leading to unbundling of the vertically integrated power utility entity. Similarly, the firm is also involved in the most recent initiative for reform of the power
sector leading to segregation of the market operations from system operations. The firm has the unique expertise and experience of advising the electric power generation sector as well as the electric power transmission and distribution sectors and has regularly represented relevant entities in contentious and non-contentious matters in various areas of their operations, i.e., power allocation and distribution; tariff
and its various components as well as surcharges; processes for appointments of senior management in such public sector entities. On the generation side, the firm has advised project sponsors of various public and private sectors power generation plants across different fuel types (thermal, hydel, renewables etc.). On the distribution side the firm routinely advises and represents distribution companies on all aspects of there operations. Previously, the firm has advised on sector-wide aspects of the distribution sector in the context of the proposed privatization of State-owned distribution companies. The firm also routinely represents and advises the public sector national transmission company as well as the public sector power purchase company.

Similarly, the firm has also represented various private investors in this sector on various disputes both at the stage of expert as well as arbitration. The firm has also advised clients in establishing greenfield projects in diverse sectors such as telecommunication, textiles, cement, power and energy. In infrastructure projects, the firm regularly advises clients in the public and private
sectors. Recent engagements include a multi-billion Taka urban mass-transit project and a highway/fly-over project under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode on BOT basis.
In mining and minerals, the firm has recently advised the Government on the exploitation
of its metallic mineral resources.