Lawyer Profile
Barrister Uzair is a second-generation lawyer. He completed his LL.B. from Cardiff University, UK and was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn. He is an advocate of Higher Courts of Pakistan. Over the years, he has developed considerable experience in corporate advisory, foreign investments, joint ventures, conventional and Islamic banking, administrative law, white-collar crimes, environmental law, intellectual property and alternate dispute resolution. His experience includes handling large cross-border investment transactions of over USD 200m over a span of 3 years. He has been appointed by the Government of Pakistan as Committee Member to advise DFIs on setting up a Private Equity / Venture Capital Fund. He was engaged as a Consultant by the Government of Punjab on Suggesting Regulatory Changes for setting up Pakistan’s first smart city. He is presently advising the government on the Pakistan Startup Fund. Barrister Uzair has previously worked on important assignments whilst working at Cornelius, Lane and Mufti and in the teams of Mr. Ashtar Ausaf Ali and Dr. Pervaiz Hassan. He has worked with SECP with respect to reforms that directly impact startups and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan. His direct contribution led to the amendment of the Sections 83 and 88 of the Companies Act, 2017 in order to allow employee stock options, share buyback and making it easier to issue sweat equity. He also advised SECP – through Karandaaz Pakistan – as technical advisor on crowdfunding – and developed draft regulations for the SECP. Barrister Uzair routinely writes and has published papers with Pakistan Law Digest, Daily Tribune, Law Business Research, London, The Nation, Pakistan and the Counsel Magazine, Karachi. He is the founding member of the Continuing Legal Education Initiative, Pakistan.