Profile description
Business and Commercial
As a commercial law specialist, Tahir has been instructed in a high number of cases (See Cases & Publications for full details) including Banking & Financial Services, Defamation, Privacy and Media, Bankruptcy, Chancery, Company Law, Contract Law, Debt and Insolvency.
Experienced in high-value cases, Tahir has advised on the £50m acquisition of a luxury hotel brand, as well as worked with High Net Worth clients and Independent Financial Advisors on arbitration and on appeals against arbitration awards. Tahir also advises in the specialist area Islamic Finance including different aspects of Sharia-compliant transactions and advice on sukuk and murabaha issuances.
Tahir accepts instructions in advisory and contentious matters from High Net Worth individuals and SME businesses concerning almost all business, commerce and insolvency law-related matters.
His particular expertise includes:
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Aviation Leasing
- Banking and Islamic Finance
- Company Commercial Contracts
- Defamation, Privacy and Media,
- EU & Public International
- Financial Crime (in particular forex trading)
- Insolvency
- Intellectual Property
- Professional Negligence
- Property and Land (including planning and environmental law)
- Regulatory Compliance & Commercial Judicial Review
- Contested Probate
Intellectual Property
Tahir has advised and represented on licensing of intellectual property rights and OEM equipment, assignment of existing IP of fuel efficiency technologies, infringement of registered trademarks, mediation and settlements, passing-off including domain name dispute litigation as well as restrictive covenants, brands and logos. Tahir has worked for celebrity clients in the music industry from advising on business structures to litigation in court following the break-up of a very successful band of the 2000s.
Family (children & financial settlement)
An experienced family barrister, Tahir is frequently instructed to deal with the following issues within the context of Child Arrangements Order proceedings:
- Child Arrangement Orders
- Prohibited Steps Order
- Specific Issue Order
- Fact-finding proceedings
- Enforcement Applications
- Parental responsibility
He offers extensive experience of contested final hearings and fact-findings and is used to working on cases that feature serious allegations of various types of abuse and domestic violence.
Tahir is also choice Counsel in cases involving matrimonial finance on the separation of parties. His recent cases include advice and representation on applications under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, such as Property adjustment orders in connection with divorce proceedings, advising on interim arrangements applications and dispute resolution hearings. Tahir is available for instruction on the above and of course on ancillary reliefs proceedings.
Tahir also offers experience of dealing with trusts and property (TOLATA) within the context of financial settlement proceedings.
Land and Property
Tahir’s property practice consists of advisory and litigation matters concerning a variety of Land and Property issues including Trespass, Wrongful damage to property and demolition, Service charges, Resulting and Constructive trusts, Breach of covenants and Insolvency and Restructuring in a Leasehold context. He also accepts instructions in relation to landlord and tenant disputes (residential and commercial) and frequently appears in the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) property chamber.
Insolvency and bankruptcy
Prior to becoming a barrister, Tahir worked at the Insolvency Service, the government agency whose role it is to support those in financial distress, tackle financial wrongdoing and maximise returns to creditors. Tahir has advised and acts in matters including Statutory demands, Undervalue transactions, Misfeasance in public office, Intention to defraud creditors, Trustee claims, Setting aside bankruptcy petitions and judgments, Creditor petitions, Winding up petitions and Applications under s366 of IA 1986 private examinations.
Tahir was retained as sole Counsel by a London Borough for advice on its assets following an Administration Order and appointment of Administrators of a national car parking group in respect of a large multi-storey car park where the annual rent was just under £1m.
Environmental Law
With a particular interest in climate change laws and transport-related air pollution, Tahir has advised on international collaborations and joint venture projects on power generation, energy and fuel efficiency which have also had regulatory, compliance and investment banking elements.
Tahir has advised and represented on a range of Planning issues including appeals, compulsory purchase and planning enforcement notices, in respect of commercial property, industrial property and rural/agricultural land.
EU Public International Law
Tahir acts in EU and Public international law in respect of the relationship of States with one another. Instructions have included addressing the question of State immunity and diplomatic immunity in particular concerning actions of State officials.
Awards
- Muslim 100 Power List
- Excellence in Commercial Law – Winner – Corporate LiveWire 2017
- Commercial Barrister of the Year - Winner – ACQ5 Global Awards 2016
- Commerce and Business Barrister of the Year – Winner – Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards 2016
- Commerce and Business Barrister of the Year – Winner – Finance Monthly Legal Awards 2016
- Best Commercial Barrister – Winner – UK Acquisition International Legal Awards 2015
BACKGROUND
Tahir’s introduction to law came during journalism training at the BBC in the 1990s. Tahir was thrust into voluntary interpreting which became the eventual springboard for a legal career.
Spotted and encouraged by his law lecturer, Tahir undertook legal work experience and spent time observing independently and discussing court proceedings with High Court judges. Mentored by a commercial Queen’s Counsel and two Chancery Commercial High Court Judges, Tahir became a qualified advocate in 2008, upon completion of his Bar Vocational Course with BPP.
After completing the academic and professional stages of qualification, Tahir trained in part at The Insolvency Service where he developed a passion for insolvency law. Tahir went on to train in commercial, insolvency, employment and property matters at chambers in the Temple area of London.
Given the changes in the Legal profession, Tahir decided to develop an additional skill set and cross qualified as a Solicitor-Advocate at a commercial litigation firm. There, Tahir focussed again on insolvency, employment and commercial matters with an emphasis on litigation and dispute resolution, until 2013, when he joined Chambers at Gray’s Inn. In 2016, he founded a set of specialist commercial Barristers at 5 Chancery Lane. Since 2015, he is a part of the editorial board at the LexisNexis Journal of International Banking and Financial Law.
“Tahir is very personable, calm and empathetic, a barrister of the highest calibre. He is professional, attentive and tirelessly dedicated. He gets his client thoroughly involved in the process and preparation for the case, which has the added value of helping the client understand the stage by stage process. His approach, analysis, applied logic and attention to detail, mark him as a master strategist. A valuable asset in any situation.”
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Alongside his passion for the law, Tahir is known as “The Singing Barrister” and has an active interest in the creative arts. He is an actor, songwriter, presenter and performer. He currently hosts his own drive time radio show on current affairs and human-interest stories and has performed in theatre productions, TV shows, as well as feature films.
