Law

This course covers key legal requirements relevant to starting, structuring and operating a business. When starting and growing a new venture, it is critical that entrepreneurs are both aware of and compliant with local and global regulations. Startups will develop a broad understanding of relevant aspects of the law to ensure legislative requirements are complied with and risks to their businesses are mitigated. The course will begin with an introduction to laws applicable to SMEs/Startups and cover pertinent laws in more detail including company law, choice of entity, and the advantages of registering a business; intellectual property including trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secrets; tax law; contract law and the different kinds of agreements applicable to startups; and ethical and compliance aspects of each of these. The course will enable founders to have a better understanding of practical ways in which to protect new ventures and seek the right kind of legal advice at the right time for their business.

Session 1:         Introduction to Law

Session 2:         Intellectual Property Law

Session 3:         Company Law

Session 4:         Tax Law

Session 5:         Contract Law/Contract Management

Session 6:         Compliance

Hassan Shah

Hassan Yousaf Shah has 23 years of experience with multinational companies including Pepsi International, Shell Pakistan, DHL and has also consulted for big names in the corporate world. He has worked with multi-lateral donors including the Asian Development Bank, the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (formerly DFID) and the Government of Punjab on different reforms projects as well. He is a graduate of LUMS, holds CFA charter, a Chevening Scholar with an LLM degree. He is a practicing lawyer and focuses on regulatory framework, litigation, and constitutional petitions.

Rai Saleh Azam

Rai Saleh Azam is the founding partner of Azam and Rai Advocates and Legal Consultants, a leading Pakistani law firm recommended by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia-Pacific and the Asia Pacific Legal 500. He is also an adjunct faculty member of University of Management and Technology and Punjab Law College where he teaches undergraduate and graduate students.

Mr. Azam specializes in many different areas of law including banking law, corporate and commercial law, contract law, labour laws, arbitration and dispute resolution, energy, telecommunication, real estate, international trade, investment (foreign and domestic), media, and intellectual property law.

Mr. Azam advises on the investment climate and regulatory framework in all major investment sectors of Pakistan and domestic and cross-border company formations, corporate restructuring, M&A, joint ventures, commercial transactions, registration and licensing, negotiation and drafting of contracts and legal aspects of corporate and commercial strategies.

Mehr Saleem

Mehr Saleem is the founding partner of Saleem, Alam & Co. She has over 15 years of experience in representing major corporations in complex corporate, commercial and financial matters crossing several jurisdictional boundaries. Apart from her general corporate and commercial practice, she has worked extensively with clients in Financing and Projects, Cross Border Structured Financing, Telecommunications, Securities and Capital Markets, Foreign Investment, International Joint Ventures, Banking and Finance, Employment and Labour Laws, and regulatory matters.

Ms. Saleem has advised a wide range of local and foreign investment companies seeking to work in Pakistan including venture capital funds on their investment in various local tech companies. To this end, she has drafted and negotiated share purchase agreements, share subscriptions agreements, joint venture/shareholders agreements, sale of Intellectual Property assets agreements and put/call option agreements. She recently represented various startups including a premier technology solutions company, a private licensed credit information bureau in Pakistan, a digital healthcare services provider, and a smart vending solutions company. She is also retained counsel to tech startups including a mobile technology-based insurance distributor in Pakistan.

Ms. Saleem is a law graduate of the University of London. She holds a post-graduate professional diploma in law from the Inns of Court School of Law, London, and is a Barrister-at-Law of Lincoln’s Inn, London. She has also completed diplomas in Negotiation & Dispute Resolution and Mediation & Conflict Management from Harvard Law School (Program on Negotiation).

Muhammad Mansha Sukhera

Muhammad Mansha Sukhera is the founding Partner of Sukhera Law Chamber and has 28 years of experience in taxation, environmental, corporate, and constitutional law, along with forensic audit investigations and related fields. He has also consulted with large corporations, NGOs and various government bodies. He is a Member of Lahore High Court Bar Association, Pakistan Tax Bar Association and a fellow member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. He is also a former President of Lahore Tax Bar Association (2015-16). Mr. Sukhera spearheads the Tax Bar Academy and has been involved in training young lawyers and accountants in the field of tax for years.

Ahmed Uzair

Barrister Ahmed Uzair is a UK qualified lawyer and a partner at AUC | LAW. His areas of interest include investment law, technology related challenges and cross-border transactions.

Over the years he has worked with incubators, startups, venture capitalists and angel investors. He has also worked with Securities Regulator of Pakistan (SECP) on startup-focused changes to company law and regulations and assisted the SECP in Equity Crowdfunding Regulations.

He routinely writes and has published papers and articles in The Nation, Pakistan, the Counsel Magazine, Karachi, and Pakistan Law Digest. At Cardiff Law School he chaired the first Welsh Model United Nations Conference on eradication of the AIDS epidemic from third world countries. He is also the co-author of a book, ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution Review,’ published by Law Business Research, London. He is a fellow at the Continuing Legal Education Initiative of Pakistan which aims to raise the overall standard of the legal profession. He regularly lectures on technology law.