Partners
Muhammad Asif Bhatti
Admitted to practice in 2008.
Qualifications
B.A., LL.B. (Distinction) (University of Punjab)
Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan
Mr. Muhammad Asif Bhatti, Founding & Managing Partner, has almost two decades of experience of corporate, commercial, civil and constitutional laws. He is an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He represented clients in several landmark Constitutional, corporate, civil, services and fiscal matters before the High Courts, Federal Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan. Additionally, he provides legal advice to different local and international companies regarding contracts, joint ventures, negotiations and arbitration. He has a broad practice combining high-level litigation, appellate advocacy, constitutional and civil law, corporate and commercial advisory, and sector-focused work in mining, oil & gas and natural resources. He has conducted more than 1,500 matters across courts and forums in Pakistan.
His practice is distinguished by the combination of courtroom advocacy and transactional legal work. In addition to litigation, he prepares, reviews and negotiates sophisticated agreements and contracts, including joint-venture, investment, profit-sharing, development, services and other commercial arrangements, including transactions involving international or cross-border parties.
Professional Affiliations
- Pakistan Bar Council
- Supreme Court Bar Association
- Punjab Bar Council
- Lahore High Court Bar Association
Corporate & Commercial
A major component of his practice is the conversion of commercial objectives into legally enforceable structures. This includes advising on contractual relationships, investment arrangements, corporate participation, profit distribution, project responsibilities, representations and warranties, indemnities, default, termination, dispute resolution and governing-law provisions.
- Joint-venture and strategic collaboration agreements.
- Investment and shareholder-related arrangements.
- Profit-sharing and revenue-sharing agreements.
- Development, construction, professional services and consultancy agreements.
- Property-linked commercial transactions and project documentation.
- Corporate and commercial risk review and legal due diligence.
- Negotiation and redrafting of high-value or complex contracts.
- Dispute-prevention mechanisms and contractual enforcement strategy.
Mining, Oil & Gas & Natural Resources
Mr. Bhatti has specialist attention to mining, minerals, oil & gas and other natural-resources matters. This work requires integration of commercial contracting, regulatory analysis, land and property considerations, project structuring, government/interface issues and dispute-resolution mechanisms.
For investors and project sponsors, the legal approach is to identify regulatory and contractual exposure at the project-design stage, establish clear allocation of obligations and risks, and build enforceable remedies into the transaction documentation.
International & Cross-Border Transactions
Mr. Bhatti has experience preparing and reviewing agreements involving international-level commercial structures and parties connected with foreign jurisdictions. His work includes arrangements involving Pakistan-based operations and foreign investment or corporate participants.
- Cross-border joint ventures and investment structures.
- Agreements involving UAE- and UK-connected corporate structures.
- Internationally oriented commercial contracts to be performed in Pakistan.
- Choice-of-law, jurisdiction and arbitration clauses.
- Cross-border payment, performance, default and enforcement considerations.
- Commercial documentation designed to reduce ambiguity between foreign and Pakistani parties.
Expertise & Engagements
Specializing in constitutional and commercial litigation, internal arbitrations, corporate, commercial and banking laws, structuring, negotiation and documentation of banking transactions, mergers and acquisitions, financial transactions and corporate finance, law of property, civil litigation, alternate dispute resolution, contracts, international business transactions, oil and gas laws, telecommunications laws, environmental laws, laws related to concessions and related matters.
- Supreme Court and High Court advocacy, appeals, petitions and complex litigation strategy.
- Constitutional law, public law, constitutional petitions and rights-based litigation.
- Civil and commercial disputes, contractual claims, property and development disputes, injunctions, recovery and specific relief.
- Corporate and commercial advisory, transaction structuring and contractual risk allocation.
- Mining, minerals and natural-resources projects, including project documentation and commercial arrangements.
- Oil & gas related legal and contractual matters, regulatory considerations and project risk.
- Joint ventures, investment arrangements, profit-sharing structures and strategic commercial alliances.
- Drafting, vetting and negotiation of complex agreements and contracts.
- Arbitration and dispute-resolution provisions, jurisdiction, governing law, indemnities, termination and enforcement strategy.
- Legal opinions, due diligence, negotiation support and preventive dispute management.
- Represented foreigners in high-profile litigation relating to immigration and deportation before the High Courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
- Represented clients for the regularization of their services against departments including the Punjab Public Service Commission, Punjab Excise & Taxation Department, Punjab Transport Department, Home Department Punjab and Punjab Education Department before the High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan.
- Legal Adviser to Trivio Real Estate (Pvt.) Ltd., one of the largest real-estate companies acquiring and providing land to the Defence Housing Authority.
- Advised and represented Muslim Commercial Bank in matters relating to recoveries.
- Advised First Punjab Modaraba on financial matters and recoveries.
- Represented clients in matters relating to land acquisition for public purposes.
- Advised and conducted litigation in the Punjab Co-operative Board for Liquidation.
- Structured and handled the largest transaction in Pakistan pertaining to the transference of shareholding between shareholders (with management).
- Structured and handled the first public term finance certificate issue in Pakistan, having a floating rate of profit with a banking company.
- Acted as counsel to various power-generation companies in Pakistan.
- Acted as counsel before the High Courts and Supreme Court of Pakistan in various civil, corporate, fiscal and constitutional matters.
- Acted as counsel in international arbitrations, including those related to the power sector.
- Acted as local counsel in connection with the securitization of receivables of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation in the UAE and Saudi Arabia for Citibank, N.A. and ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
- Acted as consultant to the Mines & Minerals Department, Punjab in many matters.
Professional Focus
Email: asifadvocate143@gmail.com