Ahsan Zahir Rizvi

Practice Areas

Recommended as a leading lawyer by various legal directories, Mr. Rizvi is the Global Senior and Managing Partner of RIAA Barker Gillette.

His chief areas of focus include construction, energy, infrastructure, and telecommunications sector. He has extensive experience in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious legal matters including contract negotiations, strategic planning, corporate and financial restructuring, privatizations, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, Islamic modes of financing and project finance. He also has expertise in legislative and regulatory matters, and has drafted various statutory enactments and regulatory frameworks for Pakistan, including the natural gas regulatory frameworks, the telecommunication regulatory and the regulatory framework for country’s securities and corporate sectors.

Mr. Rizvi regularly advises clients on all kinds of corporate and commercial matters, tax, labour, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate and financial restructuring. He has acted in most of the major independent power projects in Pakistan and Afghanistan, on behalf of the Government, foreign sponsors and lenders.

Mr. Rizvi's notable clientele includes Pakistan Telecommunication Company, Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation, Pakistan State Oil and Pakistan Petroleum. He has advised on project finance and corporate finance transactions exceeding USD 15 billion in aggregate value, M&A transactions of more than USD 5 billion.

He has held a number of prominent positions, including director of the (former) Karachi Stock Exchange, and Chairman of the Committee on Cyber Laws Legislation and IPR of Ministry of Science & Technology of Pakistan, and Member of the National Bioethics Commission. Mr. Rizvi is one of only a handful of lawyers to receive the prestigious Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) from the President of Pakistan.

Career

Top-ranked by international legal directories, Mr. Rizvi is globally recognised as a leading international corporate lawyer. Mr. Rizvi is the Global Senior and Managing Partner of RIAA Barker Gillette and has expertise in drafting statutory enactments and regulatory frameworks. He has held a number of prominent positions including director of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Chairman of the Committee on Cyber Laws Legislation and IPR of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan.

Professional Memberships

1. Enrolled as an Advocate High Court

2. Member of the Sindh High Court Bar Association

3. Member of the Sindh Bar Council

4. Member of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn

Personal

1. London School of Economics: Bachelor of Laws

2. Inns of Court: Bar Vocational Course

3. University of London: Master of Laws