Akhund Forbes is recognised for dealing with high-value and complex transactions within the TMT space. Specifically, the practice handles venture capital investments in Pakistan’s fintech, gaming and IT sectors. The client base includes internationally renowned telecoms and IT companies. Practice head Rabel Akhund advises telecoms operators, equipment suppliers and manufacturers on matters relating to telecoms finance, vendor financing arrangements and supplier contracts. Co-head Sahar Iqbal is another key member within the department.
TMT in Pakistan
Akhund Forbes
Practice head(s):
Rabel Akhund; Sahar Iqbal
Testimonials
‘It is difficult to get lawyers in Pakistan who know how multi-national foreign companies operate and are very commercial and pragmatic, however, Akhund Forbes is excellent at this.’
‘Rabel Akhund is a standout partner.’
‘Despite the digital banking licence being a new area in Pakistan, Rabel Akhund and his team were able to provide practical advice on issues that the client should be mindful of and inspire confidence.’
‘Rabel Akhund has a very calm and confident demeanour, which are great traits when parties are rushing a transaction.’
‘The team has a lot of industry experience in the TMT field, especially in the telecommunications sector.’
‘Sahar Iqbal is very open to new suggested approaches, and she leverages her extensive experience to facilitate sound advice around those new approaches.’
‘They make you feel they are part of your organisation and would not spare any chance to connect you with anyone who might help you understand the market well.’
Key clients
Edotco Group SDN Berhad
NBP Fund Management Limited
Baker & McKenzie LLP
MCB Arif Habib Investments and Savings Limited
Edotco Pakistan (Private) Limited
Edotco Towers (Private) Limited
Allied Advertising LLC
UBL Fund Managers Limited
Applus
Mastercard
Facebook Inc./Meta Platforms, Inc.
Vodafone Group
Kelly Drye & Warren LLP
Cleary Gottlieb Steen Hamilton LLP
NdcTech (Private) Limited
Osborne Clarke
Graphene Ventures
Nubank
Kleiner Perkins
Sequoia Capital
D1 brands
Acquisition Global
Unifonic Inc.
Brainscanology
SquareUp Inc.
Vezeeta.com
Orrick
Perkins Coie LLP
Stripe Inc
Association of Builders and Developers
Central Depository of Pakistan Limited
Simmons & Simmons
Miniclip
Work highlights
- Advised Meta on the legal framework governing telecoms-related infrastructure and on the regulatory landscape around the provision of telecoms and IT services in Pakistan.
- Advising NdcTech on its IT agreements with counterparties, including clients, business partners and vendors.
- Advised the sponsors of NDC Group on the 100% sale of their stake in NDC to Systems, a listed IT company in Pakistan.
Ali & Associates
Ali & Associates provides specialised advice across all aspects of IP, spanning trade mark, copyright, patent, industrial design, licensing, franchising, dispute resolution, enforcement and anti-counterfeiting matters. Other areas of focus include telecoms and IT, media, cyber law, biotechnology, and data protection. The practice advises government agencies on IP-related international treaty compliance issues and legislative recommendations, as well as assisting OTT platforms with governance and advertisement regulations, data protection and risk assessment matters. Ali Kabir Shah, Karimullah Adeni and Mohiuddin Adeni are the primary contacts at the practice, which has recently opened a new office in Islamabad. Hanya Haroon was promoted to the partnership in 2022 and is another key name to note.
Practice head(s):
Karimullah Adeni; Mohiuddin Adeni; Ali Kabir Shah
Other key lawyers:
Hanya Haroon
Key clients
Hugo Boss AG
Motion Pictures Association
Jumeriah International LLC
Glanbia Performance Nutrition Limited
Camelot Uk Bidco Limited
Olimp Laboratories SP
Elite Gold Ltd
Xiaomi Inc.
Tiktok
Channel V
Sonix Inc.
Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmBH
Huawei Company Limited
Air China Limited
Honda Atlas Power Products Limited
Fauji Cement Company Limited
Iffco
Reusch International
Velum Limited
Chapter Four Corp.
Discovery Inc.
Societe Des Products Nestle S.A.
Honda Motors
Lotte Corporation
Procter & Gamble
Baxter International Inc.
Nokia Corporation
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Lloyds Register EMEA
H-D Usa Llc (Harley Davidson)
Netflix Inc.
Television Food Network
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
J&B Medical Group
Commscope Inc.
Work highlights
- Assisted an OTT platform-holder with the negotiation and sale of the platform to a telecom company, which included an 18-month operations and management period for continued support.
- Assisted Honda Motor and Honda Atlas Power Products with a search and seize operation against one of their ex-dealers, who was engaged in the sale of infringing products.
- Filed a cancellation of patent pertaining to Vortioxetine – on behalf of Hilton Pharma – for being accepted, granted and sealed during the Black Box Period in Pakistan.
Axis Law Chambers
Axis Law Chambers specialises in technology and media matters; the practice advises on issues relating to fintech, payments systems, digital wallets and electronic money, infrastructure sharing arrangements, PTA regulations and data protection. The client base includes ride hailing apps, venture capital funds, technology start-ups and telecoms companies. The team operates effectively in tandem with the corporate and M&A department. Syed Shahab Qutub frequently advises clients on queries relating to the applicability of Pakistani law on the provision of CDNs. Sameer Khosa‘s workload regularly involves advising on highly specialised operator agreements for global distribution systems. Waqqas Mir, Mian Tariq Hassan and Maria Farooq are all further crucial members of the practice.
Other key lawyers:
Syed Shahab Qutub; Waqqas Mir; Mian Tariq Hassan; Sameer Khosa; Maria Farooq
Testimonials
‘Their sense of pre-empting possible future issues is impeccable.’
‘They took their time understanding the situation with great detail. They then went above and beyond the call of duty.’
‘Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible for us to continue with a project that we gave almost a decade of our life to, and which seemed to be falling apart at the seams.’
Key clients
Rocketman Films (Private) Limited
Haseem-uz-Zaman Khan
Nawa Media (Private) Limited / Pakistan Today
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited
Pakistan Broadcasters Association
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority
Pakistan Herald Publications (Private) Limited
Green & White (Private) Limited
ABM Infotech (Private) Limited
Work highlights
- Engaged by Pakistan Broadcasters Association to represent it before the Competition Commission and thereafter the Competition Appellate Tribunal regarding alleged prohibited agreements with a TV ratings provider and an advertisers’ association.
- Representing Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority in various matters before the High Courts, including appeals and constitutional petitions revolving around challenges regarding a change in the categories of broadcasting licences of TV channels.
- Engaged by Soch Media, a new digital media company, to provide various legal services, including corporate advisory, registration of intellectual property, and editorial policies and practices.
Bharucha & Co.
Boutique IP firm Bharucha & Co. is involved with all aspects of patents, trade marks, designs, copyrights and domain names. Other key areas of focus include IP counselling, licensing, franchising, enforcement, litigation and unfair competition. Practice head Mohammad Fazil Bharucha handles the gamut of non-contentious IP work, as well as patent, trade mark and copyright prosecution. Co-head Abdul Aziz supervises the patent department, focusing on patent prosecution and litigation.
Practice head(s):
Mohammad Fazil Bharucha; Abdul Aziz
ABS & Co.
ABS & Co. focuses on the registration of IP, including copyrights, trade marks and patents. The practice is recognised for handling complex transactions involving software and technology licensing; royalty arrangements in stacks; and patent arbitrage. Islamabad-based Majid Bashir offers considerable experience advising multi-nationals, music houses, producers and innovators on issues related to IP. Bashir's Lahore-based counterpart, Samar Masood Soofi, deals with issues relating to IP law, cyberlaw, fintech and the regulation of innovative and disruptive technologies.
Practice head(s):
Majid Bashir; Samar Masood Soofi
Testimonials
‘Attention to detail and professionalism.’
‘Come up with new and innovative ideas to resolve legal issues.’
Key clients
Rice Exporters Association Pakistan
Janoobi Private Limited
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
Qatar Lubricants Company WLL
Leonine Global Investments Limited
Omar Associates Private Limited
Karachi Kings FZE
My Sports World Private Limited
PIEAS
Bahria Town (Pvt.) Ltd
Punjab Skills Development Fund
Bank of Punjab
Pikchur Entertainment Streaming Service (Private) Limited
EMI Pakistan
National Science and Technology Park – NUST
IConsult
Hanif Jewellers
Paramount Books Private Limited
Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs – State of Kuwait
OrientSwiss
Planet N
Tez Financial Services
Prosper Technologies
GoldFin
Work highlights
- Advised a client on the licensing of its APIs for providing services to financial institutions.
- Advised the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs for the State of Kuwait on the dissemination of its copyright-protected work.
- Advised the SECP on the regulations for peer-to-peer lending using digital platforms.
AUC | Law
AUC | Law advises government departments, regulators, and international venture capital funds investing in technology companies and start-ups. The practice is particularly recommended for dealing with matters related to special technology zones, digital banking, blockchain, virtual assets and web 3.0 investments. Ahmed Uzair oversees the team.
Practice head(s):
Ahmed Uzair
Testimonials
‘Transparency, ease to speak to, industry knowledge.’
Key clients
Abhi Finance
Truck It In
Nayapay
Colabs
Metric
Karachi Tech Zone
Mahaana Digital
Neem Exponential
Byte
OneByte
Triple Three Solutions
Tasdeeq
Sai Ventures
WeatherWalay
47Ventures
Aladdin Informatics
Zayn Bitrate Fund
Deosai Ventures
Emtel
Giftkart
Paysys Labs
Yotta Scale
CreditFix Financial Services
Walee Technologies
PostEx
Bookme
Krave Mart
Bagallery
Jiye Technologies
Work highlights
- Advised PostEx on its seed round, which has raised $1.5m.
- Handled and managed seed rounding for Truck It In, which raised $13m.
- Advised Krave Mart on its early- stage funding, which raised $6m in its pre-seed funding round.
Lex Legal Practice (Solicitors & Attorneys)
Lex Legal Practice (Solicitors & Attorneys) is recommended for its work within the fintech sector; the practice handles securities, M&A, finance and securitisation transactions, blockchain, e-payments, and regulatory compliance within this space. As well as advising digital lending and marketplace platforms, commercial banks and technology companies, the team supports software and application developers, ride hailing service providers and agriculture technology platforms. Asad Salahuddin oversees the department.
Practice head(s):
Asad Salahuddin
Testimonials
‘Strong and reliable team.’
‘Asad Salahuddin is professional and reliable.’
‘Asad Salahuddin is an outstanding managing partner and team leader, and the firm is known for its tech transactions work.’
‘Lex Legal Practice has excellent transactional and advisory skills in the information technology sector.’
‘The team has tremendous experience in the fields of technology and finance.’
‘It has in-depth understanding, critical thinking and provides constructive feedback about digital financial services and digital lending.’
‘The team as a whole has a specific focus on TMT and the related innovations within the South East Asia region.’
‘Their understanding of the law and the way the industry works is very up to date.’
Key clients
AI-Ponics Private Limited
Finja Private Limited
Bykea Technologies Private Limited
Revolving Games Private Limited
Abwaab Technologies Inc.
Edmatrix Private Limited
Cashew Financial Services Limited (Muawin)
Edufi Private Limited
Nymcard Payments Limited
Opay Digital Payment Private Limited
Seedcred Financial Services Limited
Revest Private Limited
Taro Technologies Private Limited
Xisys Consulting Private Limited
Trukkur Private Limited
Deem Ventures Limited
Finja Lending Services Limited
Caramel Tech Inc. (Delaware Corp)
Million Ventures GMBH
MCB Bank Limited (Digital Banking)
Webwork Solution Private Limited
Smartlane IT Solution Private Limited
Bykea Cash Private Limited
Finja Inc. (Delaware Corp)
Revolving Games Inc. (Delaware Corp)
United Softlabs Private Limited
Caramel Tech Studios Private Limited
AH-Bridgelinx Solutions Private Limited
Rented Lifestyle Private Limited
Gorilla Bins Inc
Uzma Ventures Private Limited
Opay Pte ltd
Nym Technologies Holding Limited
Work highlights
- Advised Abwaab Technologies, a Jordan based multi-jurisdictional education technology company, on the acquisition of Edmatrix Private.
- Advising on the expansion of Opay Group into the Pakistan fintech market.
- Advised Finja Private on its bid for obtaining a digital bank license, in collaboration with Habib Bank and an international technology partner.