Mr Fahrid Chishty > Guernica 37 Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Mr Fahrid Chishty

Position

Fahrid is a barrister specialising in criminal, regulatory, public and international law. He is an accomplished junior defence advocate, having represented members of foreign royalty, politicians, and business magnates in English criminal proceedings. He has been instructed as Counsel in several, high-profile matters ranging from homicide, terrorism and narcotics through to sanctions, fraud, and bribery and corruption offences.

In addition to his core specialisms in crime, Fahrid is developing a promising, public law practice. He is a member of the Attorney-General’s JJ Scheme, having recently served as Counsel to the Government Legal Department (GLD) in relation to a major, statutory Public Inquiry.

Internationally, he specialises in Public International Law (PIL), International Criminal Law (ICL), International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Diplomatic Law. He is Standing Junior Counsel to a Diplomatic Mission to the Court of St. James, regularly advising on the application and interpretation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 and related foreign relations treaties and instruments.

Career

Whilst studying for the Bar, Fahrid acquired experience in Central Government. As a Civil Service Fast Streamer, he worked as a Policy Adviser, and later an Assistant Investigator, within two Whitehall departments. He represented Her Majesty’s Government at pre-negotiation roundtables with an East Asian country in 2018 and advised on the replication of trade dispute resolution mechanisms post-Brexit. He later was assigned to the biggest bribery and corruption investigation in UK history, where he assisted in carrying out an extensive disclosure review and ensuring compliance with the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 regime.

Languages

Urdu (fluent) Punjabi (proficient) French (working) Farsi/Dari Persian (basic) Fus’ha/Classical Arabic (reading only)

Memberships

Criminal Bar Association (CBA)

Young Fraud Lawyers Association (YFLA)

Defence Extradition Lawyers Forum (DELF)

Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)

Advocate (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit)

Attorney-General’s Junior Junior (JJ) Scheme

The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn

Education

Bar Professional Training Course (The City Law School, 2017-2019) – Very Competent (75%)

LLB Politics, Philosophy and Law (King’s College, London, 2013-2017) – First Class Honours

Associateship of King’s College (King’s College, London, 2013-2016) – ranked first in year.

Awards and Scholarships

Pegasus Scholarship, Inner Temple, 2023

Ann Felicity Goddard Scholarship, Gray’s Inn, 2020

The City Law School BPTC Scholarship, 2017-2019

Wilfred Watson Award, Gray’s Inn, 2017-2019

Hebe Plunkett Award, Gray’s Inn, 2017-2019

Leathes Prize, King’s College London, 2016

Dickson Poon Undergraduate Scholarship, King’s College London, 2013-2017

Council of Independent Education Award (CIFE) for Humanities and English, 2013