Orr, Dignam & Co. > Firm Profile

The firm: Orr, Dignam & Co. is one of the largest firms of advocates in Pakistan with fully operational offices in Karachi and Islamabad. The firm was established in 1952 and reconstituted in 1972. It specialises in all aspects of civil and commercial laws and civil litigation, including corporate commercial and company law, privatisation, mergers and acquisitions, competition law, infrastructure projects, construction, banking, project finance, energy, oil and gas, power, insurance, commercial contracts, capital market, foreign investment laws, information technology, telecommunication, aviation and maritime. The firm also handles arbitration matters (both domestic and international) as well as civil and commercial litigation in the High Courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The firm has represented clients and transactions involving various regulators including that of the power, telecommunication, banking, insurance, and pharmaceutical sectors. The firm has seven partners and a team of associates, including barristers, attorneys at law and advocates. The partners of the firm directly attend to the clients’ instructions and, where necessary, are assisted by the senior associates and associates depending on the complexity and requirements of a particular matter. The firm is instructed by and acts for various leading international law firms on a regular basis.

Areas of practice: The firm acts for a broad range of clients including multinational companies, banks, multilateral agencies, leading Pakistani business houses as well as public sector corporations.

Projects and infrastructure: The firm is involved in project and infrastructure work, particularly in power generation and transmission, oil and gas, fertilizer, cement and port facilities, transportation, and telecommunication. Services rendered in these areas, include contracts for technology transfer, concession and implementation agreements, turnkey and construction contracts, licences and royalty agreements.

Commercial litigation/arbitration: The firm is actively engaged in civil and commercial litigation, in the High Courts and Supreme Court of Pakistan, involving a number of leading cases. The firm also has considerable experience in arbitration under the Pakistan Arbitration Act, 1940 and international modes of arbitration, including International Chamber of Commerce and London Court of International Arbitration.

Mergers and acquisitions: : The firm has been and continues to be involved in major domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, management buyouts and privatisations of public sector entities in Pakistan both on the buyers’ and sellers’ side.

Banking and capital markets: The firm also has an active banking and capital market practice, advising domestic and foreign banks, syndicates, multilateral lending agencies in respect of syndications, project finance, as well as domestic and international investment banks and brokerage houses and Funds regarding securities and derivative transactions and various Islamic modes of finance including sukuks and ijara structures. The firm has represented clients and transactions involving various regulators including that of the power, telecommunication, banking, insurance, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Governments and agencies: The firm has undertaken comprehensive work in the preparation and study of reports on specific policy making areas for the Government of Pakistan and multilateral agencies. The firm has also assisted the Government of Pakistan in the drafting of legislation in various sectors, including the establishment of Central Depository Company, regulation in the electric power, downstream, oil and gas tax, anti-dumping regime and Aircraft Security.

Energy: The firm has a very well established energy practice encompassing oil and gas and electrical power generation. The firm’s practice includes oil and gas work. In the mid stream energy sector, it has been involved with the contracts relating to long distance pipelines and acts for a number of refineries and is currently advising in connection with the establishment of a new refinery and the upgradation of an existing refinery. The firm also regularly represents the leading oil marketing companies in the country. The firm is also involved in advising on aspects of a proposed transnational gas pipeline. The firm is involved in various agreements relating to electrical power generation projects and in electrical power projects in the alternative energy sector.

The firm is instructed and/or acts for various leading international law firms on a regular basis.