Uzair Karamat Bhandari
Senior Partner, Bhandari Naqvi Riaz
- Advocate of the High Courts, admitted 1997
- Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, admitted 2008
Contact
Email: [email protected]nrlaw.net
Uzair started legal practice in 1997 by taking over the firm started by his father, Mr. Justice (Retd.) Karamat Nazir Bhandari. That firm then grew into Bhandari & Naqvi in 1998 and Bhandari Naqvi Riaz (BNR) in 2003.
Uzair is consistently praised by both clients and judges alike as “a phenomenon” for his “very strong courtroom skills and an encyclopedic knowledge of Pakistani case law.” He has had a role in developing local jurisprudence in numerous areas of the law, and has a number of reported judgments to his credit. He has been ranked as one of the top litigators in Pakistan by Chambers & Partners since 2004.
Uzair is an avid tennis player and is slowly preparing himself for the day when he will no longer be able to watch Roger Federer play. Uzair’s renowned knowledge of caselaw is well matched by his knowledge of Urdu poetry, particularly Faiz and Ghalib.
- B.C.L. (Bachelors of Civil Law) Oxford University 1997
- M.A Jurisprudence, Oxford University 1996
- Rhodes Scholar for Pakistan for the year 1994
- Established Bhandari and Naqvi in 1998
- Established Bhandari, Naqvi & Riaz (BNR) in 2003
- Merged with Haidermota & Co in 2013
- Demerged with Haidermota & Co in 2019
- Was engaged by the Pakistan Banks Association to defend the constitutionality of legislation enacted to permit foreclosure of mortgages by banks without judicial intervention.
- Assisted the Attorney General in a large number of cases before the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding vires of section 2-A of the Service Tribunals Act, 1973.
- Challenging the enforcement of a multi-million-dollar arbitral award rendered in Singapore
Acting on behalf of Samsung Gulf Electronics FZE in defending a suit filed by Digital World Pakistan regarding the termination of a licensing arrangement. - Acting for LPG producers and marketing companies in various matters, including proceedings under competition laws and challenging the vires of the Competition Act, challenging the levy of certain taxes and penalties.
- Acting for Echo West International in a number of construction disputes concerning different projects.
- Acting for the Sindh Revenue Board in a number of cases before the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding the Sindh Sales Tax on Services Act, 2011.
- Acting in a large number of cases for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited regarding eligibility for subsidy on RLNG prices put in place for the export-oriented sector.
- Acting for the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority in a case before the Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of the schemes prepared by it for allotment of plots to Federal Government Employees.
- Acting in a number of company matters before the Lahore High Court involving disputes between shareholders of Makerwal Collieries Limited.
- “Bright, intelligent”; a “creative and analytical” practitioner; a “very thorough lawyer.” (Chambers 2004-05)
- “He is incredibly effective in court.” “[A] phenomenon – his knowledge of Pakistani and Indian case law is encyclopedic.” (Chambers 2011)
- “very strong courtroom skills and an encyclopedic knowledge of Pakistani case law.” (Chambers 2012)
- “a very deep and up-to-date knowledge of laws and their interpretation by various courts” (Chambers 2013)
- “always there for support, whenever required” (Chambers 2015)
“He is quick on his feet and an excellent advocate – you know you’ll have your hands full.” (Chambers 2022)
Areas of Expertise
- Constitutional disputes
- Competition
- Taxation
- Arbitration
- Construction
- Property and administrative law.