Biography

As a commercial law specialist, Tahir has been instructed in a high number of cases (See Cases & Publications for full details) including in banking and financial services, defamation, privacy and media, bankruptcy, chancery, company law, contract law, debt and insolvency.

Experienced in high-value cases, Tahir has advised on the £50m acquisition of a luxury hotel brand, as well as worked with High Net Worth clients and Independent Financial Advisors on arbitration and on appeals against arbitration awards. Tahir also advises in the specialist area Islamic Finance including different aspects of Sharia-compliant transactions and advice on sukuk and murabaha issuances.

Tahir accepts instructions in advisory and contentious matters from High Net Worth individuals and SME businesses concerning almost all business, commerce and insolvency law-related matters.

His particular expertise includes:

• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Aviation Leasing
• Banking and Islamic Finance
• Company Commercial Contracts
• Defamation, Privacy and Media
• EU & Public International
• Financial Crime (in particular forex trading)
• Insolvency
• Intellectual Property
• Professional Negligence
• Property and Land (including planning and environmental law)
• Regulatory Compliance & Commercial Judicial Review
• Contested Probate

BACKGROUND

Tahir’s introduction to law came during journalism training at the BBC in the 1990s. Tahir was thrust into voluntary interpreting which became the eventual springboard for a legal career.

Spotted and encouraged by his law lecturer, Tahir undertook legal work experience and spent time observing independently and discussing court proceedings with High Court judges. Mentored by a commercial Queen’s Counsel and two Chancery Commercial High Court Judges, Tahir became a qualified advocate in 2008, upon completion of his Bar Vocational Course with BPP.

After completing the academic and professional stages of qualification, Tahir trained in part at The Insolvency Service where he developed a passion for insolvency law. Tahir went on to train in commercial, insolvency, employment and property matters at chambers in the Temple area of London.

Given the changes in the Legal profession, Tahir decided to develop an additional skill set and cross qualified as a Solicitor-Advocate at a commercial litigation firm. There, Tahir focussed again on insolvency, employment and commercial matters with an emphasis on litigation and dispute resolution, until 2013, when he joined Chambers at Gray’s Inn. In 2016, he founded a set of specialist commercial Barristers at 5 Chancery Lane. Since 2015, he is a part of the editorial board at the LexisNexis Journal of International Banking and Financial Law.

“Tahir is very personable, calm and empathetic, a barrister of the highest calibre. He is professional, attentive and tirelessly dedicated. He gets his client thoroughly involved in the process and preparation for the case, which has the added value of helping the client understand the stage by stage process. His approach, analysis, applied logic and attention to detail, mark him as a master strategist. A valuable asset in any situation.”

Personal Interests

Alongside his passion for the law, Tahir is known as “The Singing Barrister” and has an active interest in the creative arts. He is an actor, songwriter, presenter and performer. He currently hosts his own drive time radio show on current affairs and human-interest stories and has performed in theatre productions, TV shows, as well as feature films.