Syed Asad Haider

Partner 
Advocate High Courts 
LLB (Cardiff, UK) BA (Punjab)

Asad Haider is an attorney with 24 years of diverse legal experience. He  has extensive expertise in advising and representing both national and international corporations on contentious and non-contentious issues. He has remained as General Counsel for Pakistan’s largest vertically integrated oil and gas group, The Attock Oil Group of Companies contesting their large portfolio of litigation; and leading high-stakes negotiations, including multimillion-dollar acquisitions. He is a qualified Mediation Advocate and highly skilled in navigating the intricacies of Corporate and Regulatory matters and Energy deals, making him a trusted advisor for leading enterprise and Governmental institutions.

Asad’s career as a legal professional finds its roots in handling litigation for clients with contentious matters varying from civil and criminal disputes, corporate transactional issues, banking matters, matters in special courts of Banking, Central, Anti-narcotics, Customs, and Appellate matters and Constitutional Petitions in the High Courts. He is a qualified Mediation Advocate and has successfully conducted high stake mediations in the commercial and, more specifically, power sector.

He has successfully advised on and negotiated several multimillion USD deals and agreements in the Energy sector including Petroleum Concessions, Crude Oil / Gas Sales, Joint Operations, Fuel Supply, O&M. In addition to that he has successfully advised on a project of midstream Oil & Gas company acquisition valued over $150 million with a diverse asset portfolio in other segments of the Energy sector.

As part of the apex Corporate and Capital Markets Regulator, Asad managed a portfolio of hundreds of cases all over Pakistan and also provided specialized legal counsel on issues relating to NBFCs (Investment Banks, Modarabas, Insurance Companies, Leasing Companies) and the Securities Market. He advised on, as well as, conducted enforcement actions, inquiries and investigations into contraventions and non-compliance of laws including the 2008 market crash; matters related to market manipulation and insider trading. He played a key role in legislative drafting, including NBFC Rules and REITs Regulations and amendments in the Companies Act.

As part of general legal practice, he advises corporate clients on company law, contract law, oil and gas law, competition issues, and IP matters. He represents clients in high-profile litigation in the High Courts and other judicial and quasi-judicial forums. Asad also has a keen interest in academics and has taught at institutions offering University of London (External) Law programme.

Education
  • LLB  (Bachelor of Laws) University of Cardiff, UK
  • BA (Bachelor of Arts) Government College, Lahore
Areas of Expertise
  • Corporate
  • Commercial
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Mediation
  • Oil and Gas
  • Litigation