Mirza is commercially minded and has a strong customer focused approach that endeavours to achieve the best results for the client, in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
Nationally and independently recognised as a highly ranked lawyer by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, Dr Mirza Ahmad is an award-winning barrister whose vast and multi-disciplinary expertise is called upon in some of the most serious, complex and high-profile cases in the market.
As an illustrative example, Mirza has been involved in multi-million-pound commercial property disputes, cases adjudicated upon by the House of Lords and Supreme Court, as well as numerous reported cases across many disciplines in his 36 years at the bar. Mirza brings a wealth of experience and served as an employed barrister in local government for 26 years, where he latterly served as the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Governance Director – leading over 800 staff and a team of 80 in-house solicitors and barristers, who handled approximately 9000 cases annually.
An almost uninterrupted member of the General Council of the Bar since 1995, Mirza is a true multi-disciplinary heavyweight who serves as trusted advisor to major corporates, private individuals and public bodies alike. Maintaining a successful four-pronged practice, Mirza’s vast experience and encyclopaedic knowledge of the law means that he is equally comfortable in complex personal injury or clinical/professional negligence cases; public & administrative cases; civil, commercial & property cases; and in employment cases. Mirza is an accomplished advocate, as well as a renowned expert in case strategy, litigation approach and drafting.
As a former president of the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors, Mirza has a keen interest in ensuring access to justice for all. As such, Mirza is able to take direct instructions from members of the public under the Direct Access scheme in each of the four main areas of his multi-disciplinary practice.
My approach
Mirza’s personable style sets his clients (professional and lay alike) at ease. He prides himself on his upfront and considered management of his clients’ expectations at all times – whether in respect of turnaround times, prospects of success or the quality and position of the evidence.
A pragmatist and realist, Mirza takes an honest, frank and transparent approach when considering and advising upon evidence. Whilst always preparing the case to the best point possible, he ensures that his clients are armed with clear advice in tricky situations. Repeat clients of Mirza’s, some of whom have trusted him for many years, comment on his continued commitment, proactive approach to securing and using feedback to improve and his commercial awareness. Mirza offers an insight into the top echelons of a major organization or business, from his time in local government leadership, that few can match.
This insight sets him apart as a truly leading junior in his fields. Mirza is duly authorised to provide expert legal advice and/or representation to members of the public in relation to all of the above areas of work and he is keen to ensure that members of the public can benefit from the access to justice he offers (in that they do not need to instruct a solicitor to instruct him and so can save money). Mirza also accepts clients for ADR and Mediation.
My work
Few can be said to have ‘written the book’ on public and administrative law, but through his service as General Editor of both Lexis Nexis’ Local Authority Law, Practice and Procedure” since 2009, and of Butterworth’s Knight’s Guide to Public Procurement Law and Practice between 2007 and 2014, Mirza strikes a claim few can challenge. Armed with a ‘legal lifetime’ of 26 years’ experience in local government, often at the most senior end of operations, Mirza’s insight and expertise in public and administrative law issues is almost unparalleled.
Naturally comfortable with the most complex of contractual issues, partnership and JV issues, governance, housing law, judicial review, planning & CPO, environmental, trust and charity, and procurement & tendering issues, Mirza remains in high demand on complex and major cases. In addition, Mirza is a nationally recognized expert on the implication of the Human Rights Act 1998 on local government and has written books and delivered numerous national seminars on the topic, over his decades of practice.
A rare and niche sub-specialism, Mirza has also undertaken a number of cases involving members of professional bodies who have disputes with or who seek the Judicial Review / Appeal of professional body decision-making relating to, for example, the striking off from the professional register of members and/ or the imposition of restrictive conditions of practice relating to doctors / nurses. This naturally complements his thriving clinical and professional negligence practices, as well as enabling Mirza to bring his vast administrative and procedural knowledge to bear in favour of his clients. A true ‘gamekeeper turned poacher’ if ever there was.
A small sample of Mirza’s vast public law, administrative law and regulatory body experience, over the past 5 years, includes advising and/or representing:
• Various parties in local authority disputes and Judicial Review litigation (including allegations of fraud, EU procurement, State Aid, TUPE and Pensions advice);
• Councils in Judicial Review and Housing Appeal cases, both for and against Councils;
• Parties (including Doctors, Pharmacists and Nurses) in professional body disputes and litigation; and
• Parties in Kotak v Kotak [2014] EWHC 3121 (Ch), also relevant in this context.
Other recent public law instructions include:
- Appearing for a London Borough in a Judicial Review and Housing Appeal cases;
- Advice for/against Councils re Judicial Reviews, CPOs, Leisure Trusts, procurement and contractual challenges;
- Employment cases (including EAT, discrimination and redundancies) for/against Councils, a University, a Royal College (equal pay claims arising from a performance review scheme) and NHS Trusts; and
- Other litigation for/against a Probation Trust and Housing Trusts / Associations.
About me
Called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn, in 1984, Mirza commenced his first career in local government, from 1985, and has been a Member of the General Council of the Bar for England & Wales since 1995 (save for 1998). Mirza practices from St Philips Chambers, since November 2011, from Birmingham (at 55 Temple Row) and in Leeds (23 Park Square).
Mirza is nationally recognised as an expert in local authority law and employment law, with over 26 years in-house local government experience. From 2000 to 2011, he was the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Director of Governance of Birmingham City Council, with leadership over 800+ staff.
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Mirza is the General Editor of Lexis Nexis “Local Authority Employment Law, Practice and Procedure” (since 2009); and was the general Editor for Butterworth’s “Knight’s Guide to Public Procurement Law and Practice” (2007-2014).
What my clients say
“Mirza’s performance is very impressive in case work and with dealing with the client. ” - Legal 500 2022
Over the course of his career, Mirza has been highly ranked in both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners in the areas of public & administrative law and employment law respectively. He has also been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws.
A small sample of the many testimonials Mirza has received in recent years includes:
“Working with Mirza has been truly inspirational and returned my faith in justice” A direct access client
“We are really impressed with Dr Mirza’s performance in our recently instructed case. He not only managed to secure our client a good compensation but also recovered more than expected costs for us. We are definitely instructing him going forward.” Client Testimonial, Principal Solicitor at a well-known firm
“Mirza was instructed at very short notice and he prepared the case extremely well. His cross examination was faultless an excellent performance with a great result.” Client Testimonial, local authority employment client
“Mirza is a lawyer with an enviable range of skills and experience. He is conscientious with a high level of commitment to any task that he undertakes. If you want results, Mirza is the man to have on your team.” Client Testimonial, Principal Solicitor at a well-known firm
Further various client testimonials from legal directories and/or private clients:
“Recommended for unfair dismissals and restrictive covenants work.”
“Extremely thorough and shows great empathy.”
“Provides a realistic view of the strengths of a case.”
“He shows commercial awareness and strong technical knowledge of discrimination cases.”
Further feedback can be viewed on LinkedIn and at www.lawandgovernance.co.uk
Professional & academic
Articles and Publications:
Mirza is the General Editor of “Lexis Nexis’ Local Authority Law, Practice and Procedure” (since 2009) and was the General editor of “Butterworth’s Knight’s Guide to Public Procurement Law and Practice” (2007-2014).
He has, over the last two decades, written a number of articles on ethical and corporate governance, employment, EU Directives & UK Procurement Regulations, Compulsory Competitive Tendering, Human Rights Act 1998 and on TUPE (the Transfer of Undertaking Regulations).
Memberships:
- Member of The General Council of the Bar for England & Wales (since 1995, save for 1998), ELA, PIBA, Midlands Circuit, Birmingham Law Society;
- Chairman of the Bar Association for Local Government & the Public Services (since 1998); and
- President of the Association of Council Secretaries & Solicitors (2009/2010)