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.
Mirza maintains a high profile and senior-level personal injury, clinical and professional negligence practice. He tends to appear for Claimants in clinical negligence cases, and has a balanced Claimant and Defendant client portfolio in respect of road traffic accident, employer liability and occupier liability claims. His work is predominantly multi-track in nature, reflecting Mirza’s extensive expertise and the complex level of case he is typically instructed in.
A small sample of Mirza’s vast personal injury and wider professional negligence experience, over the past 5 years, includes representing and/or defending numerous individuals, insurers, large employers, NHS Authorities/Trusts, Colleges/Universities and Local Authorities (including cases covering allegations of fraud and fundamental dishonesty). Some of the trials/hearings, recently, have been via CVP or Skype for Business.
My work
Mirza maintains a high profile and senior-level personal injury, clinical and professional negligence practice. He tends to appear for Claimants in clinical negligence cases, and has a balanced Claimant and Defendant client portfolio in respect of road traffic accident, employer liability and occupier liability claims. His work is predominantly multi-track in nature, reflecting Mirza’s extensive expertise and the complex level of case he is typically instructed in.
For example, Mirza is regularly instructed in multi-track RTA trials concerning allegations of fraud and/or fundamental dishonesty, as well as cases involving allegations which fall short of fraud. Mirza is in the rare position of being equally valued by major Claimant firms and Defendant insurers alike, all of whom commend his sensible approach, forensic review of the issues and robust advocacy.
A small sample of Mirza’s vast personal injury and wider professional negligence experience, over the past 5 years, includes representing and/or defending numerous individuals, insurers, large employers, NHS Authorities/Trusts, Colleges/Universities and Local Authorities (including cases covering allegations of fraud and fundamental dishonesty). Some of the trials/hearings, recently, have been via CVP or Skype for Business.
Recent personal injury matters include, for example, medical and hospital negligence : involving ruptured breast implants, hospital operation failures, dental misalignments, failures to diagnose (or if diagnosed, failures to action) appropriate clinical treatment and unsupervised care in hospitals leading to injuries.
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)