Taxation And Custom Duties
Taxes are universal. Every single adult person deals with matters related to taxation either directly or indirectly. It is ironic that despite its all-pervasive nature, taxation is an area understood by very, very few people. In the field of law as well, tax lawyers are as rare as hens’ teeth. This is because it is a niche area that requires a firm grasp of concepts that go well beyond a lawyer’s typical branch of work. It involves matters of finance, accounting, compliance and business acumen.
If matters of taxes are not well-handled, businesses as well as individuals can find themselves run aground. In Pakistan especially, the Federal Board of Revenue comes hard upon anyone who they suspect of tax fraud or evasion, and so in order to protect yourself and your business, a competent lawyer is an absolute must.
JA Legal prides itself with a team that is the number one solution to specialized matters of tax that may involve a heavy price.
For routine tax and custom matters, our team can advise and represent in matters relating to corporate taxation, sales tax, income tax, custom duties, coercive recovery by the Federal Board of Revenue and other local government taxes.
Corporate and Commercial Law
JA Legal has a bulk of company law matters to service on a daily basis. Several foreign clients (along with Pakistani nationals) that wish to seek advice on feasibility of incorporating a company in Pakistan and the subsequent formalities, solicit our service.
Corporate law is a large area of legal practice, with far-reaching repercussions. We provide legal opinions, legal notices and drafting and vetting services that enable you to run your business free of legal-wrinkles.
Retainers:
Apart from advising and representing on contentious company law matters before High Courts/SECP, in relation to, disagreements on winding up, between minority and majority shareholders, between shareholders and directors, between directors, on company direction and objectives, and on day-to-day issues, we also offer “tailor-made retainers” that may better suit your company. Once again, these are provided at efficient costs and dealt with by senior lawyers. To read more about our retainers, please click here.
Business Startup Services
Many of our clients find our Business Startup package most feasible for their needs. This includes: i. registration and continued compliance with SECP, along with drafting of articles of association and memorandum of association OR drafting and execution of partnership deeds, and ii. Registration and protection of trademarks and copyrights.
Constitutional Law
Cases dealing with constitutional matters are at the heart of our work. In fact, they can be seen as the most integral part of the field of law, since these cases can interpret and mold the constitutional provisions, which has manifold consequences for not just the parties involved, but the entire legal and civil spheres. Constitutional cases can also be the most effective way to find relief for an individual or class of people.
The challenge and novelty of these types of cases have an inherent thrill, as they can potentially lead to landmark orders and precedents that bind future cases with similar points of law.
We also advise on any possible constitutional challenges to statutes, or effects of such statutes/regulations on our client’s business investments.
Real Estate and Property Law
Real Estate and Property Law often is one of the most high-value subject areas for legal pursuit. They are also emotionally sensitive areas because we know that any matter related to property is important to the client, usually since many times, a client’s life-savings have gone into obtaining the property. Further, they are mostly embroiled in tedious litigation or the possibility of litigation.
Some of the services and advice that we offer to our clients is built over many years working with key personnel in the property spheres of Pakistan. We work with property developers, public and private owners, operators, investors, contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, lenders and real estate investment trusts, which incidentally also are our clients.
Rent and Eviction:
One key note in this area is that all cases of rent and eviction are heard before the district court/Rent Controller, no matter the value of the property. At JA Legal, we make sure that these cases are treated with the same care we would a case of a superior court. We know that your property is sacrosanct to you, and no corners can be cut in order in obtaining relief.
Family Law
Whether you are an owner of a vast conglomeration or a smaller-scale business, one thing is for certain- in case of a family law dispute, the case is taken up in the family courts, which is a part of the district court. The reality of district courts in Pakistan is that there is usually a more ad-hoc basis of judicial treatment, a less-regulated legal process and thus eventually more inconvenience and arbitrariness.
At JA Legal, an intrinsically uncomfortable yet so intimate area like family law is treated as if we too are facing the same personal problem. Although our team of lawyers too make seldom appearance at the district courts, we make family law our one exception. This is because, we consider it a cause, and a mission. Only if our clients’ family matters are in harmony, can they truly be productive citizens of the nation. Hence, any family case at the district level is treated like a case of the apex court. Be it a maintenance dispute, divorce dispute, or custody matter, JA Legal can be counted on to understand, and to make things right.
The following are our key areas of practice before the Pakistani family courts.
Custody/Guardianship:
To us, your child is more valuable than any piece of property can ever be. We fight for your legal rights as if we are fighting a crusade, keeping your interests above and beyond any other commitment. We do everything in our power to make sure that your child is given the correct legal recourse that would benefit his/her future in the long-term, since children are the bloodline of the world, and need to be valued as the leaders that they will be.
Divorce/Khulla:
The end of a marriage is always a big step. But it can be bittersweet if done correctly.
As stated earlier, this area is predominately a matter before the lower courts of Pakistan, but JA Legal believes in providing the most sensitive of legal care and client dealing when working with a divorce/khulla case.
Maintenance:
Maintenance is a sticky situation because sometimes the other party flatly does not wish to pay or doesn’t have the means to. In both situations, procuring maintenance and setting its rightful value can be a complex. We at JA Legal are advocates that fight aggressively for you before the courts, so that you are best served.
Inheritance:
Known as one of the most complex area of Islamic law, inheritance matters are very intricate. This is exacerbated due to the fact that the emotional toll on a family of a beloved parent, spouse, sibling or child is too much to bear. When money or other forms of property are added to the mix, there is a great chance of extreme conflict. Individuals within large or small families have differing viewpoints, agendas and experiences and these become hard to navigate. But with JA Legal, we know how to manage emotionally charged conflict and convert it into the form of an appropriate legal remedy, without creating a long-lasting family feud. Given that we are also very familiar with the area of inheritance, we can provide you with reasonable expectations right at the outset of the case so that you can better navigate your inheritance matter.
Domestic Violence:
Domestic violence by a spouse, parent, child or sibling is becoming more and more common. Domestic violence encompasses acts of physical, psychological, sexual, verbal and financial undue force. While this area can be treated as a criminal case in more severe scenarios, the matter can be taken before a family bench too. Given the fact that Pakistan has special legislation against domestic abuse, we levy this while unequivocally arguing your case so that you can get the best possible remedy. This can take the form of damages, interim and restraining orders, khullas/divorce and obtaining FIRs.
Anti-Dumping Laws
Anti-dumping is a specialized area of law which touches upon the principles of taxation and custom duties, and international trade practices. Especially considering the wide-spreading reach of globalization in the past two decades, the area of anti-dumping is now not just very pervasive but also very technical.
JA Legal is one of the few firms of Pakistan dealing with this niche area of law. Our team has conducted extensive research on the various rules and regulations of various jurisdictions in relation to dumping and have put together numerous literature expositing on the various legal issues involved in a dumping case, for example, the normal and export price and injury to the domestic market.
We have represented our clients before the Anti-Dumping Appellate Tribunal situated in Islamabad.
Intellectual Property Law
Infringement of intellectual property is a greater and more legitimate danger in today’s climate where scammers and imposters are lurking behind computer screens. Luckily, there are strong legal remedies available to mitigate this damage. For this sake, JA Legal represents its clients before the Intellectual Property Tribunal (IPT) as well as before the High Courts of Pakistan often.
Many areas of intellectual property laws, for e.g. registering and protecting a trademark are relatively less complicated. However, the JA Legal team has practical and legal experience in dealing with patents as well, which are a notoriously difficult area of law, with very few lawyers in Pakistan with any substantial know-how of the area.
Mediation
JA Legal helps parties resolve disputes amicably by acting as a neutral third-party mediator.
In mediation, the parties are helped to reach a mutually acceptable decision, which serves to be non-binding on them. Due to the long-drawn and expensive nature of court proceedings, mediation can be a very strong option for parties to reach a settlement.
Many times, especially in family or commercial disputes, the opposing party is a part of your flesh and blood, a parent, a sibling, a child or a spouse. Due to this sensitive nature of the relationship, both parties may be disinclined to favour litigation in the courts, and so the matter can unnecessarily remain unresolved. So sometimes mediation is the best solution for such cases, since the mediator plays a proactive yet guiding role in the journey to the best possible outcome.
Mediation is a completely confidential procedure, and in the odd scenario where it fails and court proceedings are required, nothing said or disclosed within the mediation sessions, would be admissible in court. Mediation sessions are usually a combination of joint and private sessions, for the mediator to aid the parties as best as possible.
In many jurisdictions Alternative Dispute Resolution (‘ADR’) which includes mediation is becoming obligatory before heading to a court, since its nature is such that allows more innovative and flexible solutions, that may represent justice for the parties better.
The JA Legal team is well-conditioned to handle disputes via mediation, and would recommend it as a first-step in some sensitive cases.
White Collar Crime
JA Legal has extensive experience in criminal defence. We have applied for Bail for our clients, as well as conducted trials representing them.
We can also deal with a wide array of issues in this area, including but not limited to matters linked with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) and Federal Revenue Board (FBR).
We frequently advise individuals in relation to the correct strategies which they need to adopt in order to mitigate future loss. For instance, sometimes it is advisable to take a proactive approach when a client knows that an investigation/inquiry has been initiated against him in relation to some movable and/or immovable property, and if the client is innocent and if there is reasonable evidence in favour of him, it is strongly strategic to file a constitutional petition or sometimes a suit against the relevant governmental department(s) and its officers.
JA Legal can advise and represent you in money laundering cases and illegal property transactions as well.
Drug & Pharma Laws
JA Legal deals with areas of regulation and licensing of drugs in Pakistan with the Drug Regulatory Authority. We also deal with contentious cases and represent clients at the High Courts as well as before the Drug Courts of Pakistan in matters related to medicines and pharmaceuticals.
Drug Laws are closely related to intellectual property laws since registration and protection of a drug patent is a crucial step of the drug manufacturing process.
Employment/Service Law
Employment law is such a key area of law, especially post-COVID 19. Without an effective legal mechanism of employment, the employee and the employer both may find themselves in compromised scenarios which could easily have been avoided with the help of timely legal advice.
JA Legal can deal with a wide variety of employment and service law issues, including drafting employment or service contracts, drafting employment or HR policy handbooks that sit comfortably with the law, and advising and representing on contentious issues before the various Courts of Pakistan.
Fast-track Legal Services
Along with our portfolio of legal expertise, we also offer a unique fast-track procedure for specific legal services. By choosing our fast-track method you circumvent a lot of exhausting back-and-forths and enable us to ensure that your needs can be met in the most proficient and speedy manner possible.
Our fast-track legal services provide you with our premium legal services with minimal fuss and is predominately online based. Most of the interaction is done via email and/or telephonic conversation.
Our fast-track procedure is for the following services:
⦁ Registering a company
⦁ Registering a partnership deed
⦁ Cease and Desist
⦁ Legal Opinions
⦁ Legal Notices
⦁ Defamation Notice
⦁ Rent Agreement- drafting
⦁ Rent Agreement- vetting
Shipping and Admiralty:
Given that Karachi is a prominent multi sea-port city in the region, JA Legal specializes in dealing with all sorts of shipping and admiralty related contentious and non-contentious matters. Lawyers from the firm have represented various foreign clients on matters relating to arrest of vessels as well as suits involving cargo claims.
Drug & Pharma Laws
JA Legal deals with areas of regulation and licensing of drugs in Pakistan with the Drug Regulatory Authority. We also deal with contentious cases and represent clients at the High Courts as well as before the Drug Courts of Pakistan in matters related to medicines and pharmaceuticals.
Drug Laws are closely related to intellectual property laws since registration and protection of a drug patent is a crucial step of the drug manufacturing process.
