Surridge & Beecheno

The firm: Surridge & Beecheno was founded in 1948 in Karachi by two British barristers, Charles Surridge and Peter Beecheno. Both the founding partners had a family history of legal practice in Rangoon (Burma) going back to the middle of the 19th century. Over the years the firm expanded and inducted several Pakistani partners and opened branch offices in Lahore and Chittagong in the then East Pakistan. The last of the British senior partners was Mr John Frederick Campbell Gallaher, CBE, DSO, DFC and BAR, wartime path finder and later solicitor. Through his efforts and skill as a solicitor, the oldest law firm in the country contributed to the industrial development of Pakistan, a contribution that is well recognised by local and foreign investors who have benefited from the firm’s assistance.

The firm, with its principal office in Karachi, now has seven partners and 25 associates. In addition to the Karachi office, the firm has an office in Lahore.

The firm is dedicated to providing the highest quality legal representation to institutional and individual clients who demand the sophistication and expertise of a large law firm but who can also benefit from the more individualised client services (and cost effectiveness) offered by a specialised practice.

The partners of Surridge & Beecheno have acted as chairmen and directors of many companies set up in Pakistan and are active members of the International Bar Association and Inter-Pacific Bar Association and have read papers on different topics in various international conferences. The firm provides legal services in almost all parts of Pakistan and has trained personnel specialising in different branches of law. The firm, while maintaining its position as the oldest law firm in Pakistan, and consistency in offering the highest quality of legal services, is committed towards making contributions to the legislative process, assisting courts and tribunals in setting new standards in enforcement prosecution practices. The firm’s partners have appeared as counsel in many landmark cases and secured decisions by the Supreme Court of Pakistan laying down the law which is followed as precedents.

A partner in the firm was elevated to the Bench of Sindh High Court and later to the Supreme Court of Pakistan and retired as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Upon his retirement, he was engaged as a consultant to this firm until his appointment as the Federal Tax Ombudsman, from which post he retired.

The firm also provides to its clients the services of negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration. A number of partners are directors on the boards of some of Pakistan’s largest public companies and of many multinational private companies. They also assist and advise by their presence on the boards of various charitable institutions.

Areas of practice: Admiralty/maritime law; arbitration; aviation; banking and finance; competition/antitrust; constitutional law; construction; conveyancing; corporate and commercial law; customs laws; employment/labour; energy, gas and oil; engineering contracts; environment; estates, trusts and probate; family; foreign investment; government contracts; immigration; industrial laws; insurance; intellectual property/trade marks and patents; land/property/real estate; law of damages; medical malpractice; nonprofit organisations; public international law; securities/shares/stocks; tax law (income tax, excise, sales tax and customs); World trade laws (WTO); and civil claims of all kinds including litigation.

The firm undertakes all forms of civil, commercial and corporate work, both contentious and non-contentious. The firm regularly represents its clients in all civil courts, the Monopoly Control Authority and before local and international arbitral tribunals.

The firm embraces practice in all corporate and commercial legal fields. The firm’s policy is simple: it provides legal service that represents value to its clients. The whole structure of the firm is geared towards providing quality of legal services to meet the needs of each client. Fast growth of international trade and business transactions has prompted lawyers to cross national borders and establish themselves internationally. The firm has established close relations with most of the largest law firms in USA, Europe, the Far East and South-East Asia.