Malik Imtiaz Sarwar

The firm: The firm was established by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar in 1997 and has developed into one of the country’s leading litigation practices, operating predominantly as a counsel’s practice. With about 20 years’ experience at the Bar, Malik Imtiaz is recognised as a lawyer’s lawyer and is one of Malaysia’s leading litigators, being regularly briefed in complex matters before the Federal Court (the apex court), the Court of Appeal and the High Court in a diverse range of practice areas. He leads his practice with the support of three assisting junior counsel and two pupils. The firm’s close working relationship with instructing solicitors allows for a rigorous and concentrated approach to the disputes the firm is briefed on.

The firm’s main practice areas are civil and commercial disputes, as well as matters of public and constitutional law. Malik Imtiaz has appeared as counsel in more than 200 reported decisions in a wide range of matters, a significant number of which were handed down in landmark or precedent setting cases. The firm’s diverse clients include corporations, corporate bodies and individuals in the public and private spheres. The firm has been given fiats to act for two Malaysian state governments in connection with multimillion-ringgit disputes.

Malik Imtiaz holds an MA (with distinction) from the University of Hong Kong (Taufik Ali Memorial Scholar) and an MA in international human rights law at Oxford University (with distinction) (Chevening Scholar). He was called to the Malaysian Bar in 1994, having read law at the International Islamic University. He has served on the Malaysian Bar Council and was the president of the National Human Rights Society (HAKAM) from 2006-2012. He is an opinion leader in the field of democracy and the rule of law, for which he was awarded the Index on Censorship, Freedom of Expression Award (for Legal Advocacy) in 2009. Malik Imtiaz currently serves as a member of the Penang Pardons Board, a constitutional body that advises the Governor of the Malaysian state of Penang on applications for pardons and clemency.

Areas of practice: Corporate litigation, including: shareholder disputes, directors’ duties, corporate fraud and actions under the Companies Act 1965; civil litigation, including: banking/capital markets, media law and defamation, contractual claims, torts, insurance, claims against governments, and human rights; administrative law, including commercial judicial review; white-collar crime; constitutional law; and alternative dispute resolution.