Mahbub & Company

The firm: Mahbub & Company was established in 1995 under the leadership of AM Mahbub Uddin, barrister-at-law (Lincoln’s Inn, UK). Starting with a team of five, the firm has now grown considerably to have specialists in core practice areas. The firm has made a name for itself in dispute resolution with a strong litigation practice in the Supreme Court and the District Courts of Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong. The firm’s arbitration practice focuses on cross-border commercial disputes and disputes involving government departments and is growing fast with wider use of alternative dispute resolution methods. Mahbub & Company advises large multinationals and local businesses in Bangladesh spread across the construction, energy, real-estate, consumer product, banking and shipping industries and is a full-service firm with a dedicated corporate team. Members of the firm have expertise in a wide range of areas of law and regularly participate in policy-level meetings on legislative reform.

The head of chambers, AM Mahbub Uddin, is a respected figure in the legal profession and is currently one of 14 elected members of the Bangladesh Bar Council, the highest regulatory body for lawyers in the country, and since 2012 the secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association. He has over 20 years of litigation experience and regularly appears before the Supreme Court particularly in matters of judicial review. He also has immense expertise in white-collar crime, commercial law and banking litigation. He has represented a former Prime Minister in corruption charges since 2007, was legal adviser of the Bangladesh Cricket Board from 2001-2006 and advised Occidental Petroleum Corporation in a dispute with the Bangladesh government following a gas-field explosion in 1997.

Associate partner Saqeb Mahbub heads the corporate and commercial team and has recently advised PepsiCo India, Sainsbury’s UK, UNDP, UNHCR and the Royal Danish Embassy.

Areas of practice
Litigation and arbitration: The core practice of Mahbub & Company and the reason for its rise to prominence in the legal arena is the firm’s dispute resolution practice. Head of chambers AM Mahbub Uddin brings over two decades of dispute resolution experience spanning across commercial, banking, industrial, construction, environmental, labour, administrative and criminal laws. The firm has over the years dealt with some of the biggest cases in the Supreme Court and the firm’s counsel have been involved in over 100 reported judgments. The firm is also a reputed name in construction and real estate arbitration. In 2014 Mahbub & Company was on the winning side of a landmark case in corporate governance (Hafiz Ahmed Mazumder v Pubali Bank Limited, reported in 66 DLR 234) that established a minimum shareholding for directors of listed companies. The firm has acted for multinationals and Bangladeshi conglomerates alike in several high value litigation and arbitration matters.

Labour law and employment: Mahbub & Company’s labour and employment law practice has kept up with the voluminous new legislation in the area which has made enterprises focus on compliance. The firm’s advisory work ranges from creating and reviewing codes of conduct, various HR policies, appointment letters, handling key employee terminations, NDAs, ESOPs, etc. The firm has been engaged to conduct investigations in disciplinary actions and representing companies in the labour courts. Mahbub & Co.’s clientele in this area include PepsiCo India, Sainsbury’s PLC UK, Just Farming (BV) Netherlands, Muslim Aid UK, Double A (Thailand), Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) and Justice and Care UK.

Banking and finance: The firm’s banking practice relies heavily on both its litigation and corporate teams. The firm has immense experience in representing clients in the specialised money loan recovery courts, foreclosure proceedings, liquidation proceedings and cheque dishonour charges. The firm has advised and represented businesses in debt restructuring negotiations, most notably a consumer goods conglomerate in the past year which had loan exposure in 29 banks and non-banking financial institutions. The firm has advised the National Bank Ltd on its cross-border remittance agreements with partners in the USA, Malaysia, UAE, etc. The firm also advises The City Bank in high stake company, criminal, civil and administrative litigation cases.

Business incorporation: Mahbub & Company is truly full service when it comes to setting up a business in Bangladesh. This includes incorporation advice and support, facilitating Board of Investment registration, income tax and VAT registration, investor and employee visa and work permits, trade license, fire certificate, environmental clearance certificate, factory certificate.

International trade and shipping: Mahbub & Company is a trusted name in cross-border trade advice and dispute resolution with expertise and experience in the field of cargo and L/C disputes and negotiations, export and import transactions, maritime law and disputes with customs and port authorities. The firm also advises on multi-modal transport, cross border sales and product liability, and extends its reach to importers and exporters across several industries including pharmaceuticals, ready-made garments, automobiles, etc. Clients advised include Premier Cement Mills, Multimode Ltd and Mongla Cement Factory.

Intellectual property: The firm provides low-cost and hassle-free registration support for IP rights and is involved in various IP disputes in courts including the High Court and Supreme Court. Clients are advised on structuring, licensing, franchising, joint-ventures, mergers and acquisitions, IP audits/Due Diligence. Notably, Mahbub & Company has previously represented big names like Casio in high stakes trademark dispute.

Taxation: Mahbub & Company provides comprehensive tax advice and tax solutions to companies and groups in a wide range of industries. The firm is a one-stop destination for new companies and market entrants in obtaining income tax, VAT and Customs registration and licenses. The litigation team represents clients at all stages of tax disputes including forums of first instance, Appellate Tribunals, Review Committees and the High Court and Appellate Divisions of the Supreme Court.

Real estate: Mahbub & Company has a robust practice in the fast growing real estate industry. The firm advises real-estate developers and investors on all legal aspects of investment providing them with services of title verification, encumbrance search, permissive land use, RAJUK (Capital Development Authority) rules and regulations, effect of DAP (Detailed Area Plan) of the Government, land ceiling, zoning, and issues such as non-transferability of lands, negative covenants, environmental license and all regulatory and approval issues.

The firm advises and represents real-estate developers and land-owners in construction contracts, drafts and reviews contracts, including Powers of Attorney, for land development and creates sample Agreements for property sale to end-customers.

Foreign investment: Mahbub & Company is truly full service when it comes to advising foreign clients on overall regulatory regime in Bangladesh, entity structuring and supporting with setting up a business in Bangladesh. The support includes incorporation advise and support, creating “Project Profile” for approval of the Bangladesh Investment Development Board, income tax and VAT registration, investor and employee visa and work permits, trade license, fire certificate, environmental clearance certificate, factory certificate and EPZ formalities. Notably, in 2018 the firm has advised and supported Brother Corporation (Japan), Span International (India), CPP (UK) on entity structuring and incorporation of subsidiaries and UPL Limited (India) on its acquisition of a Bangladeshi company.

Corporate mergers and acquisitions:  Mahbub & Company provides cutting-edge corporate advisory and transactional services. The firm’s truly international outlook is geared towards serving clients in the fast growing market of mergers and acquisitions. The firm has acted various stakeholders and executed mergers through the Company Bench of the High Court and acts for investors and promoters alike in investment transactions, takeovers, joint-ventures and buyouts. The firm also has a growing clientele in Bangladesh’s budding technology industry and regularly advises clients on cross-border share/asset acquisitions.

Insolvency: Mahbub & Co is a leading firm in corporate insolvency in Bangladesh. The firm has immense experience in representing clients in the specialised money loan recovery courts, foreclosure proceedings, liquidation proceedings and cheque dishonour charges. The firm has advised and represented a number of large businesses in debt restructuring negotiations, most notably a Chittagong-based consumer goods conglomerate which had loan exposure in 29 banks and NBFIs. The firm led the first creditor-driven winding up of a real estate company in 2018.