ISLAMABAD: The Attorney General Office has recommended the name of Faisal Naqvi Advocate to assist M/s Howard Kennedy as co-counsel to render advice in Star Hydro Power Project case in London Court of International Arbitration, well informed sources told Business Recorder.
Sharing the details, sources said pursuant to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the engagement of foreign law firms of February 17, 2015, a meeting took place on February 22, 2023 at the Attorney General.
The participants recalled the meeting of February 22, 2023 in which it was decided to engage the services of a well-reputed Pakistani law firm for the purposes of assisting Pakistan’s foreign legal team on aspects of Pakistani law as per the continued requests of Pakistan’s foreign law firm, M/s Howard Kennedy LLP; Pakistan’s Defence in the matter filed on May 25 2023 was also discussed.
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The participants also appreciated that international legal proceedings seeking to enforce a guarantee against Pakistan carried not only significant financial repercussions but may also potentially be used as a precedent in future disputes seeking to enforce Guarantees against the Federation.
Therefore and as persistently advised by Pakistan’s foreign counsel, M/s Howard, the participants appreciated the utmost importance of engaging a reputable Pakistani lawyer to advise/ assist on law governing guarantees and their enforceability in Pakistan.
In this regard and before filing of Pakistan’s Defence, a short-listing exercise was carried out by officials of Attorney General Office, Private Power and Infrastructure Board and Pakistan’s foreign law firm, M/s Howard Kennedy LLP. Three prominent Pakistani lawyers well versed in power sector arbitrations were short-listed namely, Ali Almani, Shahab Qutb, and Faisal Naqvi.
Whilst Almani was conflicted, the remaining said lawyers refused to provide capped fee proposals considering the urgency of engagement, the difficulty in fixing the scope of work until closure of all legal and expert submissions and the early stage of the proceedings.
In this regard, the participants noted that Advocate Naqvi provided the lowest fee hourly quote of Rs 35,000 per hour (reduced from his standard fees of Rs60,000), and he was the most senior of the said three lawyers and had previously offered free advice related to submissions on the seat of arbitration and case management conference, and had also developed a good working relationship with M/s Howard Kennedy LLP.
After careful consideration whilst taking into account the persistent recommendation of Pakistan’s foreign legal team, the stakeholders unanimously decided that: (i) Faisal Naqvi’s services be engaged as a Pakistani law expert on an hourly basis of Rs35,000 per hour and effectuated from the date of his participation and advice on the Defence; (ii) Pakistan’s foreign law firm would be requested to provide, to the extent possible, estimated scope of work in relation to Naqvi’s advice on Pakistan’s submissions and arguments; and (iii) Ministry of Energy (Power Division) Private Power and Infrastructure Board shall be responsible for all legal fees occasioned in relation to Naqvi’s engagement inclusive of endorsement of letters engagement.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023