Skip to content

Contact

Book Consultation

Home
Sitemap

Sitemap

The whole site.

The Firm

Home
About The First Counsel
The Firm
Our History
Our Values
The Name
Independence & Ethics
Pro Bono & Community
Rankings & Recognition
Book a Consultation

Practice Areas

Industries

All Industries
Startups
SaaS
Artificial Intelligence
Fintech
HealthTech
EdTech
FoodTech
Retail
Manufacturing
Healthcare
Construction
Hospitality
Real Estate & Development
Investment Funds
Family Offices
NGOs & Non-Profits
Technology
Exporters
Enterprise & Corporates
SMEs

Services

All Services
Fractional General Counsel
Legal Retainers
SECP Incorporation
Private Limited Company Registration
LLP Registration
Foreign Company Registration
Trademark Registration
Legal Audits
Legal Opinions
Corporate Secretarial Services

The Hubs

Startup Law in Pakistan: The Complete Guide
Starting a Company in Pakistan
The Private Limited Company
The SECP Incorporation Process, Step by Step
Choosing a Business Structure
Founder Agreements
Cap Table Structuring
SAFEs in Pakistan
Convertible Notes
Seed Rounds in Pakistan
Angel Investment
Series A
Investment Readiness
Building a Data Room
ESOPs in Pakistan
IP Assignment
The Fundraising Checklist
The Startup Compliance Calendar
The Legal Documents Every Startup Needs
Foreign Investment into Pakistani Startups
Cross-Border Expansion
Employment & HR Law in Pakistan: The Complete Guide
Employment Contracts in Pakistan
Offer Letters
Termination Law in Pakistan
Probation Periods
Employee Handbooks
Leave Policies
Remote-Work Policy
Workplace Harassment Policy
Disciplinary Policy & Process
Grievance Procedures
Performance Improvement Plans
Contractor vs Employee
The Labour Laws of Pakistan: An Overview
EOBI: Employer Obligations
Provincial Social Security (PESSI & SESSI)
Payroll Compliance
The HR Audit
Corporate & Legal Advisory in Pakistan: The Complete Guide
What a General Counsel Does
The Fractional General Counsel Model
Board Advisory
Legal Risk Advisory
Corporate Governance in Pakistan
Internal Policies Architecture
Business Expansion
Investor Readiness
The Legal Health Check
Vendor Risk
The Corporate Compliance Calendar
Business Structuring

FAQs & Checklists

FAQ Center
Company Incorporation
Business Structures
Startups & Founders
Fundraising & Investment
Employment & HR
HR Policies & Handbooks
Commercial Contracts
Technology, Data & AI
Intellectual Property
Tax
Foreign Investment & Cross-Border
Compliance & Governance
Disputes & Arbitration
Real Estate & Construction
Working With The Firm
Legal Basics for Business
The Annual Compliance Calendar
The Employment Contract Checklist
The Fundraising Data Room Checklist
The HR Policy Starter Kit
The Legal Health Check
The Startup Legal Checklist

People

All People
Hasnain Ali Qureshi
[Partner Name]
[Partner Name]
[Partner Name]
[Partner Name]
[Partner Name]
[Partner Name]
[Partner Name]
[Counsel Name]
[Counsel Name]
[Counsel Name]
[Counsel Name]
[Advisor Name]
[Advisor Name]
[Associate Name]
[Associate Name]
[Associate Name]
[Associate Name]
[Associate Name]
[Associate Name]
[Associate Name]
[Associate Name]
[Associate Name]
[Associate Name]

Insights

All Insights
The First Reading
After Incorporation: The First 90 Days of Compliance
Annual SECP Filings: A Plain-Language Guide
Are E-Signatures Legally Binding in Pakistan?
Branch vs Subsidiary: How Foreign Companies Enter Pakistan
Contractor Agreements That Survive Scrutiny
Down Rounds and Dilution: The Legal Mechanics Nobody Explains
The Employment Contract Mistakes Pakistani Employers Keep Making
EOBI and Social Security: When Your Obligations Actually Start
ESOP Pools: How Pakistani Startups Actually Set Them Up
Founder Vesting in Pakistan: Making Reverse Vesting Actually Work
The Founders' Agreement Clauses That Decide Disputes Later
Hiring Remote Workers Across Borders: The Pakistani Employer's View
How Foreign Investors Get Money Into — and Out of — Pakistani Startups
How to Register a Company in Pakistan: The Complete SECP Process
Splitting Equity Between Co-Founders: The Legal Mechanics
The HR Records That Save You in a Labour Dispute
IP Assignment: The Clause Every Startup Gets Wrong
Terminating Lawfully in Pakistan: A Step-by-Step Guide for Employers
Leave: What Pakistani Law Actually Requires
Licensing Software to Foreign Customers from Pakistan
NDAs in Pakistan: What They Can and Cannot Do
Negotiating MSAs: A Guide for Pakistani Service Companies
Payroll Withholding: What Pakistani Employers Must Deduct
Penalty Clauses: Why Yours Is a Ceiling, Not a Hammer
Preparing for Pakistan's Data-Protection Law Before It Arrives
Private Limited vs LLP vs Sole Proprietorship: Choosing Right
Probation: What Employers Get Wrong About Confirmation
SaaS Terms for Pakistani Startups Selling Globally
SAFE vs Convertible Note in Pakistan: Which Instrument, When
Sales Tax on Services: Navigating the Provincial Maze
SECP Name Reservation: What Gets Approved, What Gets Rejected
Seed Due Diligence: What the Investor's Lawyers Will Ask For
Startup Tax Treatment in Pakistan: What Exists and What Doesn't
The Tax Registrations Every New Pakistani Company Needs
Term Sheet Red Flags Founders Miss
The Inquiry Committee Your Company Is Required to Have
Registering a Trademark in Pakistan, Step by Step
UBO Declarations: Who Counts as an Ultimate Beneficial Owner
What Determines the Cost of Incorporating in Pakistan
When Your Business Is Attacked Online: Remedies That Exist
Data, privacy, and the coming Pakistani data-protection regime: preparing now
SECP circulars: second-quarter 2026 digest
Tax fraud vs. tax dispute: the line that decides whether you need us or an accountant
Finance Act 2026: what boards need to know
The First Reading — No. 3
Mutual legal assistance: when foreign evidence enters Pakistani proceedings
Arbitration law reform: status of the new arbitration bill
Injunctions in commercial disputes: the real law of interim relief
The first call: what clients get right, and wrong, in the first ten minutes
Related-party transactions under the Companies Act 2017: the compliance architecture
The Benami trap: how benami transaction proceedings begin, and how they end
Export SROs and rebate schemes: the current landscape for exporters
PECA takedown procedure: the current mechanics
Settlement is a verdict you write yourself
Employee stock options under Pakistani law: making ESOPs actually work
CCP enforcement: deceptive-marketing orders under Section 10
Doing the deal in Pakistan: a foreign investor's map of approvals
The First Reading — No. 2
Bail in white-collar matters: the law after the recent superior-court trilogy
IPO-Pakistan filing practice: what changed for applicants
The Punjab Defamation Act 2024 and corporate communications
SBP prudential update: digital banking and payments
The general counsel's loneliest decisions
Arbitration's promise and Pakistan's opportunity
Virtual assets and the new regulatory architecture: where crypto stands in Pakistan now
The white-collar board briefing: what every director should know before the letter arrives
REIT regulations: an update for sponsors and investors
The First Reading — No. 1
Merger control before the CCP: thresholds, timelines, and tactical filing
Foreign company registration under Part XII: an update
Trade mark opposition practice: current timelines and tactics
What Jinnah's Lincoln's Inn training still teaches Pakistani advocates
FBR's audit-selection policy: who gets picked, and what to do
SBP's foreign-exchange perimeter: repatriation, royalties, and the approvals that matter
The junior's chair: how advocates are actually made
SECP circulars: first-quarter 2026 digest
Shareholders' agreements that survive Pakistani courts: five clauses that fail, five that hold
Company incorporation: changes to the SECP regime
Labour-law compliance: the filings employers miss
In defense of the difficult client
Limitation and court-fee changes: recalibrate your deadlines
The dawn raid protocol: the first six hours decide the next six years
CCP enforcement: recent cartel penalty decisions
The 26th Constitutional Amendment, eighteen months on: what actually changed for litigants
Why we pair corporate and criminal practice
Minimum wage and social-security contributions: current rates and exposure
Enforcing foreign arbitral awards in Pakistan: the 2011 Act in practice
SBP prudential update: corporate and SME financing
The presumption of innocence is a practice, not a phrase
New e-filing rules in the High Courts: what changes for filings
The ethics of the white-collar defense: answering the dinner-party question
The director's liability map: every hat, every exposure, one chart
Stamp duty digitization in Sindh: e-stamping in practice
PECA after the 2025 amendments: what companies can no longer say — and what they still can
Every contract is a future lawsuit
Import SROs: the current landscape for importers
On reading judgments aloud: what oral tradition preserves
Stamp duty digitization in Punjab: e-stamping in practice
The NAB amendments and pending references: where matters stand
Anatomy of a NAB reference: from call-up notice to accountability court

Resources

The Working Library
Legislation Tracker
Digital Nation Pakistan Act, 2025
Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025
Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework, 2025
Constitution (Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Act, 2024
National Accountability (Amendment) Acts, 2022–24
Punjab Defamation Act, 2024
Online Content Rules under PECA (Removal & Blocking Rules lineage)
Special Technology Zones Authority Act, 2021
SBP AML/CFT & Fit-and-Proper Frameworks
Listed Companies (Code of Corporate Governance) Regulations
Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017
Companies Act, 2017
Elections Act, 2017
Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2017
Right of Access to Information Act, 2017
Futures Market Act, 2016
Securities Act, 2015
Industrial Relations Act, 2012
Arbitration Act, 1940 & Recognition and Enforcement Act, 2011
Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010
Competition Act, 2010
Punjab & Sindh Rented Premises Laws
Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance, 2001
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001
Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001
Insurance Ordinance, 2000
Patents Ordinance, 2000
Sales Tax Act, 1990
Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984
Customs Act, 1969
Land Revenue Act, 1967
Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962
Copyright Ordinance, 1962
Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
Transfer of Property Act, 1882
Specific Relief Act, 1877
Contract Act, 1872
Pakistan Penal Code, 1860
Landmark Decisions
Guides
Entity choice & incorporation
Foreign investment & exchange control
Tax at a glance
Employment
Dispute resolution
Exiting
The agencies: NAB, FIA, FBR, SECP, and the provincial ACEs
The first 48 hours
Bail, remand & travel
Trials, plea bargains & appeals
Glossary
Compliance Calendar
Circulars Digest

Locations & The Rest

Locations
Business Lawyer in Pakistan
Commercial Lawyer in Pakistan
Corporate Lawyer in Lahore
Employment Lawyer in Lahore
Legal Advisor in Pakistan
Startup Lawyer in Lahore
Representative Matters
Lawyers in Lahore
Corporate Law Firm in Lahore
The Courts
News
Events
Careers
Associates
Law Students
Lateral
Business Services
Contact
Lahore Office
Search
Legal Hub
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Disclaimer
اردو

Every matter begins with a first conversation.

Contact the Firm →

The modern legal partner for businesses. Corporate, commercial, startup, employment, technology, and investment counsel — with disputes in support.

The First Reading — Monthly Digest

Email address

Firm

About The First Counsel
Our Story
Our Values
People
Careers
News
Contact
Book a Consultation

Practice Areas

All Practice Areas
Corporate Law
Startup Law
Employment Law
Commercial Contracts
Technology Law
Fundraising & Investment
Tax Advisory
Dispute Resolution

Industries & Hubs

All Industries
Startups
SaaS
Fintech
SMEs
The Startup Legal Hub
The HR Hub
The Advisory Hub
Services

Resources & Insights

Insights
FAQ Center
Resource Library
Legislation Tracker
Landmark Decisions
Guides
Glossary
The Courts
Sitemap

8th Floor, Askari Corporate Towers

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Reach the firm

[email protected]

Serving clients across Pakistan — locations

© 2026 The First Counsel · Advocates & Corporate Advisors

Attorney advertising — prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Nothing on this site is legal advice.

Designed by TECHBANQ · techbanq.net

Legal Privacy Terms Disclaimer

Email
Book