ABOUT

Executive Summary: Rai Saleh is an internationally recognised and seasoned strategic counsel and international transactional lawyer with over two decades of cross-sectoral and cross-border experience advising on high-stakes corporate matters, commercial transactions, regulatory compliance, defence procurement, and classified engagements. He holds senior roles across leading law firms and advisory platforms in Pakistan, UAE, and Türkiye, and is recognised by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia-Pacific, The Asia-Pacific Legal 500, and other international directories for his legal experience, expertise, and acumen. 

Legal Practice and Expertise

As a cross-jurisdictional legal practitioner with active engagements across Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Türkiye, Rai Saleh brings a distinctive combination of contentious and non-contentious capabilities, integrating international standards with nuanced regional and local knowledge. His practice spans litigation, transactions, regulatory compliance, and strategic advisory across multiple sectors and jurisdictions.

With significant experience in both transactional and dispute resolution matters, Rai Saleh advises on investment frameworks, regulatory landscapes, and cross-border commercial strategies. He has guided clients through complex international business transactions, corporate restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and company formations – both domestic and offshore. His portfolio includes contract negotiation and drafting, regulatory licensing, legal structuring, and strategic advisory for multinational and regional enterprises. 

Sectoral Focus Areas

Rai Saleh’s legal practice spans a broad spectrum of sectors and industries, encompassing both contentious and non-contentious work across domestic and international contexts.

For a list of his areas of expertise, please visit the Expertise page. 

Classified Mandates and Strategic Legal Engagements

Rai Saleh’s work also extends beyond conventional legal practice into highly sensitive and strategically critical domains, including classified initiatives and Track II dialogues and negotiations within complex geopolitical and security environments. He has advised on and structured cross-border defence and security contracts involving government entities, military organizations, and private sector stakeholders, with particular focus on strategic alignment, regulatory compliance, and operational discretion.

He has been engaged on mandates requiring close coordination with state institutions responsible for national security and defence, strategic planning, and intelligence cooperation. These engagements demand a nuanced understanding of international diplomacy, defence procurement protocols, and the regulatory frameworks governing strategic trade, dual-use technology, and cross-border transfers.

His experience includes the negotiation and structuring of contracts subject to international export control regimes and end-user certification requirements, ensuring alignment with national security imperatives and institutional sensitivities.

With a focus on discretion, compliance, and strategic coherence, Rai Saleh brings legal insight and acumen and strategic discretion to high-stakes initiatives operating at the intersection of law, geopolitics, and statecraft where confidentiality, compliance, and inter-agency coordination are critical. His work is defined by a deep understanding of operational nuance and a steadfast commitment to strategic clarity in complex and sensitive environments. 

Bar Admissions and Memberships

  • Enrolled on the Roll of Advocates of the Punjab Bar Council (Pakistan) as an Advocate of the Lower Courts (2000) and High Courts (2002)
  • Life Member, Lahore High Court Bar Association (Punjab Provincial Bar Association) since 2005
  • Life Member, Lahore Bar Association (Lahore District Bar Association) since 2000 

Professional Recognition

Rai Saleh has been recommended by leading international legal directories, including:

  • Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business
  • Chambers Asia-Pacific: Asia-Pacific’s Leading Lawyers for Business
  • The Asia-Pacific Legal 500: A Guide to Asia’s Commercial Law Firms

These accolades reflect his standing in the legal profession and recognition for his consistent delivery of high-calibre legal services.

For further information on his recognitions and accolades, please visit the Recognition page. 

Academic Background

  • B. (Hons), University of London
  • A. in Political Science, History, and Economics, Government College, Lahore
  • A-Levels, The King’s School, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England 

Early Legal Career

Rai Saleh began his legal career as an Associate at Walker Martineau Saleem, Advocates & Legal Consultants, then Pakistan’s largest and most renowned law firm, affiliated with the legacy UK law firm Walker Martineau of 64 Queen Street, London (established in 1823, now merged with Penningtons Solicitors LLP). He worked with Walker Martineau Saleem’s Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and Muscat offices.

He subsequently joined Az Zaman, Advocates & Legal Consultants, one of the most renowned law firms in Islamabad led by Barrister Khaliq-uz-Zaman Khan, where he focused on commercial, corporate, energy, and telecommunication laws. He later rejoined Walker Martineau Saleem as an Associate from 1 February 2001 to 31 January 2004.

During his tenure at Walker Martineau Saleem, Rai Saleh was mentored by some of Pakistan’s most eminent jurists:

  • Saleem Sahgal, Barrister-at-Law
  • Justice (Retd.) M.S.H. Quraishi, former Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan
  • Justice (Retd.) Fazal Karim, former Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan
  • Justice (Retd.) K.M.A. Samdani, former Judge, Lahore High Court

He led the firm’s Banking Courts Litigation Group (2002–2004), managing and appearing in over 600 cases before the Federal Banking Courts, Lahore and the Lahore High Court.

These formative years exposed him to high-stakes litigation, complex commercial transactions, regulatory matters, and institutional mentorship that continues to inform his strategic legal approach. 

Leadership and Current Roles 

Rai Saleh holds senior leadership roles across several international legal and advisory platforms, reflecting the cross-border scope of his legal practice and strategic engagement in global commercial and regulatory affairs. He currently serves as:

  • Managing Partner, Azam & Rai, Advocates & Legal Consultants (Lahore and Islamabad, Pakistan)
  • Partner, Akazim Legal Consultants FZ-LLC (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
  • Consultant, SIAA Grup Danışmanlık Limited Şirketi (Istanbul, Türkiye)
  • Chief Legal Officer, SIAA Group — a multinational advisory and investment facilitation firm headquartered in Islamabad, with offices in the UAE, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and the United States 

Dispute Resolution Forums 

Rai Saleh has appeared before a wide range of judicial, semi-judicial, and quasi-judicial forums in Pakistan, including:

  • High Courts
  • Federal Banking Courts
  • Civil and District Courts
  • Labour and Wages Courts
  • Accountability Courts
  • Intellectual Property Tribunals

Internationally, he has represented clients in arbitration before the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), New York—a division of the American Arbitration Association (AAA).

Regulatory Authorities 

Rai Saleh has represented clients before key regulatory bodies in Pakistan, including:

  • Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)
  • Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO)
  • Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
  • National Tariff Commission (NTC)
  • National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA)
  • Foreign Exchange Adjudicator, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)
  • Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) 

Legislative and Policy Work 

Rai Saleh has played a pivotal role in shaping federal and provincial legal reforms, particularly in labour, SME development, and healthcare regulation.

He has actively contributed to legislative drafting for both the federal and provincial governments. His notable contributions include:

  • Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority Ordinance, 2002
  • Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority Rules, 2002
  • Private Hospitals & Healthcare Establishments (Regulation) Act
  • Public Performances (Regulation) Act

He also co-drafted:

  • Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2002
  • Conditions of Employment Ordinance
  • Wages Ordinance

He advised Pakistan’s Federal Ministries of Commerce and Labour; the Small & Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA); and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the harmonization of Pakistan’s labour laws with International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions.

In April 2014, he was appointed to the six-member Punjab Committee for the Consolidation, Simplification, and Rationalization of Labour Laws. Since May 2015, he has served as Legal Advisor to the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), Government of the Punjab. 

Academic Engagements 

Rai Saleh has served as a visiting lecturer and adjunct faculty member at leading academic institutions, contributing to the development of specialized legal education in Pakistan. His teaching experience includes:

  • Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) in the LL.M. Commercial Law Programme at the School of Law & Policy, University of Management & Technology (UMT), Lahore 
  • Banking Law at Punjab Law College, Lahore, where he designed Pakistan’s first formal course on the subject as part of both the Certificate in Banking Law and the LL.B. curriculum of the University of the Punjab 
  • Intellectual Property Law in the Law Course at the Lahore Centre for Entrepreneurship (LCE), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore 

Publications and Media

Rai Saleh is a published author of articles and research papers on law, legal reform, defence, and policy. His writings explore the intersection of law, policy, defence, and institutional reform, with contributions to both scholarly and national publications.

His work has appeared in:

  • The Nation
  • Business Recorder
  • Defence Journal
  • Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad
  • All Pakistan Legal Decisions
  • Pakistan Law Journal
  • Corporate Law Decisions
  • Superior Law Review 

International Exposure and Personal Pursuits 

Rai Saleh brings a global outlook to his practice, having lived in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, the UK, and Pakistan, and travelled extensively across France, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Türkiye, the UAE, and the USA.  A passionate equestrian, he plays polo at the Lahore Polo Club and the Pakistan Rangers Polo Club, Lahore.

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