Nadeem Aslam

Nadeem Aslam was called to the Bar in 1999 and has spent more than 25 years in practice. He is both a barrister and a solicitor advocate with higher rights of audience, and he is authorised to conduct litigation, which means he can run a case from first instruction through to final hearing without a separate firm of solicitors being brought in.

He appears for clients throughout England and Wales in the Family Court, the magistrates' and Crown Courts, the County Court and the High Court, as well as in the Court of Appeal and before tribunals.

Nadeem accepts Direct Access instructions. Direct Access, sometimes called Public Access, allows a member of the public or a business to instruct a barrister straight away, without going through a solicitor first. Barristers who accept this work have completed the Bar Standards Board's Public Access training, and Nadeem is accredited to do so.

His practice divides broadly into two halves. On the family side he acts in divorce, financial settlement and children proceedings, including matters with an international dimension. On the civil side he handles commercial and business disputes, property and land, contractual claims, defamation and privacy, insolvency, and wills, trusts and probate work.

Clients tend to come to Nadeem for two things: plain advice about where they actually stand, and someone who will test the other side's evidence properly when the case has to be fought. He is known for detailed preparation, a pragmatic view of settlement, forthright advocacy in contested hearings, and prompt replies. He also speaks Mirpuri, Punjabi and Urdu in addition to English, and has acted for clients from a wide range of backgrounds.

He is a qualified mediator.

Family, divorce and children

Nadeem advises and represents clients through relationship breakdown, from the divorce itself to the financial settlement and the arrangements made for the children.

Divorce and financial settlement

He acts in financial remedy proceedings of all sizes, including cases where the asset picture is complicated or contested. His experience includes:

\- business and property assets, including assets held overseas\
- high value and complex asset cases\
- non-disclosure, where one party is not being open about what they hold\
- variation applications, where an existing order needs to change\
- applications to intervene by a third party with an interest in an asset\
- applications to enforce an order that has not been complied with\
- disputes about the validity of a marriage

Nadeem has particular experience of cases that turn on whether a marriage is legally valid, including matters with a cross-jurisdictional element and cases concerning Sharia and Islamic marriages. He also acts in matters involving the international relocation of children and families.

Children

He is regularly instructed in contested children proceedings and in applications for injunctive protection, including:

\- child arrangements orders, covering both contact and where a child lives\
- parental responsibility\
- prohibited steps orders\
- specific issue orders\
- non-molestation orders and occupation orders\
- applications to enforce an existing order\
- cases involving domestic abuse or substance misuse\
- fact-finding hearings

Nadeem has considerable experience of proceedings in which allegations of domestic violence and abuse are made, and he welcomes instructions in contested fact-finding hearings where those allegations have to be resolved before anything else can be decided.

Civil, commercial and property disputes

Nadeem is an experienced civil litigator whose caseload includes complex and high value claims arising out of business and commercial relationships. He accepts instructions across a broad range of civil disputes, including:

\- business and commercial law, including company and shareholder disputes\
- breach of contract\
- property and land\
- wills, trusts and probate\
- defamation, privacy, media, information and data protection law\
- bankruptcy and insolvency

He gives realistic advice on the prospects of settlement and will pursue it where it serves the client, but he remains prepared to take a contested claim to trial and to argue it robustly.