Clerking team

Chris Shaw

Senior Clerk – Civil, Commercial & Employment

Rob Lang

Assistant Senior Clerk

Adam Parker

Civil Clerk

Xanthé Young

Civil Clerk

Aqeel is a specialist commercial barrister with a broad business and property practice. His core areas of specialism include commercial litigation, property and construction disputes, and professional negligence. He is regularly instructed in complex and high-value matters, frequently appearing in both the County Court and High Court.

Aqeel is often sought after at an early stage to provide strategic advice on merits, case strategy, pleadings, and evidence, though he is equally adept at stepping in closer to trial. His practice encompasses both claimant and defendant work and often involves technically or factually complex disputes, including those with multiple parties or overlapping legal issues.

Aqeel considers one of his principal strengths to be his courtroom advocacy, where he is calm under pressure, tactically astute, and unafraid to press difficult points when required. He prides himself on his growing reputation as a determined and resilient advocate.

Before joining St John’s Buildings, Aqeel worked as an Associate at a firm specialising in complex international dispute resolution and separately as a County Court advocate. These roles gave him exposure to high-value commercial disputes and frequent courtroom experience, strengthening his advocacy and insight into litigation in practice – experience which continues to inform his work at the Bar.

Commercial & chancery litigation

Aqeel acts in a wide range of commercial and chancery disputes, including contractual claims, partnership disputes, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, claims involving trusts, equitable remedies, and the sale of goods and services. He is regularly instructed to advise on complex legal issues, draft pleadings and submissions, and appears at both interim and final hearings. His approach is commercially minded and outcome-driven, with a strong command of procedural strategy and a focus on identifying the most effective route, both legally and financially, to achieving the client’s objective.

Aqeel also has a growing interest in both public and private international law.

Recent work includes:

  • Successfully arguing on the morning of trial that the Defendant’s counterclaim should be dismissed, as it was barred by the rule against reflective loss.
  • Advising on the validity of termination in a dispute concerning a long-term supply contract.
  • Advising on the appropriate cause of action in a complex dispute involving multiple unrelated parties, each engaged under separate contractual arrangements and raising distinct legal issues.
  • Assisting David Berkley KC in an UNCITRAL arbitration concerning jurisdiction and governing law in an international contract.
  • Advising a company on the applicability of a governing law clause and exclusive jurisdiction clause in the context of an alleged infringement of intellectual property rights.
  • Acting for the Defendant, having the Claimant’s claim struck out on the day of trial, together with an order for indemnity costs, in light of the Claimant’s procedural failures.

Construction & property

Aqeel acts in a wide range of property and construction disputes. His property work includes all aspects of landlord and tenant law – including possession claims, forfeiture, breach of lease, and disrepair – across both residential and commercial settings. In construction matters, he is regularly instructed in claims involving alleged defective works, unpaid sums, final accounts, and disputed variations. He is familiar with standard-form contracts (including JCT) and understands the commercial and practical context in which such disputes arise. He is also experienced in adjudication, mediation, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.

Recent work includes:

  • Representing a contractor in a dispute concerning its right to payment under a JCT Contact following non-payment by the employer.
  • Settling particulars for a construction company seeking to rely on the principle of ignis suus.
  • Advising and representing a landlord in a claim for unpaid rent, raising issues as to the validity of the alleged termination of the lease and relying on the tenant’s alleged failure to notify the landlord of complaints concerning the condition of the property.
  • Settling a claim on favourable terms for a Claimant at a Pre-Action Meeting.

Professional negligence

Aqeel has a growing practice in professional negligence claims, particularly those arising from property, construction, and commercial matters. He has been instructed in claims against solicitors, surveyors, and other professionals. He is skilled at analysing legal and factual issues, advising on breach and causation, and framing claims to reflect both the legal and financial consequences of professional failings. His advice is thorough, strategic, and focused on early identifications of the strengths and weaknesses in a case.

Recent work includes:

  • Advising and settling particulars for claimant company in a claim against an architectural firm’s failings to prepare accurate drawings, which resulted in loss.
  • Advising a client as to the merits of a claim against a firm of Solicitors for the alleged poor handling of an Estate.

Data & information law

Aqeel has experience in matters concerning data protection, privacy, and freedom of information. During pupillage, he gained exposure to this area under the supervision of Pépin Aslett, assisting with high-value litigation before the High Court. He has since advised on subject access requests, data breaches, and the unlawful retention or disclosure of personal data. He understands the nuances of this developing area and approaches such cases with clarity and precision.

Recent work includes:

  • Representing multiple anonymised claimants at trial in their claim for alleged breaches of the UK GDPR and a misuse of private information.
  • Advising multiple claimants on the merits and quantum of their claims for breaches of the UK GDPR and a misuse of private information.
  • Acting for a defendant and having a vexatious claim alleging breach of the UK GDPR and a misuse of private information dismissed.
  • Representing a defendant accused of failing to comply with a compliance order made pursuant to section 167 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Banking & finance

Aqeel advises and acts in matters relating to consumer credit, guarantees, hire purchase agreements, and mortgage disputes. His work covers a broad range of issues within these fields, always with a focus on delivering practical and commercially sensible outcomes. He combines a detailed knowledge of the relevant law with an understanding of the real-world implications for clients.

Recent work includes:

  • Successfully challenging a bank seeking possession on account of arrears, highlighting multiple discrepancies in the figures submitted by the bank.
  • Obtaining judgment for a claimant alleging that failure to disclose the existence of a commission within the context of a Hire Purchase Agreement created an unfair relationship between the parties.
  • Advising and representing a national vehicle provider in enforcing personal guarantees.

Awards

  • Associate of King’s College (AKC) (2019)

Education

  • BPTC, Very Competent, The City Law School (2019)
  • LLM International Dispute Resolution, Distinction, King’s College London (2018)
  • LLB Law with Politics, University of Manchester (2017)

Publications

  • ‘International Arbitration: Striking a Balance’ (with Joseph Dyke) (New Law Journal (2021)).

Memberships

  • The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple