“A real class act. Imran never disappoints”

Biography

Imran is a calm and confident advocate who practices in civil and criminal law. He is frequently instructed to provide advice and representation in cases which fall between the two, such as civil fraud and regulatory law. He has also been successful in defamation proceedings involving allegations of criminal conduct.

He is often praised for his approachability and ability to put clients at their ease whatever their situation. Clients describe him as having a "down to earth honest approach" and providing good support to them during stressful times. He has a reputation as a fearless and seasoned advocate with first class cross-examination skills. Imran is experienced at dealing with cases with complicated legal and factual issues, voluminous disclosure and complex evidence.

Imran is regularly instructed in multi-track cases in the County Court and High Court for civil work, and in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal for criminal work.  He has particular skill and ability in advisory and drafting work, and in urgent cases is able to draft pleadings/advice very promptly.

Imran is an exceptionally talented writer, having published his third novel "All I Said Was True" in 2022, and building on his reputation as a great thriller writer. His first novel “You Don’t Know Me” won critical acclaim and was adapted for television, airing on BBC1 in December 2021. It is now available on Netflix. His second novel "I Know What I Saw" received very positive reviews. His third novel "All I said was True" was also very well received and his novels are regularly shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award and the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. 

Civil, commercial and property litigation

Imran is a talented advocate who is able to deal with a wide range of civil and commercial cases. He is very experienced at advising clients involved in any type of dispute including, for example, breach of contract, failure to pay, or disputes over service provided. He also accepts instructions in cases where there are allegations of fraud and money laundering.

Imran has a lot of experience advising individuals on issues involving property, trusts, loans and debts. His experience in criminal law means that he is particularly well suited to cases where there are allegations of fraud or bad faith. He is excellent at analysing and interpreting large amounts of documentary evidence, and at forensically cross-examining witnesses. 

Imran acts in property disputes for landlords and tenants, and has experience of advising on trusts and contentious probate matters. 

Crime (defence)

Imran is an experienced criminal defence barrister equally at home in front of a jury or advising on criminal law and procedure and the prospects of an appeal. He acts in very serious cases, both as leading counsel and sole counsel.

Imran has expertise in cases of murder and serious violence, including cases involving allegations of gangland violence and joint-enterprise murder. He is used to dealing with voluminous disclosure and evidence including disputed expert evidence. He has acted in many cases involving serious sexual assault, including historical allegations and familial abuse.

Imran also acts in fraud cases including money laundering and confiscation where his ability to carefully analyse complex disclosure and effectively cross-examine witnesses and experts is particularly valuable.

Regulatory

Imran has a strong background in civil work, and is able to utilise the tough advocacy skills from his criminal practice in difficult civil cases, particularly where there is a cross-over with the criminal courts.

Imran regularly represents residential and commercial landlords and tenants in the civil and criminal courts. He has particular interest in HMOs and is routinely instructed to deal with contested HMO cases in the Magistrates Court and on Appeal to the Crown Court where detailed specialist knowledge is required. His thorough knowledge of both criminal and civil jurisdictions make him an ideal choice for cases of this sort.

Recent cases include an application for a Rent Repayment Order against Imran's landlord client which Imran successfully defeated. The claimant tenant had made erroneous claims relating to lack of an HMO licence and of disrepair, and had withheld rent over a prolonged period of time. Her claim for an RRO was dismissed. 

 

Inquests

Imran is experienced at representing clients at inquests where he utilises his skills of cross examination to clarify the evidence which is put forward. He has a compassionate, personable approach and is able to build effective working relationships with bereaved families and to explain the complex, inquisitorial process clearly.

Imran has represented parties at both straightforward inquests and those conducted under Article 2 of the ECHR, where the deceased died in state custody or there are allegations that the state had some responsibility for the death because of systemic failure. These inquests often lead to recommendations being put in place to prevent a repeat occurrence. 

He is used to dealing with complex factual allegations (particularly where the death has arisen following medical treatment) and has recently concluded an Article 2 inquest over 5 days on Zoom.

Personal injury

Imran has a wealth of experience in personal injury cases, and is able to effectively represent Claimants and Defendants. He is particularly good at dealing with road traffic cases especially where there are associated criminal proceedings. 

Imran is also familiar with credit hire cases, and frequently represents parties in cases where there are both claims for damages for injuries suffered and credit hire.

Instruct

To instruct Imran for civil work or inquests please contact Rob Johnstone

To instruct Imran for criminal work please contact Stephen Bush.

Education

  • LL.B. (Hons) Kingston University

Memberships

  • Middle Temple Advocacy trainer

Notable Cases

Hwang v Kim [2021] EWHC 3327 (QB): Successfully defended a client in defamation proceedings by showing that comments made by her did not amount to slander because they did not amount to an imputation of recognisably criminal conduct punishable by imprisonment

G v S: Defeated an application for a Rent Repayment Order under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 where the claimant tenant had withheld rent for a prolonged period of time and wrongly claimed lack of an HMO licence. The claimant has since also been refused permission to appeal

R v DP & others: Represented a defendant acquitted of murder in a gang-land shooting where the trial hinged on disputed expert evidence

R v S & 1 other: Allegation of joint-enterprise murder with psycho-sexual elements

R v H: Historical familial sex abuse case with complex evidential issues including admissibility of bad character and confession evidence

H v R: Represented appellant in the Court of Appeal and quashed all convictions even after application made out of time

R v JJH: Complex, multi-handed cross-jurisdictional money laundering case.

R v JJH: Confiscation case where Imran successfully reduced claimed confiscation from £465million to just £1.7m.  Imran was also the only junior acting alone instructed in relation to the conjoined joint-enterprise appeals heard at the Court of Appeal before the Lord Chief Justice, the President of the QBD and the Vice President of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division and reported at https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2016/1613.html 

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