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Founding Principal Attorney

Dr. Ammara Farooq Malik

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Education

  • Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), 2016-2022, Business School Netherlands (BSN), Netherlands.                                                    Thesis titled: ‘Sustainable Business Strategy for Social Enterprises in Developing Countries – A focus on Law, Policy & Gender for Climate Action’.  
  • LL.M. (Master of Law)  2008, University of London, U.K. (Areas of specialization: Company Law, Compensation and the Law, Criminology and Juvenile Justice)
  • M.A. Political Science, 2004, University of the Punjab, Lahore.
  • LL.B., (Law Undergraduate Course) 2002, University of the Punjab, Lahore. (With distinctions)
  • B. A. 1997 , Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore (Economics, Statistics, French)

 Short Courses attended:

  • Executive Development Program ‘Change But No Change: Public Sector Dilemma’, Executive Development Institute at National School of Public Policy, Lahore 2015.
  • Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Embassy of Denmark DANDIA International Development   Cooperation and Search for Common Ground Pakistan, December 2012 
  • Leadership Development training at the American University in Washington D.C., conducted by Dr. Ruth Zaplin, April 2014.
  • Leadership Development Training for Managers: Undertook a 10 Day Course conducted by the David & Lucile Packard Foundation at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore. Course focus: Leadership, Management, Social Development, Decision Making, Project Development, Project Management and Report Writing, June, 2010. 
 

International Awards & Achievements:

  • Selected to join the US State Department & Pak US Alumni Network led ‘Environment & Energy Interest Group’ as an ‘Environmental Policy Expert’. 2023-2024.
  • Invited as panel speaker to speak on global policy practices at the UNESCO regional conference on ‘Cryosphere and related hazards in High Mountain Asia in a changing climate’ which hosted more than 250 participants from 14+ countries in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (2022).
  • Only Pakistani selected to be part of the 6 member Ad Hoc Strategic Committee of the Upper Indus Basin Network, under ICIMOD Nepal and Australia Aid, with over 40 member organizations from 6 South Asian countries in Kathmandu, Nepal. (2018).
  • Selected for the ‘Afghanistan- Pakistan Partnership Summit’ organized by the Hollings Center for International Dialogue in coordination with the U.S. Embassies in Islamabad and Kabul, held in Islamabad and Maldives in January 2017.
  • Awarded the Dick Gertzen Foundation Scholarship for Doctoral studies in Business Administration at the Business School Netherlands (2016). 
  • Selected for and attended the US International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) for ‘Strengthening Communities’ held in Washington DC, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and New Orleans, USA (April-May 2014).
  • Only Pakistani who was awarded partial grant to present paper at the International Symposium of Peacebuilding organized by the New York University at the University of Duhok, Iraq. (2014).
  • Shortlisted for the ‘Fatima Jinnah Woman of the Year Award’ for advocacy efforts to help start the first bone marrow transplant facility in Lahore, under Government of Punjab (award ceremony awaited, 2018).
  • Shortlisted for the ‘Fatima Jinnah Women Excellence Award’ for contributions for the empowerment of women in Punjab, under Government of Punjab (award ceremony awaited, 2018).
 

As a Legal Practitioner:

Dr. Ammara Malik is a High Court Advocate who started working with Asma Jahangir in 1999 at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

After graduation, she has practiced as a corporate and civil lawyer with Barrister Ahmad Farooq Malik (2001- 2004, 2008-2012) where she got hands on experience of legal drafting of contracts, agreements and subordinate legislation.

She also worked as a Law Associate with Bhandari Naqvi & Riaz (2008) where she predominantly worked on corporate drafting.

She was Partner at Jus & Rem Attorneys & Corporate Counsellors (2013-2014) after which she was Managing Partner in  Wyne Malik Law Consultants (2014-2017) and later founded AFMalik Law in 2018.

She has worked in corporate law (partnership/company/Section 42 Not for Profit incorporation, privacy/data protection contracts, MoUs, business contracts, service contracts, legal opinions etc.), Immigration Law (Canada, US and U.K.), NGO formation and registrations, IP laws, Labour Laws, Arbitration, Child Rights, Social Enterprise formation laws and Family Law.

She has worked with UNICEF as a Child Rights & Juvenile Justice Law Reform and Policy Consultant from 2013-2014 and worked on several subordinate legislation drafting assignments with Barrister Ahmad Farooq Malik between 2012- 2016.

Since 2017 to date, she has been invited to several high level policy dialogues as an international impact law, climate change, gender and social enterprise lawyer and has contributed significantly to the development of the social enterprise movement in Pakistan and promoting impact law in Pakistan.

Clients include several businesses/corporate entities, social enterprises, food entrepreneurs, NGOs. firms and think tanks.

Law, International Development, Policy & Academia Profile:

Dr. Ammara Farooq Malik founded the community platform ‘SEPLAA’ (Seeds of Education, Policy & Legal Awareness Association) in 2004. Since then she has founded several Seplaa entities that now make up the Seplaa Group.

She has been the Law & Policy Program Development Coordinator at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 2008 and also set up the Metropolitan University of Law & Social Sciences  in 2004 where she was a Partner and Academics Director. She taught LL.B to the University of London’s External Program to university students for 8 years in Pakistan producing students with world distinctions. She also taught MPhil students at the University of the Punjab and Business Law to ACCA students.

She conducted Legal review of all climate change and water laws and policies for participation at the Legal Review sessions at the 5th Asia Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum organized by UNEP and the Asian Development Bank in Sri Lanka (2016) and again for the 6th Asia Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum organized by the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) and Asian Development Bank in Manila (Oct. 2018).

She was awarded a USEF-PUAN grant to develop the Intellectual Property Rights Tool Kit & Course for Punjab Incubators in 2019.

She has been a Senior Facilitator for the Urban Development Resilience Accelerator of the Asian Development Bank in Singapore in 2018 where detailed sessions were held on water resources and urban planning with government secretaries and federal ministers.

Furthermore, she has worked as a ‘Social Entrepreneurship & Gender Consultant’ for the Social Entrepreneurship for Gendered Climate Action (SEGCA) in Gilgit Baltistan under ICIMOD Nepal in 2019 with a focus on the legal and technical aspects of the water, energy and food (WEF) nexus.

Her areas of interest in international development are programs, laws and policies related to climate change, urban development, gender and social entrepreneurship in the water, energy and food (WEF) nexus; Water Treaties & Policies.

Other Memberships & Advisory Positions:

 

Languages:

Fluent in English, Urdu, Punjabi and have formally studied Italian, Arabic & French.

Media:

Dr. Ammara Farooq Malik interviewed by University of London about her prominent work at AFMalik Law.

Dr. Ammara Farooq Malik featured as first Pakistani lawyer to Chair, GAIL APAC- Express Tribune.

Ammara Farooq Malik: Author at Impact World Press

Ammara Farooq Malik: Author at Express Tribune.  

Skills & Expertise:

Corporate Law, Impact Law, Business Immigration Law, Intellectual Property Laws, Arbitration, Negotiation, Mediation, Mergers & Acquisitions.

Development Sector Areas of work: Climate Change, Gender, Social Entrepreneurship, Water, Energy & Food nexus