Saeeq Shajjan

SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES is again ranked as Band 1 by Chambers and Partners in their recent rankings for 2021.

Legal services and the legal profession have a long history in Afghanistan. Indeed the right to counsel was first enacted into law in 1964 when the then Afghan Constitution for the first time included the right to defense counsel. Since then the profession has developed and evolved being affected by a number of laws enacted through 1999 while defense lawyers and legal services were heavily controlled by the governments in power.

Against this background, the post-Taliban era started with an enormous need for legal reform in the judiciary and for strengthening the rule of law in the country. This prepared the impetus for quick growth of legal services and development of the law as a profession. Since then, the number of defense lawyers has jumped from approximately 400 to over thousands today. Now independent legal services and defense attorneys are well understood and appreciated as an essential and integral part of the rule of law in Afghanistan.

However, the development of professional associations to monitor and ensure the qualifications and professionalism of law practitioners has not kept pace with this rapid jump in the number of legal service providers causing concerns among both local and international clients. In response to this vital concern, Shajjan & Associates has established itself as a prominent independent law firm throughout the country since 2011. Our practice includes provision of services in legal counseling, strategic planning, litigation, legal drafting, capacity building as well as pro-bono legal work. We are dedicated to providing prompt, efficient, ethical and professional advice and representation to our clients.

Attorneys at Shajjan & Associates possess excellent legal knowledge and outstanding professional skills that have been enhanced by involvement in a variety of legal matters in national and international venues. Our attorneys hold degrees from leading Afghan and U.S. law schools which have given them a deeper understanding of the legal profession and the attorney-client relationships, consistent with the experiences and expectations of our sophisticated international and domestic clients. Our attorneys are licensed by the

Afghanistan Independent Bar Association and have prior professional experience with prestigious national and international entities in the judicial sector. These unique qualifications and experiences of our team place Shajjan & Associates among the most trusted names in the legal services industry in Afghanistan and around the region.

Saeeq Shajjan is a licensed attorney in Afghanistan, who graduated with a law degree from Kabul University and who earned a L.L.M degree from Harvard Law School. He has a license to practice law in Afghanistan from the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (License No. 153). This license allows him to appear before all courts in Afghanistan. Mr. Shajjan has over 10 years of experience in counseling and litigation.

Mr. Shajjan has far-reaching experience in working on rule of law projects and capacity building in the legal profession. Mr. Shajjan has been involved in training judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and young graduates of Afghan law schools throughout Afghanistan. Mr. Shajjan has also worked with the Government of Afghanistan; as Senior Advisor on Policies and Legislation with the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Services Commission (IARCSC).

During 2009–2010, while pursuing his LL.M degree at Harvard Law School, Mr. Shajjan distinguished himself by speaking on numerous academic panels across the United States on different issues, particularly on the rule of law in Afghanistan. He spoke at Harvard Law School, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Boston University Law School, La Verne College of Law, Williams College, Simmons College and Walker Institute of International and Area Studies.

In 2011, Mr. Shajjan started his own law firm, Shajjan & Associates. His area of practice is corporate services, contract law, criminal law, banking law, tax law, labor law, property law, citizenship law, traffic law, constitutional law, Islamic law and human rights. A substantial portion of his practice involves representation of and provision of legal counselling to international contractors, international organizations and diplomatic missions in Afghanistan. He has also represented clients in international arbitration in different cases.

Mr. Shajjan has written various reports and legal opinions for private international clients and law firms on application of Afghan law and procedures and has assisted different foreign courts by appearing as a subject matter expert on issues of Afghan law. He also has experience serving on legal drafting committee, through which he has been involved in drafting laws and regulations in Afghanistan.

Mr. Shajjan has been an active voice on Afghanistan legal and political issues and has been interviewed and quoted by numerous local and western media outlets. Mr. Shajjan also teaches in private law schools on a part time basis.