Saleem Sheikh

Saleem Sheikh

Areas: Private Client & Trusts,
Personal & Business Tax,
International & Offshore,
Business Crime & Regulatory,
Tax Investigation & Disputes

Saleem’s private and corporate clients have business and personal interests spanning continents. For years – and in many cases decades – they have relied on his expertise in international and offshore tax, arbitration and dispute resolution to protect their interests. Yet Saleem’s support for his clients stretches much, much further.

“I am holistic in the advice I provide,” Saleem explains. “I give my clients reassurance. I take their problem, make it my own and find a solution. That may involve my own areas of legal expertise or I may need to draw on the skills of the wider firm, bringing in our corporate, real estate or family law teams – but I can put in place the services my clients need to resolve the issues they face.”

Lawyer and trusted advisor

For Saleem, his work stretches far beyond the traditional lawyer/client relationship. “You can’t see a client as a ‘case’, a ‘legal problem’ or a ‘fee’,” he emphasises. “I commit myself to my clients in a real and significant way. They hand over something complicated – a dispute, an inter-generational family issue, a business that is facing difficulties – and they trust me to make a difference. I’m their layer. But I’m also a trusted advisor.”

“I have known Saleem for over 5 years. His diligence and efficiency as well as attention and care that we felt from day one, were second to none. I would highly recommend Saleem and his team to any business or family.”

After 40 years in law, this is what drives Saleem. He retains a passion for finding answers, connections and opportunities. He is the embodiment of GSC’s ‘law for life’ ethos. “We all go through good times and bad,” he says. “I find helping someone though a crisis – people who don’t know their rights, don’t know the processes, don’t know how to enforce those rights or achieve the outcome they want – extremely rewarding.”

For these reasons and many more, clients trust Saleem. Many have been trusting him for so long he’s now representing their children too. “I think my clients feel I’m sincere and that they can talk to me in complete confidence,” he says, “and they know I won’t simply hand them on. When I refer a client to someone I know can help them, I’ll stay connected to ensure the issues they are facing are resolved.”

Good lawyers. Good people

Saleem has been captaining GSC since 2001 and his mission remains as it always was: “We work to be a first class law firm for the 21^st century, staffed not just by good lawyers but by good people. We want to remain independent because our clients value that about us and because our culture and identity is important to us. And I want to bring out the best in our people.”

“I have known Mr. Saleem Sheikh since 1985 when I first met him in London. Over the last 32 years, I’ve been very happy and satisfied with his services and with the calibre of his knowledge and expertise that he possesses in various fields.”

Qualifications & Experience

Saleem trained with GSC, became a partner in 1985, Managing Partner in 1990 and Senior Partner in 2001.

He graduated from the London School of Economics (LLB) in 1980 and qualified as a solicitor in 1983. He is a member of the Law Society, the  International Bar Association and the London Court of International Arbitration. He is also a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a former member of the SRA Adjudication Panel.

Saleem is fluent in several languages including Urdu, Punjabi, Kiswahili, Kachhi, Hindi and Gujarati.

Accolades, Achievements & Philanthropy

Saleem is the President of UK Pakistan Business Council (UKPBC) which works to support and guide entrepreneurialism. He is a member of the Board of Advisors for Pine Global, holds numerous non-executive directorships and is an advisor to several charities including a start-up incubator supporting the business leaders of the future in Pakistan.

He has been recognised in the CityWealth Leaders List for his wealth management pedigree, is a former Magic Circle Awards ‘Entrepreneurial Individual of the Year’, and is a 100 Power Muslim.

Saleem has also become an Ambassador for the UK Muslim Film Festival (UKMF), an organisation that challenges misconceptions of Muslim cultures in cinema by ensuring authentic portrayals of Muslims on screen and that supports the next generation of filmmakers to navigate the entertainment industry.