Bilaal Shabbir of Themis Advocates called to the Scottish Bar in 2023. He practises in both Scotland and Jersey, focusing on public law, commercial dispute resolution and offshore trust litigation. He is a Panel Member on the Football Association’s (FA) National Serious Case Panel and Commissioner of the Jersey Appointments Commission. Bilaal was formerly Head of Court of Session Litigation at a boutique litigation firm in Edinburgh. As a solicitor, Bilaal had a significant and varied judicial review practice encompassing immigration/nationality law, professional liability, oil and gas and electoral disputes. He acted as Edinburgh Agent for several years in some of the leading public law cases in Scotland and gained experience in obtaining urgent interim interdicts. He also practised within a Band 1 rated team in a leading international law firm defending a broad spectrum of professional negligence claims, primarily for professionals in the construction sector, insurance brokers, financial advisors and accountants, on behalf of some of the UK’s largest insurers. His practice encompassed wider commercial litigation work including commercial contracts, insolvency, and shipping. He was involved in advising and representing a core participant in the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry. In his Jersey practice, Bilaal regularly acts for ultra HNWIs, law firms, settlors, trustees and foreign insolvency practitioners in offshore trust and international insolvency litigation before the Royal Court of Jersey. Bilaal has assisted in the preparation of expert reports on issues of Jersey trust and insolvency law for use in foreign proceedings. Bilaal tutors on the postgraduate and undergraduate Public Law courses at the University of Edinburgh and has been a guest lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University. He is an author for Free Movement, one of the UK’s leading immigration law blogs. Bilaal is also a regular trainer and has organised, chaired and presented at some of the largest legal conferences in Scotland and for most of the major CPD providers. He is a trainer with Bond Solon and provides accredited training for expert witnesses giving evidence in UK courts. He is an Affiliate Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and a member of the Contentious Trusts Association (ConTrA). In December 2022, Bilaal obtained a Diploma in Islamic Finance with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). He has rights of audience before the Astana International Finance Centre (AIFC) Court in Kazakhstan.