As part of our Innovative Muslims series, I will be profiling a company every month that is making a real difference in the community as a result of it’s products or services. Do contact me if you know of a company that should be included.
Saracens Solicitors has experienced phenomenal growth since starting up in 2005. In this short time they’ve established themselves as one of the foremost law firms providing shariah compliant services. I caught up with Fraz Butt who is one of the senior partners at Saracens Solicitors.
Asalam alaykum brother Fraz and thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Let’s start with talking about your offering at Saracens, please tell us a little bit about the kind of services that you offer.
Walaykum salam, we offer a range of services including residential and commercial property, general civil and commercial litigation, private and corporate immigration and company/commercial legal services. Shar’iah compliant legal services is one of our growing practice areas and includes islamic wills, company/commercial work, finance, legal opinions and property re-finance, acquisitions and transfers. We have also recently opened an employment law department as a result of our continued expansion and changes in the UK labour market.
That’s quite a wide range of shariah services there on offer, masha’Allah. How did you come up with the idea to provide shariah compliant services?
We noticed that there were very few law firms which specifically addressed the needs of muslim clients who wanted to incorporate the tenets of their faith into their legal dealings, be that in a commercial or private context. We wanted to create a brand that was synonymous with quality legal services that would plug that gap in the market, as well as offering a wider range of services to the public at large. We were inspired by the models and make-up of many of the leading London city firms that have renowned and reputable backgrounds, but who tend to cater predominantly for multinational corporate clients. We wanted to re-create that type of service, and make it accessible to all types of organizations and individuals, but without the prohibitive cost.
What are your achievements to date with the business?
Saracens has gone from strength to strength since it started up in 2005. Any young business faces challenges so it is really important to keep your business plan fluid but channeled in accordance with the needs of the market. We have managed to stay on course this way and continually meet our clients’ needs.
A lot of business comes to us by word of mouth recommendations, and this is because the service we offer speaks volumes for itself. We have noticed that many of our clients have responded well to community marketing because it takes into account their specific requirements and sensitivities. For us, this means matching our profile to their needs, so we are constantly developing and improving ourselves in this manner. With our muslim clients, we believe this is because they recognise that we have an understanding of how they like to do business, taking into account their cultural and commercial practices and preferences. In addition, the Saracens team is multi-lingual, and our services are available in a range of languages, including Arabic, Urdu, Korean, Spanish, Hindi, Bengali and Gujerati.
Our immigration and property departments are two of the areas where there is high turn around of work. Our immigration department has succeeded in achieving results for their clients where other firms have simply given up. Clients have come to us with refusals to remain in the country, facing human rights violations if returned to their country of origin and a very slim chance of succeeding at appeal. But, we have seen hope where others have seen failure, and through our advice and representations these cases have resulted in clients achieving indefinite leave to remain. In some cases, we have known that these decisions will completely change some clients’ lives, and even save them from persecution and possible death. These results make all our hard work so much more rewarding and exciting. In property, we have noticed that our profile has been raised by the number of referrals and repeat business we have received from previous clients. Clients come in all shapes and sizes, and there are those who simply prefer to speak to someone who speaks their language, often quite literally, and we aim to cater for that wherever possible.
Our television appearances on a number of satellite channels demonstrate that community marketing works. We have also appeared in print in the muslim press, which has further cemented our recognition within the community. The feedback we get is tremendous and we recognize that there are people out there who have never before experienced the type of committed and diligent service that we offer our clients. We will not take a case on if we see absolutely no merit in it to the client. We want to help our clients to achieve the results they are after and we do not take the trust that they place in us lightly. These relationships are very important to us and ones we seek to build on and maintain for the long-term. Our ethos is about honesty and building trust through understanding – and we see this as a two-way street, working in partnership with our clients to get them to the place they want to be.
In terms of community spirit and presence, Saracens has been one of the main sponsors for a leading muslim educational organisation for some years now. One of the senior partners has been known to partake in charity bungee jumping, raising considerable funds for the educational needs of Muslim children. We have also run presentations and seminars on the work within emerging markets and how our clients can tap into that.
More recently and internationally, we have supported and co-hosted the Bangladeshi Chamber of Commerce annual dinner and accompanied the Department of UK Trade and Industry on a trade mission to Qatar and Bangladesh, where we have been developing our commercial presence.
We are in cyberspace, with a Facebook page, which we would encourage all Facebook members to go and join. We give a wide variety of advice there and there is the opportunity to get involved in our discussion points. If readers become a fan of our Facebook page and mention this to us when seeking advice, we will give them one free 30 minute consultation.
Our biggest achievements that make us most proud are the results that we get for our clients. A good percentage of our work is return business and this is strong evidence of our track record and ability to perform.
Those are quite the achievements masha’Allah and it’s great to see that you’re measuring your success by the level of client delight. I’m interested to know a little more about Saracens and the people behind the scenes, please tell us a little about yourself and your partners.
Fariha Butt is a junior partner and a member of the litigation team and has a (BA) Honours in Law and Spanish. After completing her degree she worked at Middlesex University in Academic Management. She then went to Australia where she developed her legal skills working for the ABN AMRO Group of companies in Sydney. She came back to London and completed her legal studies and qualified as a lawyer in 2005.
As you know my name is Fraz Butt and I am one of the senior founding partners of Saracens. I obtained an LLB Honours in law and worked in private practice and in-house for a number of years before setting up Saracens with the co-founding senior partner, Nishtar Saleem. My experience was gained predominantly in cross jurisdictional corporate law, banking and finance whilst working at leading city firms Nabarro Nathanson and Pinsent Masons. The value of certain transactions that I have worked on is mind boggling and requires precise attention to detail not to mention the ability to work under extreme pressure.
As mentioned, Nishtar Saleem is the other senior co-founding partner of Saracens. He qualified with an honours degree in Law (LLB) from University College London. He has been working in both the private and public sector of law since then and has been involved with several high profile cases including the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry and subsequent Civil Action bought by the Lawrence family. Nishtar has extensive litigation experience and deals expertly and fairly with all contentious forms of dispute in the UK and Internationally. He is known and respected particularly for his unwavering dedication to his client’s cause as well as his considerable mediation and arbitration skills.
Saracens is situated in the heart of the west end of London. We offer professional services to those who need pragmatic legal advice. We are committed to achieving the right results for all of our clients within all of our practice areas. Our client base is national as well as international with a strong drive towards the modern, paperless office. However, at Saracens we hold strong to old fashioned values such as dedication, perseverance and determination to succeed.
The philosophy here is building trust through understanding, and that resonates with all of our team members. We promote one-to-one time with clients to ensure that as their matter progresses we continue to deliver a bespoke and personalized service.
Thank you so much for sharing your time with us today Fraz, I really do appreciate it and I’m sure our readers have enjoyed learning about your experiences as much as I have. I pray that Allah continues to bestow success upon you and all at Saracens Solicitors, ameen.
Folks, please do visit their website at www.saracenssolicitors.co.uk or you can call any one of the team on 020 7725 7115 for more information or advice. Alternatively email Saracens Solicitors on info@saracenssolicitors.co.uk.
