Rashna is the Managing Partner of Akhtar Imam & Associates and an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. She is ranked as a leading lawyer in the categories of Corporate and Finance and Dispute Resolution in renowned international legal directories like Chambers and Partners (Asia Pacific and Global) and the A-List, 2021, Bangladesh’s Top Lawyers, a ranking by Asia Business Law Journal.
Before joining the firm, Rashna gained expertise as a corporate associate at Baker & McKenzie (London Office) through advising global giants like Arcelor Mittal and Schneider Electric on M&A and post-acquisition integration.
At the firm, her specializations include corporate and commercial law, constitutional law, banking and finance, foreign investment, labour and employment and dispute resolution. She has advised different entities of Visa Inc. on establishment of a liaison office, payments systems and mobile financial services, Spotify on zero rating deals, Mitsubishi on whistleblowing laws, British American Tobacco Bangladesh on the scope of trade promotional activities in view of anti-tobacco laws, Japan Tobacco international on unfair competition, Philip Van Heusen on labour and employment matters, Department of International Development, Bangladesh on establishing a Credit Information Bureau for microfinance, Ernst & Young on foreign exchange control laws and closure of branch office and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the apex trade organisation in Bangladesh, on proposed reform of the Companies Act 1994 to create an enabling business environment in Bangladesh and improve Bangladesh’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Rankings.
She is currently advising Visa and the largest payment aggregator (SSL COMMERZ) in Bangladesh on the fall-out from the biggest scam in the e-commerce sector.
She regularly represents her clients before the Supreme Court in judicial review proceedings against decisions of public bodies, in company litigation and in commercial arbitrations under different rules of arbitration (ICC, UNCITRAL, FOSFA, GAFTA, Arbitration Act 2001 of Bangladesh, etc.). She is currently representing ABB India Limited (a leading engineering multinational), as junior counsel in international commercial arbitration proceedings against Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited, the sole, government-owned, electric power transmission organization in Bangladesh, challenging imposition by PGCB of liquidated damages on ABB for alleged contractual violation. The contract was for erection, and commissioning of power substations across Bangladesh. She is also representing the Exclusive General Sales Agent of Gulf Air in Bangladesh in enforcement proceedings by GF of ICC Arbitral award against the GSA.
She has made inroads in establishing and enforcing health rights in Bangladesh through public interest litigation (PIL) and advocacy. Her landmark cases include PIL for establishment of a legal framework for emergency medical services for road accident victims and protection of good Samaritans, and PIL for formulation of guidelines for prevention of medically unnecessary C-sections, both of which she filed on behalf of the leading NGO, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and the case leading to the judgment directing reform of the Human Organ Transplantation Act 1999. She was invited by UNDP (Malaysia) to address the Judges of the Federal Court of Malaysia on PIL.
Her stellar work earned her two international fellowships: Asia 21 Young Leader (2018) and Global Programme for Women’s Leadership (2019) and awards and recognition in Bangladesh. Leading national daily newspapers and magazines have published feature stories on her. She regularly engages with all levels of stakeholders (governmental and otherwise) to bring about law and policy reform.
Founded in 1980, Akhtar Imam & Associates is one of the leading full service law firms in Bangladesh. Akhtar Imam, the founder and Senior Partner, is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and regarded as one of the best legal minds in Bangladesh. The firm is best known for its expertise in company and commercial law, litigation (civil, company and constitutional), international commercial arbitration, foreign investment, labour, employment, banking, finance and securities laws. Prior to establishing the firm, he was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1970 and enjoyed a successful law practice in London from 1971 to 1979. The firm and its partners have been consistently ranked as “Leading Firms” and “Leading Lawyers” in Chambers & Partners since 2018 and Asialaw for their world class expertise. The firm’s strengths are as follows:
- The firm’s clients benefit from the extensive foreign work experience acquired by their partners while practicing at the English bar and working at large international law firms like Baker & McKenzie;
- The firm has led landmark constitutional law cases of great national, historical and economic significance and multi-million-dollar mergers and acquisitions;
- The partners drive law and policy reform through public interest litigation, advocacy and engagement with stakeholders (at all levels of government, NGOs and private sector) through participation in roundtables, seminars, webinar and dialogues;
- The firm’s impressive array of clients is a testament to the high quality of legal service it provides. Over the years the firm has advised global giants like Visa Inc., Facebook, Spotify, Mitsubishi, Singer and British American Tobacco, Philip Van Heuson, Ernst & Young, UNDP, Department for International Development (DFID), Bangladesh and Marie Stopes International, leading local business groups like Pran Group, Akij Group, Globe Pharmaceuticals Group Limited, large telecoms like Grameenphone, the national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, apex trade bodies, like the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Dhaka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and banks like the Bangladesh Bank (central bank of Bangladesh), large state-owned banks like Sonali Bank Limited and large private commercial banks like Pubali Bank Limited.
- The partners have outstanding academic credentials, obtained from the world’s leading universities like Oxford, Cambridge and University of London
