Irfan Arif
”“Irfan is thorough and conscientious, with excellent rapport with clients in the most difficult of situations”
- Legal 500 2023
- Ranked as a leading individual in the General Crime category 2023
- Admitted to List of Assistant Counsel at the International Criminal Court – The Hague (2017)
- High Court Advocate, Punjab Bar, Lahore, Pakistan (2017)
Professional Memberships
- Associate at the International Criminal Court Bar Association
- Criminal Bar Association, London
- South Eastern Circuit
- Lincolns Inn, London
- The Law Society, London
Degree
- LLB, LLM
Irfan is a highly respected criminal barrister who ‘punches above his weight’ and ‘displays an acute sense of clarity and wisdom in his advice.’ He has developed a ‘strong reputation for being tactically astute’ and a ‘robust negotiator.’
Before his call to the bar, Irfan trained as a solicitor at a west-end London firm where he specialised in all aspects of criminal defence work. He obtained duty status accreditation to advise and represent suspects at the police station, and magistrate’s court. Later, he was granted rights of advocacy and progressed to conducting criminal trials as a solicitor-advocate in the higher courts.
Due to his previous experience advising at police stations, as a litigator, and now as Counsel, he is an all-rounder when it comes to lay clients and solicitors seeking comprehensive and sound advice. It is for that reason he is often instructed by solicitors at the outset of a case, often whilst the client is at the police station or pre-charge, and has a very hands-on approach to cases and litigation. As a mark of his experience, when transferring to the Bar, Irfan was granted the right to conduct litigation as a barrister and given Direct Access for him to be instructed without the need of a solicitor.
Irfan is now regularly instructed in a range of cases such as murder, attempted murder, multi-handed drugs conspiracies, immigration fraud, firearms, and money laundering. He also has a growing practice in advising on appeals after conviction, POCA and restraint proceedings, and extradition.
Irfan is also an advocacy tutor with Lincoln’s Inn, where he regularly tutors Bar Practice Course (BPC) students in both criminal and civil matters at the Inn’s evening & weekend advocacy courses.