Who We Are

OVERVIEW

In Afghanistan provision of legal services trace back to as early as 1964 when the then Afghan Constitution for the first time stipulated the right to defense counsel. However, the profession suffered a setback in the years to come as the entire justice system was heavily affected by different phases of war from late 1970s to 1990s. Contrary to this backdrop, post-2001 with the advent of the international community, a vigorous campaign was initiated to improve the legal sector and strengthen the rule of law in Afghanistan. This has transformed the justice sector immensely and strengthened the legal institutions to a noteworthy level. SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES remained an essential contributor to this campaign since it was founded.
SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES was founded in 2011 by Saeeq Shajjan and registered under the laws of Afghanistan. Soon SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES established itself as a ‘go-to law firm’ in Afghanistan. The firm’s scope of practice includes but is not limited to legal counseling, litigation, legislative drafting and legal capacity building. Additionally, provision of pro-bono legal services to the needy people is inherited as a core culture in each of our attorneys. Client service is our shared professional value. We believe that SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES is not about us; it is about services to our clients. This attitude helped us to emerge as the ‘firm of choice’ in Afghanistan and beyond.

About Us

SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES was ranked as ‘Band 1’ Law Firm in Afghanistan by Chambers and Partners in the 2020 Asia-Pacific Guide and recognized as a leading Law Firm in Afghanistan by The Legal 500.
Our collaboration and working relationship with international law firms is continuously growing. SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES has been working with renowned multi-national and global law firms including (but not limited to) Baker & Mckenzie, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, Holland & Knight LLP, Jones Day, Reed Smith, Arnold & Porter, White & Case, Leigh Day, Field Fisher, Thompson Hine LLP, CMS, LATHAM & WATKINS, GORDON & REES.
Attorneys at SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES hold licenses conferred by the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association. In addition, one of our team members is admitted at bars of District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.
SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES represent and advise a diverse group of clients that includes individuals, businesses, financial institutions, national and international organizations, foreign diplomatic missions and government institutions in Afghanistan and beyond. In addition, the firm signifies maintaining excellent professional relationships with the Afghan justice sector through professional and standard practice, which has always added to our success in the legal services industry.

MISSION

We are dedicated to protecting rights of our clients and promoting their interests. We employ the best expert and technical resources to the highest professional standards and in full compliance with the rule of law in rendering our services.

VISION

We envision to expand our legal services and leave behind a precedence of standard and professional practice in the legal services industry so that we are one trusted partner clients wish to associate with in fulfilling their changing needs. For this vision to become reality, we ambition to remain the key driver of promoting standards of legal practice.

CORE VALUES

INTEGRITY:
We cherish integrity as the foundation of our reputation and the basis for the trust that our clients place on us. We earn and preserve this trust by taking a professional approach to our activities, delivering on our promises, being accountable for our actions, and treating our clients with honesty and courtesy.
EXCELLECE:
We focus on excellence in provision of our legal services. Delivery of quality and practical results is of great significance to us. It is of utmost importance to equip our clients’ complex and high profile matters with the right solution in a cost-effective manner. Our attorneys have outstanding academic and professional qualifications coupled with full commitment to excelling in their professional careers.

COLLABORATION

We believe in the power of collaboration and value the diversity of our team. Our team members are forward thinkers and problem solvers. Working together as a cohesive team allowed us to combine individual contributions and capitalize on each other’s strengths, which consistently increased our productivity and efficiency in developing solutions to achieve our clients’ goals.

INNOVATION

We believe in innovation as a fundamental factor in making progress. Whatever the problem or the context is, we seek ways to tackle it creatively. Our attorneys are quick in coming up with innovative ideas that serve the best of our client’s interests. We focus on “think outside the box” to come up with practical results for our clients.

WHAT MAKES US
DIFFERENT

Diversity and inclusion sparkle in our team. Our team consists of the Afghan and U.S. admitted attorneys and specialized tax consultants. Additionally, in our recruitments, we strive to employ attorneys with rich professional and academic backgrounds both in local and international contexts. Taking into account the nature of the majority of legal issues in Afghanistan, most of which involve both national and international elements, we are looking for excellent expertise while recruiting. Almost all our attorneys studied abroad, which gives us an excellent command over national and international laws in several jurisdictions.
Five of SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATE’s senior attorneys collaborate with Afghanistan Center for Commercial Dispute Resolution and ICC-Afghanistan as arbitration practitioners and members of Arbitration and ADR. Our attorneys possess excellent legal knowledge and enhanced professional skills garnered through studying at leading law schools in Afghanistan U.S, U.K, India, Singapore, and Europe. The experience and superb legal knowledge of SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES’s team affords the firm the ability to render professional and ethical advice and representation to the clients and enable it to employ the best expert and technical resources to the highest professional standards and in full compliance with the rule of law.