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Our Lawyer of the Month is Shah = Qureshi, a=20 partner and Head of the Employment Department at Bindmans, = one of=20 the UK=E2=80=99s top Human Rights law firms.

Shah was born in Winchester in 1970 and remembered being = the only=20 Asian at his school in Winchester. He read Law at Essex = University=20 between 1988 and 1991. He was the Vice-President = (Information) of=20 the university=E2=80=99s Students' Union between 1991 and = 1992, when he was=20 also on sabbatical.

Shah=E2=80=99s legal background began in the voluntary = sector and he was=20 at the North Lambeth Citizen Advice Bureau (CAB) until1994. = He=20 joined the Kentish Town CAB in 1994 until 1996 when he left = for the=20 Tower Hamlets Law Centre. In 2000 he joined Christian Fisher = (now=20 Christian Khan) where he was trained largely by Sadiq Khan = (now a=20 Member of Parliament for Tooting since May 2005 and the = Minister of=20 State for Transport since June 2009) and to a lesser extent, = Louise=20 Christian. At the end of 2002 Shah joined Hodge Jones = &=20 Allen. In June 2004 he joined Webster Dixon as its Head of=20 Employment and became a partner shortly after.

He is listed as a Band 1 leader in the field of = Employment Law by=20 the 2010 Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession and is = described as=20 =E2=80=9Chighly sought after=E2=80=9D. He is also listed by = the Legal 500 2009 as a=20 leader in the fields of Employment Law and Professional = Discipline,=20 where he is cited as an =E2=80=9Cexcellent = negotiator=E2=80=9D.

Shah=E2=80=99s particular expertise is representing = claimants who are=20 typically executives and professionals in both contentious = and=20 non-contentious employment and discrimination laws. He is=20 increasingly well-known for his success in discrimination = and=20 whistle-blowing cases against large corporations and public = bodies.=20 His clients also include national charities, local = authorities,=20 companies and Members of Parliament.

Shah was the solicitor for Tim Nicholson in November 2009 = in the=20 landmark case of Nicholson v Grainger plc where the = Employment=20 Appeal Tribunal ruled that green beliefs are protected by = the UK=E2=80=99s=20 discrimination laws. (In this case Mr Nicholson=E2=80=99s = belief about the=20 need to protect against climate change by taking steps to = protect=20 the environment for the benefit of future generations, was = held to=20 be capable of protection.) Mr Nicholson was Head of = Sustainability=20 at Grainger plc - the UK's biggest residential landlord = =E2=80=93 but was=20 made redundant in July 2008. He claimed his = =E2=80=9Cgreen=E2=80=9D beliefs had=20 contributed to the firm=E2=80=99s decision. The decision = also set guidelines=20 as to what philosophical beliefs are capable of protection,=20 including Socialism, Communism and even a deeply-held belief = in=20 Capitalism. Shah was named Times Lawyer of the Week in = November 2009=20 for his work on the case.

Another of Shah=E2=80=99s landmark cases was acting for = Derek Pasquill in=20 his unfair dismissal and whistle-blowing case against the = Foreign=20 Office and Commonwealth Office. Mr Pasquill, a Foreign = Office=20 official, was acquitted of six charges of making disclosures = damaging to international relations under Section 3 of the = Official=20 Secrets Act 1989 but was nevertheless dismissed by the = Foreign and=20 Commonwealth Office.

He recently achieved a successful settlement for = Professor=20 Heather van der Lely, an internationally acclaimed scientist = and=20 academic, in her six-figure whistle-blowing claim against = University=20 College London in which she raised issues regarding the = health and=20 safety of children and alleged breaches of the Data = Protection=20 Act.

He is a board member of the Discrimination Law = Association and a=20 member of the Muslim Council of Britain=E2=80=99s Legal = Affairs Committee=20 and the Employment Lawyers=E2=80=99 Association. He also = acts as an adviser=20 to the London Voluntary Services Council and a number of = Members of=20 Parliament and is a former visiting lecturer in employment = law at=20 London Metropolitan University. Shah is author of the Equal=20 Opportunities chapter of Tolley's Employment and Personnel=20 Procedures and has also written articles for a various=20 publications.

Shah is married with a six-year-old son.

Below is our interview with Shah.

BLD: Why did you choose a legal=20 career?
SQ: My first real taste of = the law=20 was through watching the Hollywood blockbuster Gandhi. I saw = that=20 change for the better could be achieved despite great = injustice.=20 Through my campaign work for various organisations, I became = aware=20 that lawyers were often at the cutting edge of things.

BLD: If you were to choose another=20 role/profession other than law, what would it be and=20 why?
SQ: If I had an ounce of scientific = knowledge I would have been an explorer or a wildlife=20 conservationist. I was captivated by the recent BBC = programme Lost=20 Land of the Volcano featuring the giant woolly rat.

BLD: What was the best career advice you = were=20 given?
SQ: Talk to others who have = joined the=20 profession before doing so yourself. Learn about the = profession you=20 want to go into to see if it is for you. Learn from your = mistakes.=20

BLD: What was the worst career = advice you=20 were given?
SQ: At school, like many BME = pupils,=20 I was advised not to set my sights too high. I was lucky to = have=20 parents who believed=20 otherwise.       =20 =
           &nb= sp;           &nbs= p;       =20
BLD: What career advice would you give = to=20 others?
SQ:   The same advice = that I=20 was given. It is also important not to underestimate the = importance=20 of mentors. Work hard and be bold in what you do.

BLD: Who is the person you most admire = (dead or=20 alive) and why?
SQ: After a = certain=20 age my genius on the football pitch waned and my role models = changed=20 from Diego Maradona and John Barnes to campaigning lawyers = who=20 fought injustice such as Gandhi. What I admire most is their = conviction and fearlessness. Growing up as an Asian in = Britain made=20 me conscious of discrimination, so I have always admired = those who=20 fought injustice. I admire my father for his selflessness in = giving=20 up college to support our family and working 12-14 hour = shifts in a=20 glass factory. Through perseverance he eventually opened his = own=20 business and my mother then picked up the reins.

BLD: What are you most = passionate/happiest=20 about?
SQ: The birth of my = son.

BLD: What are your=20 dislikes?
SQ: Injustice and intolerance = of=20 others. The long wait for the Bangladeshi cricket team to = realise=20 its potential.

BLD: What was = your=20 worst moment as a = lawyer?
SQ: At=20 Tower Hamlets Law Centre, I represented an employee in my = first=20 Employment Tribunal case. I had prepared meticulously. = However, I=20 did not allow for tube delays. I entered the hearing late = and=20 apologised. After a long silence, the tribunal Chairman = admonished=20 me for not explaining my delay. That completely threw me and = I=20 learnt to always allow extra travelling time.

BLD: Tell us about your professional = high=20 point(s).
SQ: I was privileged to = work on=20 the Ladbroke Grove Train Inquiry where it became clear that = 37=20 people had died needlessly and many more were seriously = injured. The=20 findings led to the Rail Safety Standards Board being = established,=20 improvements in rail safety and eventually Network Rail = pleading=20 guilty to charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act. = In terms=20 of my career, I started out as a volunteer at a CAB, after = having=20 had my training contract application rejected by a leading = human=20 rights firm. So it was a matter of great pride for me when I = was=20 made a partner and head of department at that same firm. = Other=20 highlights have included being listed as a leader in the = field in=20 Chambers UK for the last six years and making the Times = Lawyer of=20 the Week.

BLD: What was the most = famous/interesting=20 case(s) you have handled to = date?
SQ: At=20 Bindmans we focus on cases that will change the law for the = better.=20 Most recently, I acted for the environmentalist Tim = Nicholson in the=20 Employment Appeal Tribunal, successfully arguing that his = views=20 about climate change and the environment are protected by = the UK=E2=80=99s=20 anti-discrimination legislation. We were pushing boundaries = by=20 arguing Tim=E2=80=99s views should have the same legal = protection as=20 religious beliefs. We had a fantastic team, including Dinah = Rose QC,=20 Ivan Hare and Tim Nicholson himself. We argued that = Tim=E2=80=99s beliefs,=20 although science-based, were philosophical because they = involved a=20 substantial aspect of human life and were underpinned by = moral=20 values. Mr Justice Burton agreed and people with such = beliefs are=20 now protected from discrimination. The judgment opens the = door for=20 protection of other beliefs.

BLD: Any professional=20 regrets?
SQ: No =E2=80=93 we all make = mistakes. The=20 important thing is to learn from them and move on.

BLD: If you could rule the world for a = day what=20 would you change/do?
SQ: Ensure = there is a=20 long-lasting and binding agreement on climate change before = it=E2=80=99s too=20 late. I also think something needs to be done to change the = huge=20 disparity between the wealth of the West and the abject = poverty of=20 the developing world. Sadly, that=E2=80=99s not something to = be fixed in a=20 day.

BLD: Tell us more about your = family=20 life?
SQ: Legal work often makes you = feel like a=20 mouse running on a wheel. So it=E2=80=99s nice to be able to = get off that=20 wheel and spend time with those that matter most.

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