Junior Associate
Ayesha Bashir is a Junior Associate at RIAA Barker Gillette’s Islamabad office. She assists the firm’s partners and senior associates on a broad range of corporate, commercial, and international law matters, including but not limited to international trade, banking and finance, debt restructuring and security arrangements, and development projects.
Drawing on her LL.M. from Harvard Law School and international experience, Ayesha has developed particular strength in navigating complex cross-border issues. She has worked on and published in emerging areas such as digital assets, energy technology, and AI with leading academic presses, reflecting her interest in the intersection of law, finance, and technology.
Recognized through awards for academic and professional excellence, as well as success in international moot competitions, Ayesha combines rigorous legal training with practical, cross-border insight in advising clients.
Education
- Harvard Law School, LL.M (Master of Laws), 2025
- Hamad Bin Khalifa University, J.D (Juris Doctor), 2024
- Bahria University, Bachelor of Social Sciences, 2019
Experience
- Student Attorney & Team Lead at Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project
- Intern at Qatar International Court & Dispute Resolution Centre
- Intern at O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law
- Judicial Intern at Supreme Court of Pakistan
- Legislative Intern at National Assembly of Pakistan
- Research Assistant at Hamad Bin Khalifa University
- Executive Editor at Harvard Business Law Review
- Executive Editor at Harvard Negotiation Law Review
- Co-VP of Logistics and Events at Harvard Law School Blockchain and FinTech Initiative
- Moot Coach at HBKU Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration
- Founder & Editor-in-Chief at HBKU Law Society Newsletter
Languages
English, Urdu, and Arabic
Memberships
- Islamabad Bar Council
- Islamabad Bar Association
- Young International Council for Commercial Arbitration
Publications
- George Dimitropoulos, Ayesha Bashir and Safaa Al-Jaber, ‘Digital Assets and Transnational Financial Law’ in Jason Grant Allen Et al. (eds), Oxford Handbook of Digital Assets and the Law (Forthcoming Oxford University Press 2026)
- Damilola Olawuyi and Ayesha Bashir, ‘Energy Ethics’ in Ibrahim Dincer (ed), Comprehensive Energy Systems 2ndEdition (Volume 1: Energy Fundamentals) (Elsevier, August 2024)
- Barry Solaiman and Ayesha Bashir, ‘Regulating Al in the Middle East’ in Barry Solaiman and I. Glenn Cohen (eds), Research Handbook on Health, AI and the Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2024)
Recognition and Awards
Qatar Foundation Excellence Award
HBKU Faculty Award – Contributed Most to the Intellectual Life of the College
Paigham-E-Pakistan Award
First Place at the DIFC Courts Digital Economy Court Moot Competition
Second Place at the DLA Piper Sustainability Moot
Second Place at the Amity University Dubai International Client-Counselling Competition
