Awais Arshad
Associate
Awais Arshad dismantles the government’s case piece by piece, applying an analytical rigor he sharpened across three legal systems. He brings to his clients a rare combination of courtroom advocacy, appellate judgment, Supreme Court clerkship experience, and criminal-law training. Qualified at the bars of New York, England & Wales, and Pakistan, Awais draws on that unique training to read a case and build a defense. Awais chose criminal defense because prosecution places the power of the State against the individual, and that imbalance demands rigorous advocacy. He believes a defense lawyer’s duty is to test the government’s proof, challenge overreach, preserve rights at every stage, and keep fighting when a client’s liberty, reputation, family, and future are at stake.
Since joining ChaudhryLaw, Awais has worked on some of the firm’s most serious and high-profile criminal matters in federal and state courts. His work has included trial strategy, motion practice, cross-examination preparation, sentencing advocacy, forfeiture litigation, bail proceedings, discovery analysis, and post-verdict litigation. He has handled matters involving insider trading, securities fraud, drug conspiracies, money laundering, assault, and large-scale white-collar investigations.
That work has made him particularly effective at building defenses from complex records, identifying weaknesses in the government’s theory, and turning complicated factual and evidentiary issues into clear, persuasive arguments.
Before joining the firm, Awais clerked from 2017 to 2019 for the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Asif Khosa, widely regarded as one of the leading criminal-law jurists in the country’s history. During that clerkship, Awais assisted in adjudicating thousands of criminal cases. That experience gave him sustained exposure to questions of criminal procedure, evidence, sentencing, appellate review, constitutional protections, and the practical consequences criminal convictions carry for accused persons and their families.
Awais has conducted numerous trials and worked extensively as an appellate lawyer. He approaches criminal defense with a dual focus: winning the immediate fight in the trial court while protecting the record for meaningful review if the case continues on appeal.
Awais earned his LL.B. (Hons) from BPP University in London in 2014, graduating with Upper Second-Class Honours. He then completed the Bar Professional Training Course at BPP University as a member of The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and received a classification of Very Competent. He joined the Bar of England & Wales in 2016.
In 2019, the United States Department of State awarded Awais the Fulbright Scholarship to pursue an LL.M. at Columbia Law School. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 2021 as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar for academic achievement.
Awais has also taught law for two years at the Millennium Universal College and the School of International Law.
Representative Matters:
Served as lead associate in a high-profile assault trial involving a nationally known actor. Awais helped develop the defense strategy, drafted omnibus pretrial motions, prepared cross-examination questions, coordinated trial preparation, and authored a post-verdict motion to set aside the conviction.
Served as lead associate in the first-ever cryptocurrency insider trading case in the United States. Awais contested the government’s substantial forfeiture demands and drafted the sentencing memorandum that helped secure a 10-month sentence, well below the federal sentencing guidelines.
Served as lead associate in a high-stakes federal drug conspiracy prosecution involving two years of contested forfeiture litigation. Awais helped defend the client’s primary residence against government seizure and secured a non-custodial probation sentence.
Served as lead associate in a complex Southern District of New York securities and wire-fraud prosecution involving allegations that a public telecommunications company inflated revenue, concealed liabilities, misled auditors, and falsified corporate records. Awais helped secure a probationary sentence for the client, a result that stood in marked contrast to the custodial sentences other defendants received in the case, including the former CEO’s 12-year prison sentence.
Served as part of the defense team for one of the defendants in a $1.4 billion international fraud and money-laundering prosecution in the Southern District of New York. Awais represented the client during initial bail proceedings and managed strategic review of discovery in a multi-jurisdictional white-collar case.
Education:
- BPP University, London, United Kingdom, LL.B. (Hons), Upper Second-Class Honours
- BPP University, London, United Kingdom, BPTC, Very Competent
- Columbia Law School, LL.M., Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
Admissions:
- State of New York
- S.D.N.Y.
- England & Wales
- Pakistan
