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Anita Ghazi Rahman

Anita Ghazi Rahman

Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
LL.B. (Hons), University College London (UCL).
Barrister-at-Law, of Lincoln’s Inn

Independent Director, BRAC Bank PLC.
Nominated Director, bKash Limited.
Nominated Director, BRAC IT Services Limited.
Member, National Advisory Board for Impact Investment in Bangladesh.

Independent Director, LightCastle Partners.

M: +8801713036917
E: [email protected]

Anita Ghazi Rahman is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the Founder and Managing Partner of The Legal Circle.

With over two decades of experience, she is widely recognised as one of Bangladesh’s leading corporate, finance and disputes lawyers. Her practice encompasses complex corporate and commercial transactions, investments, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, regulatory advisory, and high-value litigation and dispute resolution. She regularly advises multinational corporations, financial institutions, development organisations, investors, boards of directors and leading domestic business groups on strategic legal, governance and regulatory matters.

Called to the Bar of England and Wales from Lincoln’s Inn in 2003, Anita was enrolled as an Advocate of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 2006 and became a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 2025.

Her professional standing has been recognised consistently by leading international legal directories. She is ranked in Chambers Asia-Pacific for Corporate & Finance and Dispute Resolution, appears in Chambers Global, IFLR1000 (Highly Regarded), The Legal 500 and Asialaw, and was named to the Asia Business Law Journal’s A-List of Bangladesh’s Top 50 Lawyers in 2025.

Anita Ghazi Rahman serves as an Independent Director of BRAC Bank PLC and as a Nominated Director on the boards of bKash Limited and BRAC IT Services Limited. She is a Member of the National Advisory Board for Impact Investment in Bangladesh. Her boardroom experience and governance expertise make her a trusted adviser to companies navigating regulatory, compliance and strategic challenges in highly regulated sectors.

Beyond her commercial practice, Anita is a committed advocate for access to justice and legal reform. She is the Founder of Think Legal Bangladesh and the Publisher of the Legal Circle Law Reports (LCLR). Through her pro bono work, she has advised local and international non-profit organisations, social enterprises and public-interest initiatives on governance, regulatory and institutional matters, contributing to legal capacity-building and social impact programmes in Bangladesh and internationally.

Corporate Transactions & Capital Markets

Anita advises on the full spectrum of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, inbound and outbound investments, cross-border restructurings, franchise and distribution arrangements, and commercial contracting. She acts for multinational corporations, listed companies, private equity and venture capital investors and development-stage businesses across a broad range of sectors including telecommunications, financial services, technology, RMG, logistics, food and beverage and energy. As Managing Partner of The Legal Circle, Bangladesh’s Lex Mundi member firm, she coordinates cross-border matters with Lex Mundi member firms in over 100 jurisdictions worldwide.

Banking, Finance & Debt Capital Markets

Anita advises borrowers, lenders and issuers on a range of financing transactions, including term loans, project finance, loan syndication, standby letters of credit, subordinated debt and debt capital markets issuances. Her recent experience includes advising on social bond frameworks and Tier-II subordinated bond issuances for regulated financial institutions. She advises on Bangladesh Bank regulatory requirements applicable to banks and NBFIs and on the structuring of cross-border financing transactions, including foreign currency borrowings and regulatory approvals.

Corporate Governance & Regulatory Advisory

Anita advises boards of directors, independent directors and companies on governance matters, including board structures, directors’ duties and liabilities, code of conduct requirements, and regulatory compliance with BSEC and Bangladesh Bank guidelines. She has been engaged as a resource person by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and UNDP in the development of the Draft Commercial Court Ordinance 2025 and has acted as an expert consultant on proposed amendments to the Companies Act, 1994, the Startup Policy and related legislation. She is a recognised authority on independent and nominee director liability and the governance of listed and regulated entities in Bangladesh.

Employment & Labour

Anita advises employers and employees on the full range of contentious and non-contentious employment matters, including executive severance, disciplinary proceedings, wrongful termination, incentive and equity compensation schemes, employee benefit structuring, and compliance with Bangladesh Labour Law and BEPZA regulations. She has advised leading domestic and international clients on workforce restructuring, HR policy development and cross-border employment issues, and has appeared before employment tribunals and regulatory bodies.

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Anita heads The Legal Circle’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice, appearing before the High Court Division and Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Her practice encompasses commercial litigation, judicial review, public interest litigation, tax and customs disputes, company disputes, securities regulation and telecommunications matters. She has appeared in landmark cases before the Supreme Court and has acted as lead and co-counsel in public interest litigation that has shaped administrative law, regulatory practice and access to justice in Bangladesh.

  1. Panel Speaker, “Building Ethical Foundations for Organizational Success”, Integrity Day 2024, 5 June 2024. Organised by the UN Global Compact Network Bangladesh.
  2. Panelist, “Role of Pro Bono in Last Mile Fair Labour Practices”, 21 May 2024. Organised by Advocates for International Development (A4ID), United Kingdom.
  3. Speaker, Roundtable on “Investing With A Purpose: Navigating Bangladesh’s Impact Ecosystem”, 1 May 2024. Organised by Biniyog Briddhi, supported by the Embassy of Switzerland.
  4. Panel Speaker, HSBC Celebration of International Women’s Day, 10 March 2024.
  5. Panelist, “Ring The Bell for Gender Equality”, 10 March 2024, Dhaka Stock Exchange. Organised in partnership with IFC, UN Global Compact, UN Women and the World Federation of Exchanges.
  6. Roundtable Discussant, “SheSTEM: Career Knows No Gender”. Organised by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in conjunction with a2i and LightCastle Partners.
  7. Panel Discussant, “Navigating the Challenges of Growth & Capital Needs”, 19 February 2024, SouthAsia Tech Founders.
  8. Webinar Speaker, “The Why Behind the Gender Disparity in the Bangladeshi Startup Ecosystem”, 15 January 2024. Organised by NSU Startups Next.
  9. Mentor & Director, Founder Institute, Bangladesh Chapter (fi.co), the world’s largest entrepreneur training program.
  10. Mentor, Grameen Phone Accelerator (gpa.co), 3rd batch, “Startup Legal”, 23 March 2017.
  11. Speaker, School of Entrepreneurship Lecture Series, “Intellectual Property”, 4 February 2017. Organised by Junction Ventures.
  12. Panelist, “The State of Social Enterprise in Bangladesh” , 9 October 2016. Organised by the British Council.
  13. Mentor, Grameen Phone Accelerator (gpa.co), 2nd batch, “Startup Legal and Intellectual Property”, 27 September 2016.
  14. Speaker at “Legal Framework for Entrepreneurs”, 6 February, 2016. Event organized by Bangladesh Startup Lab.
  15. Panelist, “Tech Women Conference at Digital World 2015”, 9 February, 2015.
  16. Speaker at the “GIST Bangladesh Startup Boot Camp”, May 22-24, 2014.
  17. Panelist, “E-Learning in Bangladesh”, 13 December 2014.
  18. Mentor, “Legal Workshop for Startups”, at GrameenPhone presents Innovation Xtreme, 22 November 2014.
  19. “Corporate Law and Public-Private Cooperation in Political Development”, Co-Speaker at the Joint IPSA Conference in Bangladesh, 2014.
  20. “Access to Laws Online”, Featured Speaker at TEDxDhaka, 2012.
  21. “Mitigating risk and fraud successfully”, Speaking Engagement for Prepaid Cards Asia Conference 2010, Singapore.

  1. “Directors in share market” — published in The Financial Express on 14 February 2026.
  2. “Independent directors: The role and its evolution” — published in The Financial Express in December 2024.
  3. “Will this remain a nation for men?” — published in The Financial Express in September 2024.
  4. “Bringing more women in boardrooms can be game-changer in BD corporate arena” — published in The Financial Express in December 2023.
  5. “Are married women barred from being trustees in Bangladesh?” — published by The Legal Circle in July 2023.
  6. “SAFE investments in Bangladesh” — published in The Financial Express in December 2022.
  7. Contributor to the Global M&A Trends Report 2022.
  8. Bangladesh Contributor, “Legal Reform as a Catalyst for Social Enterprise: An International Social Enterprise Law & Policy Report” — published by Catalyst 2030 in January 2022.
  9. Contributor (Researcher and Legal Expert), Fairwork Bangladesh Ratings 2021: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy.
  10. Publisher & Co-Editor of Legal Circle Law Reports (LCLR), a quarterly law report.
  11. Editor of Think Legal Bangladeshthinklegalbangladesh.com. Think Legal is one of the first free legal resource websites in Bangladesh.
  12. “Employee Stock Option (ESO) — a beneficial plan for both the company and the employees” — published in The Financial Express on 22 December 2021.
  13. “Investing workers’ funds differently: securities seen best choice” — published in The Financial Express on 24 November 2021.
  14. “Understanding Preference Shares in Practice” — published in The Financial Express on 5 December 2020.
  15. “Data, digitalisation and public welfare post-COVID-19” — published in Whiteboard Magazine on 1 December 2020.
  16. “Easing repatriation of proceeds from share sale” — published in The Financial Express on 15 July 2020.
  17. “Returning to work during COVID-19” — published in The Financial Express on 1 June 2020.
  18. “COVID-19 Government Support Measures” — published on the Lex Mundi website on 30 May 2020.
  19. “Workforce reduction during COVID-19: Information for employers” — published in The Financial Express on 30 March 2020, with Jarif Ahmed and Nauriin Ahmed.
  20. “Data, Privacy and e-commerce” — published in The Financial Express on 11 December 2018, with Pushpo Rahman.
  21. “Framing a social enterprise law” — published in The Daily Star on 13 June 2017.
  22. Lead Author of the Bangladesh Section of The Employment Law Review, 8th Edition, published by Law Reviews in 2017.
  23. Co-Author of the Bangladesh Section of The International Comparative Guide to: Project Finance 2016 & 2017, published by the Global Legal Group, with Karishma Jahan.
  24. Co-Author of the Bangladesh Section of Laws on Telecom and Media 2013, Getting the Deal Through, with Mohibul H. Chowdhoury and Daniah Khandker.
  25. Contributor to A Review of Laws and Policies to Prevent and Remedy Violence Against Children in Police and Pre-Trial Detention in Bangladesh, published by Penal Reform International in 2013.
  26. “Cross Border Merger and Acquisitions – the new frontier”, written in conjunction with Masud Khan and published in The Financial Express on 26 May 2010.
  27. “An easy conversion” — published in The Daily Star on 25 May 2010.

  1. Ranked in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2026 for Corporate & Finance and Dispute Resolution.
  2. Ranked in Chambers Global for Corporate & Finance.
  3. Recognised as Highly Regarded in Financial and Corporate Law, Bangladesh, by IFLR1000.
  4. Named to the Asia Business Law Journal A-List: Bangladesh’s Top 50 Lawyers, 2025.
  5. Member of the Editorial Team for The Law of Civil Procedure, 2nd Edition, by Mahmudul Islam and Probir Neogi.
  6. Member of the Editorial Team for Law of Estoppel, by Mahmudul Islam.
  7. Member of the Editorial Team for Unwritten Constitution of Bangladesh and A Tale of Two Supreme Courts, by Justice M. A. Matin.
  8. Member of the Editorial Team for The Companies Act, 1994 of Bangladesh through Reported Case-laws, by Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar.