Professional Background

Mahmud is a practising barrister in the Republic of Ireland, specialising in these areas of law. He was called to the Bar in 2007 and has established a dynamic practice focused on providing clients with advice which is legally sound, practical and cost-effective. He frequently appears before the higher courts, as well as representing clients in mediations, arbitrations and before disciplinary tribunals. Mahmud is also a CPD lecturer and gives regular talks to groups of solicitors, accountants and other professionals around Ireland on the latest legal developments. He is also an accredited mediator. Prior to commencing practice as a barrister, Mahmud worked for some time with one of London's leading commercial law firms.

Education

Mahmud holds a Bachelor of Civil Law degree (BCL) from NUI Galway, Masters of Law (LLM) from the University of Cambridge and Barrister-at-Law (BL) degree from the King's Inns, Dublin. He obtained first-class honours in all of these degrees, finishing in the top 5% of his class on each occasion.

Publications

Mahmud is the author of "Court applications under the Companies Acts", a practitioners' text on company law published by Bloomsbury Professional. He is currently working on a second edition of the book. He has also written numerous articles in Ireland's leading professional law journals on a variety of different legal topics. Additionally, Mahmud publishes annual updates on the Law of Mortgages, and the Law of Companies, which have proved extremely popular with solicitors and accountants.

Personal Background

While the practice of a barrister involves much travelling around the country, Mahmud is based in Sligo where he has lived for the past 20 years. When not working, Mahmud is a huge cricket fan and can also be found hiking around the hillsides and beaches of his home town.

In his own words

On being a lawyer...

"After a lot of exams, a lot of reading and training, it's been worth it. Most of my days are spent at my desk conducting legal research. I attend courts. I meet a lot of people. I am on the train a lot! And I learn something new every day (sometimes more than one!) It is not always easy but, for me at least, I cannot think of a better job."

On studying law...

"Basic legal education should start at school. It is too important an aspect of society to ignore for so long.

Since starting my practice I have had a number of students contacting me for advice on becoming a barrister. I have talked to colleagues who have had the same experience. Unfortunately, it is not something which is taught in schools, and most people do not realise what it is like until they have actually enrolled in a law degree (I recall it was a bit of a shock for me!). Even then, academic law is not a true reflection of law in practice. The result is that you have a high drop-out rate both in law degrees and at the Bar itself. For any students out there, I would definitely recommend contacting solicitors and barristers about their experiences before taking the leap - we were in that position once and we are happy to help."

On legal fees...

"I believe that the legal system is inefficient and designed to be expensive. There is not a lot we can do about that as lawyers - if the law requires that you should have three lawyers working on your case then those three people need to be paid, and of course it all adds up. Inevitably, this means that a lot of people are afraid to go to court even when they may have an excellent case. They're afraid to exercise their basic constitutional right to justice. Hopefully the new legal practitioners legislation will help make litigation more affordable. But what we can do as lawyers is to ensure clients make informed decisions - to let them know, as best as possible, how much something is going to cost before there is any commitment to paying it."

On Sligo...

"Being in my profession and living in Sligo means I'm on the train to Dublin a lot. Sligo seems to be situated in that awkward corner of the country where it is close to nothing. So I'm on the train and I'm thinking "I'm moving to Dublin ASAP", but then even the thought of it makes me homesick. The fact is, I can't think of a better place to live!"