Scullion News & Resources

Urfan’s Story

Urfan joined Scullion Law in 2020 as a respected Solicitor Advocate having gained extensive experience throughout Scotland in the management, direction, and presentation of High Court, sheriff and jury, and summary trials. He enjoys the reputation of a meticulous pleader and an excellent trial lawyer having acted in several complex cases involving crimes against the person, crimes against property, murder, terrorism offences, financial crime, complex fraud, corporate and white-collar crime, extradition, fatal accident inquiries, proceeds of crime, serious and organised crime, sexual offences, drugs offences, firearms offences, offensive weapons, public order offences, contempt of court proceedings, domestic abuse matters, dangerous dog offences, road traffic offences, including causing death by dangerous driving charges, dangerous and careless driving, drink driving, driving whilst disqualified and other minor RTA offences. He has also instructed and conducted criminal appeals in appellate proceedings at the High Court of Justiciary.

He is a valued addition to the team, recognised for his forensic attention to detail, skilled, disciplined approach, and creative diversity. He adopts a friendly and approachable attitude towards his clients but never compromises a robust and competitive approach to the law. He is held in high regard by his peers, who recognise his prodigious talents as an accomplished and tactical litigator with exceptional advocacy skills. He continues to be instructed in a variety of complex and novel cases and has appeared in several significant publicised criminal cases over the years. Urfan represents individuals facing serious allegations, particularly homicide, sexual allegations, terrorism, and drug cases. He is experienced in advising ‘professionals’ who face criminal allegations, such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, and company officers. He has defended many cases involving historic sexual allegations. He advises in cases involving allegations of assisting or encouraging suicide.

He was granted extended rights of audience and admitted as a Solicitor Advocate in 2014 and is the first Muslim Solicitor Advocate in Scotland and is entitled to appear as counsel in the High Court of Justiciary and Court of Appeal. He is a dedicated professional committed to providing a first-class standard of service for his clients. He is skilled in the interpretation and application of the law and has gained a reputation for being a creative legal thinker who is honest, reliable, knowledgeable and dedicated to the pursuit of justice and equality.

Urfan has been instructed as both Solicitor and Solicitor Advocate in murder cases at Glasgow High Court which have led to acquittals, successful appeals by way of stated case procedure for high-profile individuals, high-profile Extradition cases, the first music file sharing prosecution in Scotland, the first case in the UK where the use of animal DNA was used to prosecute an individual, the first money laundering prosecution in Scotland, several fatal accident inquiries, cases of prominence before the appeal court involving the sentencing of children and vulnerable persons in Scotland, cases involving specialist procedure including the application of the mental health provisions in terms of successfully pleading special defences by reason of mental disorder in terms of section 51A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 and procuring positive outcomes for persons considered to be unfit for trial in terms of section 53F of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

He is always committed to providing a high quality of service and engagement in assisting persons who may be negotiating a highly critical stage of their lives and is passionate about representing clients robustly and applying the law forensically and cohesively. He is reactive to urgent situations and changes in the law to assist clients and keep them fully informed. Serving the interests of justice and protecting the rights and liberties of citizens lie at the heart of the commitment the firm offers. Safeguarding human rights and acting with independence and integrity in striving to protect the interests of the client are fundamental obligations. Confidentiality and the provision of a professional service are guaranteed.

Urfan qualified as a solicitor in 2004 and worked for Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP, a leading commercial law firm, undertaking corporate work for several leading UK companies before deciding to pursue his ambitions as a specialist criminal court practitioner at Beltrami & Co. He gained extensive experience at the firm for over twelve years and worked in all areas of criminal law at both summary and solemn level including High Court proceedings and Court Martial work. During his time at Beltrami & Co., the firm was recognised as Criminal Law Firm of the Year at the Law Awards of Scotland in both 2015 and 2016. Urfan went on to work at Aamer Anwar & Co. Solicitors between 2017 and 2019, working on a variety of high-profile cases, including the Clara Ponsatí Extradition case.

His desire to significantly contribute persists, and he continues to represent both laypersons and professionals accused of criminal or negligent conduct, including but not limited to Doctors, Dentists, Social Workers, Nurses, Police Officers, Accountants, members of the Armed Forces/Military Personnel including Court Martial (Urfan is PACE trained). He has appeared in children’s referral hearings and in parole hearings before the Parole Board of Scotland. He has also accepted instructions in cases before the GMC, GDC, and has undertaken both SSSC and NMC representation.

He is also a Notary Public who is registered at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. He can speak three different languages being fluent in English, Urdu and Punjabi. He has also served as a committee member for the Glasgow Bar Association (“GBA”) and contributed to the development of the law to benefit the profession and its members. He compliments a flexible and adaptable approach to working, with research, teaching and mentoring younger members of staff and students who are keen to learn and are seeking opportunities to enhance their professional development. Urfan was a Mosaic Mentor on behalf of the Prince’s Trust in 2017 and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of educating and supporting children from minority and other backgrounds within secondary education.

He has a strong academic background and graduated with Honours from the University of Glasgow in 2001 before going on to serve his apprenticeship with Dickson Minto WS, a leading corporate law firm, receiving the very highest standard of training in corporate, commercial, and banking law. His versatility and ability to excel under pressure is an asset to any team.

He can be instructed as either Solicitor or Solicitor Advocate.

Urfan has gained extensive experience in recent years having been involved in many serious cases involving human trafficking, FAI’s and particularly murder cases, of which a brief selection are listed below:

FAI into the death of AH at HMP Barlinnie – 2019 – 2020 – this was a significant FAI that lasted 14 days and had implications for Police Scotland, the court, and prison officers as it related to findings of inadequate monitoring, care and detection of a prisoner’s condition, whereby he died of acute peritonitis due to a perforated ulcer. Urfan was instructed on behalf of the family of the deceased and strongly criticised the conduct of staff charged with his care within his oral and written submissions. This was one of three significant FAI’s Urfan conducted in recent years allowing him to gain specialist experience in the field. See written judgement here: https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/default-source/cos-general-docs/pdf-docs-for-opinions/2020fai010.pdf?sfvrsn=0 and news article https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/cops-blamed-horrific-lead-up-21501189

MK – human trafficking case – Sept 2019 – this was a significant case as it involved lodging a preliminary argument and appeal against sentence on the basis that the accused was a victim of human trafficking, with reference to specific case law and authority, which led to a significant reduction in sentence. See the BBC news article here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-49647787

SC FAI – March 2018 – this was a significant FAI into the conduct of the police who detained the accused, who subsequently died in police custody. Please see article: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/fatal-accident-inquiry-hears-dad-12259739

WM FAI into the death of RM – 2018 – this was an important FAI into the conduct of prison staff following the death of a young offender at HMYOI Polmont. See article https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/2286538/warder-nightmares-suicide-william-main-raygen-merchant-fai/

SW – High Court Murder 2017 – this was a highly publicised and brutal murder where Urfan was instructed as Junior Counsel. This is one of many significant murder cases Urfan has been instructed in in recent years, allowing him to gain specialist experience in the field. Please see article http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-38979982

JM – High Court Murder 2017 – this was a highly publicised murder where the accused was found guilty of an unsolved murder in the Coatbridge area from 1999 – Urfan was instructed as Junior Counsel in this case – See BBC News article http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-38979982

WG – 2017 – High Court Murder 2017 – this was a two accused murder whereby Urfan was again instructed as Junior Counsel leading to a successful acquittal for both accused. See BBC news article here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-41421287

W – PO – 2017 – this was a high profile case for a former prison officer who pled guilty to smuggling controlled drugs into a prison. Urfan was the lead solicitor in the case. Please see article attached https://archive.news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/1382765-prison-officer-smuggled-cannabis-and-phones-into-jail.html

Urfan regularly receives positive feedback from clients via our review platforms, as displayed below.

S (2023) – “Brilliant firm all across the board with great communication from start to finish. Always got me the best outcome possible every time, highly recommend for any legal issues 10/10!”

Anonymous (2023) – “Urfan was great from start to finish. A very calm and knowledgeable guy. I was impressed that he was always available at the end of the phone or on email and always answered quickly, even out of hours. Hopefully I won’t have a need to use Urfan again, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do so.”

Craig Ross (2023) – “Brilliant from start to finish. Sound advice with a better than expected outcome from me. Mr. Dar was professional from the start. If anyone is reading this, don’t hesitate with your reputation; give them a call.”