Mirza is nationally recognised as a strategic leader, with highly persuasive communication and influencing skills and abilities. As an accomplished presenter, he has inspired many individuals at national and international conferences on issues relating to, for example, Good Governance (which includes ethical & corporate governance), Human Rights, Procurement, Compulsory Competitive Tendering, Best Value, Freedom of Information and Business Excellence.
Called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn, in 1984, Mirza commenced his local government career in 1985 and became Chairman of the Bar Association for Local Government & the Public Service, in April 1998 (www.balgps.org.uk). He has also been a Member of the General Council of the Bar for England & Wales since 1995 (save for 1998). Mirza was President of the Association of Council Secretaries & Solicitors (ACSeS) in 2009/2010 and his theme was ‘Leadership Excellence’.
Within 15 years of joining local government, Mirza got to the top of local government legal services by joining Birmingham City Council, as Chief Legal Officer. Following further internal promotions – including becoming the statutory Monitoring Officer in 2001 – he ultimately had responsibility over £40 million annual budgets and provided strategic and corporate leadership over 2 Directors, about 25 Heads of Service and over 800 staff.
His Department provided a wide range of multi-disciplinary, professional and administrative work relating to, for example, Legal, Democratic, Elections, Public Health, Environmental Protection, Licensing & Hackney Carriages, Trading Standards, Illegal Money Lending, Mortuary, HM Coroners, Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Data Protection & Information Management.
Mirza commenced private practice from St Philips Chambers, Birmingham, in November 2011, and deals with all aspects of high level local authority work (for and against), save for operational Family (Child Care/Social Services) matters. This broad statement includes the following areas of law & practice (in order of strategic focus and importance to local government):-
- Ethical & Corporate Governance, Monitoring Officer & constitutional matters;
- Decommissioning of services & strategic development of shared services with other public bodies;
- Employment (including unfair dismissal, disciplinary matters, Single Status & Equal Pay claims);
- Procurement (UK & EU aspects);
- Contracts (including drafting and disputes resolution);
- Planning & Compulsory Purchase Orders;
- Land & Property transactions (including Private Finance Initiate, joint ventures and landlord & tenant);
- Consumer Protection (including Trading Standards, Public & Environmental Health);
- Housing & Community Safety matters; and
- Education and Leisure Services.