Year of call: 2002 | Year of silk: 2017
Sam Karim KC (Shekh Mohammed Samiul Karim) is recognised as a leading Kings Counsel. He was called to the Bar in 2002 and subsequently appointed silk in 2017 (one of the youngest at 38 years of age and at 15 years call). Sam is a Deputy High Court Judge who sits in the Family Division and the Kings Bench Division. He is a prolific author (including Patterson & Karim on Judicial Review, Bullen & Leake on Precedents and Karim on Physical restraints: policy and guidance), a Bencher of Gray’s Inn, Judge of the National Court of Motorsports UK, Visiting Lecturer at UCL, a Director of the British Automobile Racing Club and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Sam was was previously on the Attorney-General’s A Panel and acted for HM Government at all levels and continues to act for them as leading counsel in complex matters. He is also a thought leader in AI and the Law having published in this area and lectures across the globe.
He is a recognised specialist in
He has been ranked as a Band 1 silk by Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.
“he knows his stuff when it comes to judicial review – [one person said] I wish he was a worse opponent.”
Chambers & Partners
Sam Karim KC is the head of the Administrative Law & Local Government Team at Kings Chambers, and has been involved in cases of significance for over 20 years. He is a well-known author in this field, a sample of his publications include Patterson & Karim (3rd Edition) ‘Judicial Review: Law & Practice’, and the chapter on judicial review in Bullen & Leake & Jacob’s Precedents of Pleadings. He has vast experience of representing HM Government for over 20 years including leading teams for large scale litigation and advisory teams for the Secretary of State for Justice, Secretary of State for the Home Department, Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs and the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Whilst his reported decisions in this area of prolific, his areas of specialism include
Significant reported cases include:
Sam Karim KC is a specialist lawyer in domestic and international commercial arbitration. He acts as counsel and sits as a panel or sole arbitrator. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) and is admitted as a practitioner in the Dubai International Finance Centre Court and the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM). He is fully conversant in arbitrations under the AAA, Court of Arbitration for Sport, HKIAC, SIAC, ICC, LCIA, ARIAS, UNCITRAL and ICSID, as well as ad hoc arbitrations pursuant to the Arbitration Act 1996, particularly in the Middle East and Brazil. Sam is also a panel arbitrator for the ADGM and the International Islamic Centre for Reconciliation.
Sam’s work includes:
Speaking engagements
His expertise are demonstrated and recognised by his invitations to speak at leading global conferences, for example:
Publications
Sam is the head of the Court of Protection team at Kings Chambers. He has been a specialist in this area since the advent of the jurisdiction, and been involved in leading cases in health & welfare and property and affairs. He has written national guidance for the British Institute of Learning Disabilities for the use of restraint for vulnerable individuals (arising from self-harm) (Karim on ‘A Human Rights Perspective on Reducing Restrictive Practices in Intellectual Disability and Autism’, BILD, 2014). He is also an author in the area, see ‘End of life decisions’ in Tolley’s Finance and Law for Older Clients. He is renowned for serious medical treatment work.
Sam is a Deputy High Court Judge (section 9(4)) who sits as a Tier 3 Judge of the Court of Protection.
He been at the forefront of developing case law in this jurisdiction since the implementation of the Act, for instance:
Other significant decisions include:
Sam is a specialist in public inquires, investigations and inquests. Recently:
Sam is ranked as a Leading Silk in Public Inquires and described in this area as “extremely sharp and an exemplary advocate”.
He is regularly instructed in inquests and inquiries for, individual interested persons, for public/corporate bodies, families and statutory bodies.. His experience includes, ‘Article 2’ inquests following deaths in prison, after police contact or in psychiatric detention. Sam has experience of inquests following death in custody, in a health setting, in the work place, in a holiday or leisure setting and transport-related deaths. His recent experience includes a high-profile case involving a man who had committed suicide following significant failures in his psychiatric care, and a patient who died in hospital in which a finding of neglect was made.
In HM Coroner County Durham & Darlington [2014] EWHC 3688 (Admin), Sam successfully made an application by Mr Andrew Tweddle (Senior Coroner for the Coroner area of County Durham Darlington) with the fiat of the Attorney‑General. The question was whether the existence of new information should result in the matter being remitted.
Sam is able to deal with all aspects of licensing work including: premises licences (for sale of alcohol and entertainment), betting shops and bookmakers, gaming (bingo and casinos), street trading, gangmasters, taxis and environmental waste.
Sam recently successfully obtained injunctive proceedings regarding unauthorised traveller encampments on land owned by a Council. Arguments were raised in respect of an alleged unlawful interference of Articles 8 and 14.
He was also involved in the only case involving the Gangmasters Licencing Authority in the Administrative Court, A Company v. Gangmasters Licencing Authority [2014] EWHC 4910 (Admin) where he successfully sought interim relief to reinstate a licence following revocation pending a determination by an Appointed Person.
Sam has specific expertise in public procurement and State Aid having been involved in Lancashire County Council [2018] EWHC 200 (TCC).
He specialises in:
Acted for the Claimants alleging that a private body was subject to the PCR as a contracting authority and/or alternatively that an implied/express contract existed and/or that the decision was amenable to judicial review
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust & Anor v Lancashire County Council [2018] EWHC 200 (TCC) relating to an application to lift an automatic stay under Regulation 96 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This was also the first High Court decision post Nuclear Decommissioning Authority vEnergySolutions EU Ltd (now called ATK Energy EU Ltd) [2017] UKSC 34
Acted for the Defendants concerning alleged breaches of obligations of equal treatment and transparency in the application in an allegedly abnormally low tender. This case was settled on confidential terms
Acted for a Claimant in an alleged purported abnormally low tender and lifting of the statutory suspension
Acted for the Defendant in proceedings concerning a claim for damages in respect of alleged breaches of EU law in the rejection of a tender as non-compliant
Acted for the Claimant in relation to a challenge procurement of children’s services in the North West
Acted for the Defendant in relation to a lifted suspension and third-party disclosure
“Sam is not afraid to take on difficult cases and is accessible and helpful.”
“I need counsel who are reliable and available, and Sam is all of that.”
“Sam Karim is excellent all round and my go-to counsel.”
“Nothing is ever too much trouble for Sam, and he is both knowledgeable and supportive at all times.”
“I really like working with Sam and he makes himself available.”
“Sam is an excellent advocate and his position statements and drafting of orders is excellent.”
(Chambers UK 2026)
(Legal 500 2026)
‘Sam is conscientious, level headed, excellent with clients, and able to utilise his skills and expertise to get a point across when required.’
‘He is highly professional and builds a great rapport with clients. He is calm, reassuring, and unflappable, his advocacy is outstanding and his written submissions are clear, concise and demonstrate in-depth knowledge.’
‘Sam is pragmatic, patient, and extremely knowledgeable, and is a really safe pair of hands. His advocacy is engaging, witnesses will trust him, and he is able to tease information out that others may not.’
‘Sam is excellent with clients, as he has a lovely manner and is very likeable, and at the same time, he is extremely sharp and an exemplary advocate. His calm approach is very reassuring and he is very easy to work with.
(Legal 500 2025)
“Sam always makes himself available and is highly skilled.”
(Chambers UK 2025)
‘Sam is an excellent advocate. He remains very calm under pressure and speaks very eloquently. He is extremely good at dealing with clients, always on hand to assist and very approachable.’
“Sam is very sensible, calm and effective.”
“Sam is a really good opponent.”
“Sam is an excellent advocate and is extremely eloquent. He deals really well with clients and is friendly and approachable. He is a pleasure to work with.”
(Chambers UK 2024)
“Sam is an absolute genius at cross-examination. He immediately brings a calmness to proceedings.”
“He is outstanding; fantastic with clients, easily accessible and highly knowledgeable.”
(Chambers UK 2023)
‘An outstanding advocate. He has a wonderful bedside manner and is very reassuring to clients.’
“Sam is calm under pressure, very sharp intellectually and is able to quickly analyse issues. He is not afraid to deal with difficult issues.'”
‘Sam is an incredibly diligent barrister with a real skill in getting to the crux of the issues in the case swiftly. As an advocate, he is concise, pragmatic and focused in his drafting and as a result has no need to deliver his clear and succinct submissions forcefully or aggressively to aid persuasion. Sam is equally skilled at identifying legal arguments that require adjudication of the court.’
(Legal 500 2023)
“A pleasure to be against. He never loses his calm and is trusted by the judges in the Court of Protection.” “He has a well-deserved reputation for acting in high-profile and interesting cases.”
(Chambers UK 2022)
“Sam is an incredibly diligent barrister with a real skill in getting to the crux of the issues in the case swiftly. As an advocate he is concise, pragmatic and focused in his drafting and as a result has no need to deliver his clear and succinct submissions forcefully or aggressively to aid persuasion. Sam is equally skilled at identifying legal arguments that require adjudication of the court.”
(Legal 500 2022)
“He’s a very good advocate who makes very focused submissions.”
(Chambers UK 2021)
“His advice is always very thorough and his advocacy is very effective.” “His softly-spoken manner makes him ideal for dealing with vulnerable clients, and belies a razor-sharp advocacy which is effective and persuasive. He sees the issues with a clarity that compares with few others and is a pleasure to work with.” “Excellent on his feet, very knowledgeable and approachable.”
(Chambers UK 2021)
“He is a very polished, attractive advocate.” “He is calm, methodical and committed to delivering the best result for those instructing him.” “He has a good client manner and excellent subject matter knowledge. He is also a quick thinker on his feet.”
(Chambers UK 2021)
“He is an articulate, persuasive advocate and has the ability to charm litigation friends.”
(Legal 500, 2020)
“Excellent client manner and ability to explain often complex legal points in client friendly terms. Responsive and able to turn work around quickly when needed. Quick thinking, particularly when on feet in Court.”
(Legal 500, 2020)
“Has in-depth knowledge in Court of Protection, and is very efficient and proactive in his approach.”
(Legal 500, 2020)
“Proactive and knowledgeable.”
(Legal 500, 2020)
“An extremely able advocate who can think on his feet.”
(Legal 500, 2020)
“His advocacy is clear, concise, accurate and calm under pressure. He’s very punctual as well.”
“He’s unflappable and very good at dealing with people.” “He’s very dedicated, researches his cases very thoroughly and really gets to grips with the main issues. He’s a pleasure to work with.” “He’s knowledgeable, articulate in court and a very safe pair of hands.”
(Chambers & Partners, 2020)
“Sam is an outstanding advocate. He is a pleasure to work with. He is always on hand at the drop of a hat to discuss a case, and he has an ability to put lay clients completely at ease even when dealing with difficult medical decisions.”
“He understands the technical points of public law really well.” “He is diligent and straight-dealing.”
“He has a real breadth of knowledge. He is a measured and careful advocate.” “He has a good knowledge of the law and is well-prepared. His submissions are underpinned by a knowledge of the law.”
(Chambers & Partners, 2018)
‘An outstanding advocate.’
(Legal 500, 2018)
‘An outstanding advocate, who makes lay clients feel completely at ease.’
(Legal 500, 2018)
“Accomplished new silk”
(Chambers & Partners, 2017)
“When he is on his feet in a courtroom, he is simply captivating.”
(Legal 500, 2016)
“He’s excellent, and used by all parties – he’s very academic in his thought processes.”
(Chambers and Partners, 2016)
“… His academic understanding of subject matter litigation is incredible.”
(Chambers and Partners, 2015)
“He is one of the leading practitioners in the North”
(Chambers & Partners, 2017)
“He is innovative in the way he approaches cases and creative in the way he deals with matters…”
(Chambers and Partners, 2015)
“He’s a very skilful advocate who is always remarkably calm and in control, he never gets fazed by the complexities of a case… He puts his points across succinctly and never wavers.”
(Chambers & Partners, 2017)
