meet the mala committee
Judge Afzal CBE
President
His Honour Judge Afzal CBE became President in 2018. He is a Circuit Judge. Prior to appointment as a judge, he practiced as a barrister at No 5 Chambers. He is a Honarary Doctor of Staffordshire University. In 2017, he was appointed as a District Judge and became the first blind District Judge. He was appointed as a Circuit Judge in 2020. Judge Afzal is widely respected by those who appear before him or know him.
Sundeep Soor
Sundeep joined MALA in 2013 and qualified as a solicitor in 2001. He headed the complex crime team at a national firm for over 7 years. He is now a consultant solicitor at Defence Legal. Sundeep was awarded Nottinghamshire Solicitor of the year in 2019. He has over 20 years of experience defending nationally in all types of Financial Crime, Serious Crime, POCA, Extradition and Regulatory matters.
Krishna Kotecha
Treasurer
Krishna joined MALA in 2014 and qualified as a solicitor in 1989. She specialises in complex clinical negligence cases and is CEO at Moosa-Duke Solicitors, based in Leicester. Previously, she practiced at Thompsons solicitors and Browne Jacobson LLP. She is also a committee member of the Leicestershire Law Society and enjoys theatre, reading and cooking.
Priya Bakshi
Secretary
Priya joined MALA in 2014 and was called to the Bar in 2012. She is a busy barrister practicing criminal work. She is also a member of KCH Garden Square, a leading chambers in Leicester, prosecuting and defending serious criminal matters across the East Midlands.
Iqbal Mohammed
Iqbal joined MALA in 2018 and was called to the Bar in 2008. He is a busy member of St Philips Chambers in Birmingham and specialises in commercial litigation. Iqbal is shortlisted for Barrister of the Year in the Birmingham Law Society's 2019 Legal Awards and the 2020-2021 Legal Awards. Iqbal is a member of the MCCBA and Property Bar Association.
Rita Kotecha
Rita joined MALA in 2014 and qualified as a solicitor in 2008. She is an associate at Richard Nelson LLP in Leicester and specialises in criminal defence and immigration work.
Parvien Akhtar
Parvien Akhtar is the founder of Bright Legal. She qualified as a Solicitor in 1998 and specialises in litigation and family law. Parvien is the vice chair of the small firms’ network at the Law Society. She also chairs the education and training sub-board at the Leicestershire Law Society. Parvien mentors students from both the University of Leicester and De Montfort University. She was shortlisted as a Legal Hero by the Law Society in 2023. She was also named “Leicestershire Lawyer of the Year” by the Leicestershire Law Society in 2022. Parvien is also an SQE2 Examiner.