Jamila Al-Abbasi, Founder/Director

Jamila Al-Abbasi

Founder/Director

Fitness for Women Club Ltd

Location
United Kingdom
Education
Master's degree, LLM International Human Rights Law
Experience
17 years, 2 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :17 years, 2 Months

Founder/Director at Fitness for Women Club Ltd
  • United Kingdom - London
  • My current job since September 2014

Achievements:
• Conceptualized and set up this very affordable fitness center for women in the community who were keen on losing weight but had limited access to such healthcare and fitness facilities.
• Established a successful business partnership and obtained funding for the venture from the lottery fund, made the venture a profitable one.
• Introduced a successful initiative ‘Active Women’s Project’ in the community to spread awareness and importance of fitness.

Key Responsibilities:
• Develop and implement a viable business plan, make impactful business presentations to high net worth individuals as well as funding agencies to obtain finances for the organization.
• Run daily operations, assign tasks to the staff and supervise the work carried out; plan all activities and ensure completion within deadlines.
• Develop and implement an effective weight loss regime for women, create daily workout schedules (independently or using fitness equipment).
• Acquire necessary equipment by negotiating and closing deals with suppliers, ensure fitness equipment is in good working order by following-up with equipment maintenance schedules.
• Oversee budgeting and finance, legal matters, and liaise with service providers; implement measures to increase the membership of the organization.

Company Secretary & Training Manager at Women's Consortium
  • United Kingdom - London
  • My current job since July 2007

Achievements:
• Joined the Director of the Women’s Consortium as a Company Secretary and Training Manager to help promote community initiatives and assisted in raising funds for the Women’s Consortium.
• Established the Women’s Consortium Charity to enhance students’ learning skills and facilitate flash reading, confidence building and goal setting in a focused manner, and improved their likelihood of employability.
• Played a primary role in organizing and executing fund raising events and services that generated adequate finances for the organization.

Key Responsibilities:
• Manage operations and activities of the organizations by directing the staff, setting goals and achieving them through concentrated efforts.
• Assess requirements and the need for employable skills, organize and conduct NLP trainings to improve students’ communication skills, self-respect, morale that would be beneficial to them professionally.
• Monitor operations, assess resources recommend introduction of new services to bring in more funding, generate investors’ interest in the organization.
• Provide assistance in implementing services that are economical and affordable to women, and are also within the budget of the organization.
• Hold discussion with professional trainers and persuade them to provide trainings at low cost or on a pro bono basis, to increase the customer base for the company.
• Conceptualize, create, develop and implement numerous training programs for career development and business knowledge improvement.
• Oversee and fulfill staffing needs, participate in budget preparation, and maintain records and documentation.
• Ensure policies and procedures of the organization are duly adhered to by the staff and employees, and run operations in adherence to statutory regulations.

Legal Adviser and Advocate at Freelance
  • United Kingdom - London
  • My current job since February 2011

Achievements:
• Successfully represented clients before judicial bodies and argued their cases resulting in favourable outcomes.
• Achieved several out of court settlements and resolved disputes that may otherwise have been drawn into a prolonged legal process.
• Earned client’s trust, and gained reputation as a lawyer who goes the extra mile to ensure client’s interests are protected, and gained numerous referral clients.

Key Responsibilities:
• Dispense legal advice to clients regarding various matters of the law concerning Human Rights, Civil and Criminal Law.
• Study disputes and legal matters, research and identify the laws under which disputes are covered and recommend actions.
• Provide counsel regarding Employment Rights and Social Security Rights, study legal implications and make case preparations, and represent clients before tribunals and courts of law.
• Research and analyze information, interview clients and witnesses, as well as obtain decisions and citations record from similarly settled suits.
• Draft notices, documents for legal suits based on facts, petitions, written statements, affidavits and appeals.
• Maintain case records, communication, notes and documentation for future reference; liaise with officials of judicial bodies, as and when required.

Recruitment, Payroll and Facilities Manager at The Saudi Arabian Embassy Cultural Bureau
  • United Kingdom - London
  • May 2012 to January 2014

Key Responsibilities:
Recruitment
• Coordinated with senior officials, departmental heads, recruitment committee members in the embassy to determine staffing and resource needs, and called in applications from competent professionals for the positions available.
• Scrutinized applications and called candidates for interviews as per the schedules of the Cultural Attaché, departmental heads, and officials.
Administration
• Determined the skills’ level of staff, coordinated with professional training consultants and organized trainings for the staff that would improve skills and lead to enhanced performance.
• Delivered essential trainings like health and safety, first-aid and fire-marshal training, ensured staff was aware of emergency plans in case of contingencies.
• Responsible for liaising with and managing utilities and services providers and suppliers, negotiating and administering contracts and ensuring contractual obligations were met.
• Identified and selected reliable suppliers, visited reputable companies and obtained quotations from them, awarded contacts to the most suitable quotations (after approval from contracts committee) and saved costs for the embassy.
• Reviewed invoices submitted by service providers and suppliers, checked authenticity of site visits and maintenance work executed, ensured terms of the service contract were duly fulfilled, re-checked the amounts billed, and recommended payment release if all was in order.
• Coordinated changes of office, called in quotations and selected builders as per directions of the contracts committee, managed contracts and ensured tasks were completed in time.
• Accountable for data security, storage and maintenance, created electronic backups of files and folders, and ensured confidentiality of information.
• Scrutinized contracts, rendered legal advice on various contracts (events, business and services contracts), and reviewed and modified contracts; participated in contractual negotiations.
HR, Payroll and Benefits
• Coordinated with the HR team to obtain appropriate dates that were to be submitted to Ceridian to facilitate processing of salaries / wages of on-roll and off-role employees, along with completion of obligations regarding national insurance and taxation.
• Responsible for adjusting increased wages, updating promotions and immigration status, and completion and submission of P60 and P45 forms.
• Recommended proposals to the HR committee on employee benefits, pensions and tax returns as required by the laws governing diplomatic organizations.
• Identified and selected companies that specialized in managing benefits and services, and monitored the quality of services provided by them.
• Provided project support, assisted students in enrolment at universities and obtaining visas, and provided letters confirming employment.
• Planned and executed several departmental projects, developed and maintained standard operating procedures, and documented process-flow.

Research Assistant at Dr. Mohamed Badar
  • United Kingdom
  • November 2011 to November 2012

Key Responsibilities:
• Provided essential research support to Dr. Mohamed Badar for his research on ‘Peace Brief on Analyzing Post-Conflict Justice and Islamic Law’ for the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and additionally prepared a supporting research paper that was accepted by the USIP.
• Made detailed notes on sub-topics within the main topic and discussed these with Dr. Mohamed Badar for editing; prepared teaching plan, and lecture and seminar schedule.
• Developed detailed project reports, provided research support for numerous projects, as well as for lectures and seminars.
• Tasked with proof-reading and editing a major portion of Dr. Badar's first book, provided suggestions and recommendations on the content.
• Planned and implemented effective research techniques, deployed efficient tools to ensure maximum information coverage within short time.
• Researched Islamic Law, Islamic Banking, Islamic Criminal Justice and Comparative Criminal Justice and English Law.

Employment Law Volunteer at The Free Representation Unit
  • United Kingdom - London
  • February 2011 to February 2012

Achievements:
• Won a difficult case related to employment law despite having little initial experience. Deployed an effective strategy of emphasizing on the fact that contractual terms and conditions did not apply to the client (since the promotional letter was in the form of a new contract with its own terms and conditions), rather than trying to disprove client’s guilt.

Key Responsibilities:
• Carried out research and prepared cased bundles by using databases, facilitated time saving by compiling and collating all case related documents that could be examined by interested parties and court officials.
• Prepared statements by coordinating with and interviewing clients, professionals and respondents, and submitted the statement to court authorities.
• Meticulously analyzed cases, reviewed case history and identified similar cases, determined merits and demerits of the case and established supporting arguments; advocated client cases before the Employment Tribunal.

Court Clerk/Paralegal at Kaim Todner Solicitors
  • United Kingdom - London
  • January 2008 to June 2008

Work Outline: Provided administrative support to barristers and advocates ~ Client interviewing and investigation ~ Case points & filing ~ Arbitration procedures ~ Case research & benchmark judgements ~ Documentation and paperwork ~ Coordinated work at the Royal Court of Justice

Trainee Lawyer at Palestinian Bar Association
  • Palestine
  • June 2006 to September 2006

Work Outline: Court cases handled included criminal, immigration, property, employment and civil law ~ Human rights cases and legal administration ~ Trainee Lawyer in the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens Rights ~ Case research and preparation ~ Evidence evaluation

Education

Master's degree, LLM International Human Rights Law
  • at Brunel University
  • September 2010

Highlight: • Recipient of scholarship to attend Beijing University’s LLM lectures. Organized the trip for fellow-students and handled administrative activities like visas and other documentation.

Bachelor's degree, Law - LLB
  • at Brunel University
  • July 2009

Highlights: • Handled assignment in Ramallah Palestine, worked under the supervision of Palestinian lawyers, and understood various legal and human rights issues. Volunteer Assignments: • Established Brunel Respect Society (BRS) and signed up 50 students as volunteers; planned activities, organized meetings / researches (interviews / documentaries), and led the women’s segment of Islamic Society (IS). • Organized various events graced by eminent speakers such as Yvonne Ridley, John Rose, Aysha Ali and Jalal Mohabet.

High school or equivalent, Access to Law
  • at Lambeth College
  • July 2005

Specialties & Skills

Comparative Law
International Human Rights
Advocacy
Comparative Analysis
Employment Law
Legal Advisory Service & Strategy Planning, Case Research, Citing of Legal Precedents
Legal Expertise (Human Rights, Employment Law, Social Security Law)
Presentation, Conflict Management, Problem Solving, Communication
Legal Documentation & Drafting of Agreements, Court Representation, Risk Assessment & Management
Payroll and Benefits, Managing Service Providers, Records & Data Maintenance,Contract Administration
Administration, Client Interviews, Coordination with Court Officials
Fund Raising, Negotiation, Government Liaison, Project Management
Recruitment & Selection, Polices & Procedures, Training & Development
Legal Expertise (International Law, Criminal and Civil Law)

Languages

Arabic
Expert
English
Expert

Memberships

BIICL
  • Professional Member
  • October 2015
Brunel University Alumni
  • Alumni Member
  • July 2009

Training and Certifications

Rule of Law for Palestinian Lawyers (Training)
Training Institute:
Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales
Date Attended:
July 2006

Hobbies

  • Following Current Events/News
  • Sports Outings for Families
  • Health & Nutrition
  • Reading