Our firm Story
We are a New York-based law firm that started out in 2020, with a team of two lawyers — Emad, the founder, and Bilal, the current Chief of Staff. We initially served the needs of early-stage companies, helping them reach the potential to scale. We chose to work with businesses that wanted to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to both their communities and those outside them.
Soon after, our model evolved and our commitment, although rooted in the legal, slowly extended to serve core business needs as well. It's also here that the GC+ identity started coming together. The work gradually included questions about organizational restructuring, compliance and all the everyday interactions in a company that are often laced with fear, stress and loneliness.
Today, we've grown into a team of seven individuals, and for the future, are focused on incorporating technological workflows, managing smaller teams, building knowledge management systems and moving quickly, but discerningly, with our values in place.
Ultimately, the firm becomes bigger by the day, and the work we do in tech even more interesting.
Emad Ansari
Before founding Ansari Legal, Emad was a law professor, a business consultant, a human rights researcher, a journalist, a political advocate, and a full-time parent. He studied at the University of Michigan, earning a BA in Economics, a Master of Public Policy, and a JD. He has worked inside institutions and outside them, inside systems and in service of changing them.
His work has always been about opening doors and creating pathways where they did not previously exist — across tech companies, mission-driven organizations, and the communities they serve.
Emad is consistently in conversations with founders and capital allocators at every stage. If you are one of them, he would love to hear from you.
Meet the Team
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Bilal Akhtar
Chief of Staff
Bilal operates at the center of everything Ansari Legal does. As Chief of Staff, he partners directly with Emad across the full lifecycle of client matters - from intake through resolution - while driving the strategic and operational work that keeps the firm running at its best.He leads business development, firm governance, and cross-functional initiatives, and serves as the strategic partner who ensures that every commitment is met with the standard the firm holds itself to.
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Abdur Rehman
Legal Tech Lead
Abdur Rehman serves as Ansari Legal's LegalTech Lead. A lawyer first, his primary focus is identifying, developing, and implementing tech and AI-based solutions that optimize how the firm works and elevate the quality of client services. He also supports client service management and litigation matters, reporting directly to Emad. Most law firms are still catching up to where technology is going. Abdur Rehman makes sure Ansari Legal stays ahead of it. -
Fahad Iqbal
Legal Operations Professional
Fahad keeps the engine running. With two years of experience managing contract intake and operational workflows, he works closely with counsel and internal teams to ensure every agreement moves through the right hands at the right time.The consistency and transparency that clients experience at Ansari Legal - Fahad is a significant part of how that happens.
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Judy Liu
Compliance Lead
Judy works directly with clients and their teams to build practical compliance frameworks, streamline regulatory processes, and reduce risk. Entrepreneurial by nature, she goes beyond traditional advisory work - developing automated workflows and compliance tools that translate complex legal requirements into systems that work for busy teams. Judy brings wonderful energy, creativity, and genuine care to everything she does. -
Lynn Vogelstein
Of Counsel
Lynn brings extensive experience advising clients across a broad range of legal matters, bringing a practical, results oriented approach to every engagement. With a strong background in both transactional and advisory work, Lynn provides clients with clear, strategic guidance to navigate complex legal challenges.
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Noor Bokhari
Knowledge & Content Lead
Noor is responsible for building and maintaining the internal knowledge systems that keep the team connected and working at their best. She also leads the firm's content and marketing efforts, crafting communications that speak directly to the people who need the firm's services most. She aims to make difficult and often daunting subjects feel approachable, ensuring potential clients feel seen and understood.
Let's talk through it
No agenda. No pressure. If you're figuring something out and want a conversation with someone who'll engage with it seriously this is the right place.