Head of Our Legal Services

Ismail Rasheed is a highly accomplished legal practitioner with over 25 years of combined experience across Australia and New Zealand. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Waikato in New Zealand. He is an Australian Legal Practitioner admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland, and a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia. He is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. He is entitled to practise as a solicitor in any Federal Court in Australia and in any court in New Zealand.

Ismail has significant experience in complex immigration litigation and advocacy, having appeared before the Australian Administrative Review Tribunal in numerous matters involving visa cancellations and deportation proceedings under section 501 of the Migration Act. He has successfully represented many clients in challenging character-based visa refusals and cancellations, achieving favourable outcomes in many high-stakes cases. Prior to entering private law practice, Ismail spent 16 years with New Zealand Inland Revenue, where he advised on corporate investigations, international tax, binding rulings, adjudications, and complex tax disputes. This extensive tax law background continues to benefit his Trans-Tasman clients, with more recent experience advising individuals and businesses on Australian Taxation Office matters, tax controversies, international tax, and State Revenue law across various Australian State jurisdictions including New Zealand.

His extensive practice covers a broad range of legal areas, with expertise in commercial and business law, contract drafting and negotiation, immigration appeals, as well as managing tax controversies and disputes resolution. Throughout his career, he has assisted hundreds of clients on both sides of the Tasman, providing valuable legal guidance and representation.

Ismail is widely recognised for his leadership and mentoring aspiring sole practitioners and start-up law firms offering the benefit of his experience to help them launch compliant, sustainable, and modern next generation legal practices.

In 2025, he was appointed as Legal Practitioner Director for an unrelated law firm in Queensland. He was entrusted with setting up the practice from the ground up building its operational systems, practice management, and strategic vision. This is a recognition by other lawyers in the profession of his extra ordinary ability to lead, structure, and grow a legal practice in a competitive market. He has also served as a Consulting Principal at 3 major law firms in Australia.

Ismail is also the Legal Practitioner Director of a next-generation AI-powered law firm managed by IR Legal (to be announced soon ... watch this space). In this role, he is leading the development of an innovative legal practice that combines lawyers with artificial intelligence to deliver efficient, technology-enabled legal services. Under his leadership as the Legal Practitioner Director, this new firm will embrace a modern, AI-powered practice model that enhances legal research, document automation, client communication, and operational efficiency, while maintaining the highest standards of professional responsibility, ethical practice, and client care. The firm reflects a vision for the future of legal services, where experienced legal practitioners leverage advanced technology to provide smarter, faster, and more accessible legal solutions.

Ismail was a Finalist for the Australian Sole Practitioner of the Year Award at the Australian Law Awards in 2025, and a Finalist for the Queensland Solicitor of the Year (Sole Practitioner) Award at the Queensland Law Society Excellence in Law Awards in 2025.

Ismail leads IR Legal's Legal Team of 17 Senior Consultants, Special Counsels and Lawyers and that Team is well recognised nationwide.

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