A COUPLE from Southampton were invited to Buckingham Palace to mark their commitment to Muslim communities and wider society.

Solicitor Yasmin Hoque and her husband Syed Aminul Hoque, a financial planning consultant, both left London jobs to set up a business which offers a faith-based option in matters of law and money.

They went to the Palace for a Royal garden party attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Beatrice, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Their invitation to the Queen’s event cited "appreciation for your continued dedication, commitment and generous support to the work of Muslim communities in Britain and wider society".

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Mrs Hoque said: “Fourteen years ago, we got married at the Guildhall in Southampton and at that time I very much considered success would come with living and working in London.

“At one point we were commuting every day along with many others to reach London and be part of the City. I trained at top 50 UK law firm BLM LLP and Syed was training at the largest branch of NatWest as part of the then RBS Group.

“However, this came at a huge cost to my personal life and my husband, being a born and bred Southampton fan, highlighted to me the positive aspects of life in Southampton, with much fine dining and scenic excursions.”

The pandemic changed both their fields of work and they set up AL-HQ Law & More as a legal practice, providing services such as wills, lasting powers of attorney, trusts and probate, consistent with faith as well as the law of the land.

Mrs Hoque has also founded a second business, Access Law Clinic, which is due to launch later in the year. It will help aspiring lawyers through the new SQE (solicitors qualifying examination) route into her profession and support businesses to develop in-house legal professionals, potentially avoiding student debt for the new lawyers.

She added: “As consultants, Syed and I are able to contribute much more to causes which are important to us and this would not be possible if we only remained in an employee mindset.

“Our recognition and success came with a focused application of our specialist fields through a business route. We encourage others to reach their potential and ensure they have access to the resources and toolkit to make choices which are right for them and build success through a soul-enriching experience rather than rigid tick-box exercises.”

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