Karim was born in Cambridge but grew up Manchester. A law degree from Queens’ College, Cambridge University was followed by qualification as a barrister. He later moved with his wife, Sally, and two sons to live in Cambridge.
Sally is an employment lawyer who heads HR for the ‘non-Americas’ in an international investment bank and is a non-executive director of the RAF.
Karim sits as a Recorder in the Old Bailey and became a Queen’s Counsel (now King’s Counsel) whilst prosecuting the Soham murders; he is a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn and the Chairman of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Bar Mess. He was a panel member of the High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire’s Award for Forensic excellence. He has prosecuted or defended in many of the high-profile criminal cases across the Circuit.
Hobbies include golf at the Gog Magogs and cycling, especially in Portugal and Majorca; Karim also plays the alto sax in “The Eye”.
Karim was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire in 2019.