Our Core Practice Areas
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Corporate Law, Investment and Divestment Law, Real Estate and Intellectual Law, Commercial Law, Maritime Law, Arbitration,
Oil and Gas, Litigation. |
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• PROPERTY AND REAL ESTATE
We have the necessary resources and skills to provide a comprehensive legal service covering all aspects of commercial property work, from complex large scale developments to the letting and management of residential and office accommodation.
Our team of experts advises on all aspects of the development process, from negotiations with local planning authority to project finance. In addition, we have a proven track record of having successfully undertaken the acquisition and disposal of numerous major property portfolios. We act for property companies, developers, banks, financial institutions and individuals.
Our work covers acquisitions, disposals and leases of all types of property, sale and lease backs, development of all types of commercial and residential property, property finance including project funding, secured lending and securitisation.
• FOREIGN INVESTMENTS AND DIVESTMENTS
The firm made its mark in the area of foreign investments and we have handled the fullest range of corporate transactions in both size and complexity in the public and private sectors.
We have advised and acted for local and overseas clients on various aspects of Nigerian and International business law, Particularly the laws and procedure relating to investment in Nigeria. We undertake work for public and private companies and other commercial enterprises, individual and corporate investors, financial institutions and participants in development and venture capital transactions.
Our services have been engaged in advising on local investment conditions, negotiation and preparation of pre-incorporation contracts, the formation and structuring of corporate entities, transfer of business assets, scheme of arrangements and in transactions involving restructuring or mergers of companies and joint venture partnerships. We also deal regularly with the relevant regulatory authorities. The firm proffers advice on the mechanism of divestment from business entities and our partners have been involved in major divestment transactions. In addition to our transactional work, we provide a continuous advisory service for our clients focusing on all aspects of their business.
• COMMERCIAL AGREEMENTS
Our commercial specialists advise on and structure transactions and ventures covering a broad spectrum of commercial undertakings. We are presently engaged in a wide variety of Nigerian and international agreements including partnership arrangements, joint ventures, international distribution, dealerships and franchises, management, consultancy and service contracts.
Much of our commercial work is concerned with international transactions involving governments and the public and private sectors. We advise on public and private international law, particularly legislation affecting international trade regulations, treaties and other international regulations and practices.
Our international contract work includes construction and turn-key agreements, purchase of plant and machinery, joint venture agreement as well as technical and other service contracts.
• INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
With the growth of international trade, business organisations are increasingly faced with the challenges of establishing a clear differentiation of their product and services through innovation, design and branding. These differences are protected by patents, copyrights, design rights and trademark, collectively known as intellectual property rights.
Nigeria is a country of 150 million people, and by virtue of its position and influence as the largest black nation in the world, it is a strategic centre of commerce, with immense potentials for investment. Against the backdrop of flourishing trade and commerce, the huge profits available has naturally attracted unscrupulous business persons whose unwholesome activities have led to pirating, counterfeiting, boot-legging and other infringing activities. These exploitative activities are being perpetrated at the detriment of genuine manufacturers and investors. The onus is therefore on the manufacturers of goods and services to be vigilant and ensure the continuous protection of their proprietary rights.
We have considerable experience in intellectual property transactions, including licensing and ‘know how’. We specialise in litigation in this field and are used to taking urgent action to prevent infringement. We are also specialists in the field of intellectual property, providing clients with effective representation in all areas of intellectual property, including patent, trademark, counterfeiting, trade secret, unfair competition, copyright litigation, as well as patent and trademark prosecution, licensing, interference, oppositions, cancellations and counseling.
One of our partners has particular expertise in Intellectual Property practice and has handled a wide range of matters involving international aspects of intellectual property protection.
• IMMIGRATION SERVICES
Apart from rendering advice on transactions involving foreign nationals wishing to invest
in Nigeria, we also assist clients in complying with other requirements for establishing and maintaining business in Nigeria. Our comprehensive range of services including visa applications, obtaining residence permits, business permits and or expatriate quota allocations, certificate of importation, confirming capital inflow, securing pioneer status,
and approval for tax exemptions where appropriate.
Our managing partner who heads the firm’s immigration practice has 8 years experience in immigration law, including several years as an immigration attorney with the government immigration department.
• BANKING AND CORPORATE FINANCE
The growth of the venture capital and buy-out industry in Nigeria has coincided with our development and we have advised and represented many clients involved in venture and development capital transactions, including the provision of equity and debt finance.
We have acted for many expanding companies and for investment bankers and corporate finance advisers in this field. Being a relatively new firm and an entrepreneurial business ourselves, we try to bring a special understanding of the requirements and aspirations of our client to transactions of this kind.
We have substantial experience in both domestic and international financial markets. We are able to advise banks, other financial institutions and corporate entities on the provision of finance in all its forms, ranging from bilateral and syndicated facilities to commercial paper and bond issues, to trade finance including letters of credit.
We have specialist knowledge of asset-based finance, debt restructuring, securitisation, project and limited recourse finance, and development and investment property finance.
• LITIGATION AND ARBITRATION
Foreign companies considering doing business in Nigeria, by either establishing a direct presence or making an acquisition, face all of the financial uncertainties that confront any enterprise entering a new and foreign market. However, such companies’ decision-makers are also likely to consider whether doing business in Nigeria poses risk of litigation and the concomitant expense for business.
We handle a broad range of substantial commercial, industrial and international litigation flowing from all areas of our practice.
It is our aim, however, to ensure that our clients recognise potentially contentious issues early and take appropriate action to pre-empt legal proceedings or position the client in advance to win or achieve the best settlement if litigation ensues.
We endeavour to bring the same creative approach to litigation as to all our work. Our experience in this area, together with our wide network and contacts with major law firms both locally and in other jurisdictions, enable us to achieve our clients’ commercial objectives in litigation. Our work in this area covers domestic and international contract litigation, debt recovery, competition and economic law, corporate related litigation, intellectual property law including measures to prevent infringement, pre-emptive remedy litigation, professional negligence and employment and termination disputes.
• ARBITRATION
Increasingly parties resort to alternative forms of dispute resolution including arbitration and conciliation. We advise and represent clients in domestic and international arbitration of all kinds. The firm has significant experience in alternative dispute resolution and its applicability to the litigation process.
Two of our partners are experienced arbitrators with diverse international arbitration practice experience.
• FINANCIAL MARKETS AND SECURITIES LAWS
The firm is active in the Nigeria capital market, having acted at various times as attorneys to issuing Houses, Trustees or Issuing companies.
The principal areas of our legal work here are in the preparation of prospectuses, underwriting and vending agreements, placement memoranda, trust deeds and debentures, and issuing general advice on the offer structure.
We advise investment banks, securities firms, fund managers, venture capital houses. We also advise on the restrictions relating to the marketing of investments, the need for approval under the Securities and Exchange commission, and the most appropriate structures for venture capital funds.
We regularly discuss with securities regulatory authorities on the implications and impact of their rules and also lobby on behalf of clients for changes in existing rules and new exemptions.
The foregoing areas of practice are by no means exhaustive. Our practice is growing and expanding to other fields of law and we are able to handle instructions in most areas of Nigerian law and related inquiries. |
