Litigation, Dispute Resolution & Risk Management SUBPRACTICES
A growing number of our international and domestic clients prefer alternative dispute resolution over the uncertainties and delays associated with Nigerian courts. Moreover, increased foreign investment in Africa has spurred a demand for arbitration across the continent and in Nigeria.
Our clients laud our top-notch dispute resolution lawyers as seamless and thorough. Our first-class, highly-skilled and experienced team handles significant disputes in a wide range of sectors, including the oil and gas industry, finance and tax, in domestic as well as international arbitrations.
In addition to arbitration dispute resolutions and litigations, we also assist our clients in establishing and maintaining dispute management systems and processes, to ensure disputes are resolved by clients internally in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
As a leading aviation law firm, we represent leaders in the aviation industry, as well as financial institutions and insurers, and provide pre-dispute counselling with respect to liability issues and preparedness. Our cross-departmental aviation law group includes seasoned litigators with the technical, regulatory and legal expertise critical to the effective handling and resolution of aviation cases.
Our clients rely on our knowledge and experience, which are the hallmarks of our banking law litigation team. We represent significant international financial institutions, as well as the leading banks in Nigeria. We advise and defend global, regional and local banks, venture capital and private equity firms, consumer finance companies and other financial institutions before the courts, as well as before arbitrators and government agencies.
We successfully litigate and arbitrate disputes involving the most high-profile and complex construction projects in Nigeria and abroad. Our construction law and dispute resolution team are well known for their knowledge of the construction industry and deep experience in protecting the interests of our clients, who include sophisticated public and private owners and developers, prime contractors and subcontractors, construction managers, insurers and financial institutions. Lawyers from our construction law group also collaborate with lawyers from our other practice areas, including tax, real estate and finance, to handle the complete spectrum of issues in all phases of construction projects.
We are a leading energy law firm. Our deep bench of energy and infrastructure litigators are leaders in representing major international and local institutions and corporations in litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. Our top-tier matters include representing a consortium of energy and construction clients in a series of cases commenced by the Nigerian government against the clients individually, regarding billions of dollars of oil shipments exported from Nigeria to the United States.
With our sterling reputation and tradition of intellectual property rights enforcement successes, our international and domestic clients know they are in excellent hands. We are the leading intellectual property (IP) law firm in Nigeria, and we know how to protect and enforce our clients’ IP rights efficiently and effectively, including copyright law, patent law and trademark law. Our highly respected lawyers are known to dispatch complex and ahead-of-the-curve briefs with poise. Recent examples of our many victories include representing Citibank, NA in a ₦4 billion trademark infringement case against multiple Nigerian companies and working on behalf of Toyota on a ₦2 billion trademark infringement action brought against the company over the use of its “Lexus” trademark in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s recent overhaul of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) which, among other things, provides for the recovery of debt from insolvent companies, will further spur international investment and economic growth. As counsel to leading financial institutions, lenders and other creditors, we navigate Nigerian insolvency law on behalf of our clients and successfully recover debt. Amongst others, we are trusted debt recovery agents for the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, for whom we have executed several significant mandates.
Our clients place their trust in us to resolve problems when international transactions and dealings become full-blown disputes. We regularly and successfully handle arbitration dispute resolution proceedings under various international arbitration rules (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, UNICITRAL, London Court of International Arbitration, LCIA, International Criminal Court, ICC, etc.) in a variety of sectors, including energy, construction and maritime, and our experienced arbitration dispute resolution lawyers frequently sit as arbitrators.
As a leading maritime law firm, we support our clients’ global strategies with our deep knowledge of the industry and broad, cross-practice capabilities. Our maritime practice includes litigation and arbitration dispute resolution involving claims concerning vessel financing, maritime liens, insurance, commercial/contractual disputes, pollutants, cargo carrier disputes and many other matters.
Given the complexities of deals, we understand that, when disputes arise over real estate and financings, the stakes are high and the results are far-reaching. We listen to our clients to identify the unique aspects of each real estate law case and devise efficient and creative solutions to achieve positive results. We represent clients in property and finance disputes, litigations and arbitrations arising out of sophisticated and cutting-edge transactions. Our clients include partnerships, LLCs, joint ventures, lenders and creditors. We work together with our clients to determine whether strategies such as negotiation, settlement or mediation can resolve disputes out of court; when litigation is unavoidable, we are experienced and effective advocates for our clients.
Government regulations clearly affect our clients’ businesses and corporate strategic planning. Our advisory services concern Nigerian regulatory frameworks, including anti-corruption laws, economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing and competition laws. We provide compliance law advice to our multinational and domestic clients in the fast-moving goods, financial, power, and oil and gas sectors on compliance-related matters under Nigerian legislation.
We also update our clients regularly on all sectors concerning new laws, bills and judicial decisions relevant to their businesses. In the initial stages of our engagement, we thoroughly review all laws applicable to our clients’ businesses and provide a plan setting forth the relevant laws, timelines for compliance and the consequences for non-compliance.
Contact
Adeniyi Adegbonmire, SAN
Senior Partner Contact