Maritime and Aviation.

The work being done and services being rendered by the Firm in this regard include the following:

Advising ship and aircraft owners and operators, and conducting litigations on carriage of goods by sea/air, loss of or damage to cargo, personal injury and death, bills of lading, airway bills, charter-parties (bareboat charters), ownership, sale/purchase, leasing, financing and mortgaging of ships and aircraft and disputes connected to them.

Preparing legal documents on ships and aircraft including aircraft leases, charter-parties (time, voyage, bareboat and demise charters inclusive), ship sale/purchase and ship building agreements, ship and aircraft financing agreements, ship and aircraft mortgages.

Registering ships and advising shipowners and ship operators on the eligibility of Nigerian-owned ships, joint-venture-owned ships, bare-boat chartered-in ships and foreign-owned ships for cabotage trade registration, advising on and processing the licensing and temporary registration of foreign-owned ships, in the Special Register for Vessels and Ship Owning Companies engaged in Cabotage; procuring and renewing Ministerial waivers and licences for foreign-owned ships for cabotage trade in Nigeria and advising on compliance with the Cabotage Act and other laws and conventions dealing with coastal and inland shipping in Nigeria.

Advising on the procedure for and registering shipping companies, shipping agencies, customs clearing agencies, inland container terminals, and customs bonded warehouses and container terminals.

Arrests of ships, cargo and freight as pre-judgement securities for the satisfaction of awards in final judgements, arrests and repossession of aircraft, provision of securities [bank guarantees, bonds, bails & undertaking] and releases of arrested ships, aircraft or cargo.

Collision, salvage, towage agreements and actions, harbour and port operations, marine and oil pollution claims and liabilities; air cargo claims and liabilities, aircraft acquisition, registration and sales, wet and dry leasing and financing of aircraft, equipment spares leasing; marine insurance claims and defences.
 
Consulted with by and advising clients on international maritime conventions and maritime labour conventions.

Environment and Energy.

The work and services being done and provided by the Firm in this area encompass:

Consultation and giving legal opinions on environmental issues including how to minimise risks and avoid liabilities when Environment, Health and Safety matters arise especially from marine and ship-based pollution, oil spillage and oil exploration and its effects, and the legal and institutional frameworks concerning environmental pollution, implementation, enforcement and compliance.

Consultation and legal advice on ratification, domestication and enforcement of International Maritime Organisation’s Conventions on safety and pollution at sea, procurement of pollution permits for air, water and oil; land use permits, waste handling and disposal licensing, environmental impact assessment and compliance certification and environmental liability, mineral and waste statutory compliance.

Preparing, perusing of, advice, litigation on energy matters including crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas sales/purchase agreements, the laws concerning them, rights/duties in oil exploration licenses [OEL], oil prospecting licences [OPL], oil mining leases [OML], petroleum joint venture agreements, service contracts, production sharing contracts, risk service contracts, marginal fields, decommissioning, straddled fields, oil and gas investments, gas flaring, refinery and the legal regime for refineries, nature and issues in trans-national investments in oil and gas, petroleum profit tax and fiscal incentives.

Advice, consultation, resolution by negotiation or litigation of disputes and claims on the environmental effects of ship-based pollution, oil spillage, oil exploration and production and decommissioning.

Finance, Insurance, Intellectual Property and Technology.

The firm’s extensive knowledge and work/services in this area cover:

Advising and conducting cases on corporate finance and governance, banks and customers relationships and disputes, bills of exchange, electronic banking and finance, guarantees, electronic banking and bank payments including electronic [internet] money transfers, cross-border credit transfers, international banking, trade and finance, travellers’ cheques, plastic moneys including cheque cards, debit cards, credit cards and charge cards and automated teller machine cards, conflicts of law and international sales of goods.

Anti-money laundering measures and money laundering offences, banking frauds, ship and aircraft finance, ship and aircraft lease facilities and claims, bills of lading and documentary letters of credit and other international credit and security documentary transactions, solicitors to issuing houses on securities and acting as receivers and liquidators of companies.

Debt protection, debt recovery, debt swapping and debt factoring through legal measures and defences, realisation of collateral securities for local and foreign loans and voluntary and compulsory winding up of companies.

Preparation, legal advice/opinions on, perfection/registration and stamping of syndicated loans, legal mortgages, ship mortgages, chattel mortgages, debentures, guarantees, bonds, loan agreements, equipment lease agreements and other securities for loans.

Life and non-life insurance, insurance and re-insurance of credit risks, motor-vehicles, ships, aircrafts, cargo, product liability, professional indemnity and environmental pollution insurance policies, insurance claims and liabilities generally.

Preparing, filing, processing for both local and foreign clients, applications for the registration of trade marks, designs, copyrights and patents and maintaining, surveying and protecting trade marks from infringement or passing-off, filing and prosecuting suits and oppositions notices for the protection and enforcement of trade marks and designs and restraining their infringement and/or passing off, negotiating and preparing franchises, licences, assignments of intellectual property rights and processing assignment of intellectual property rights, reviewing locally and preparing international exclusive distributor agreements and franchise agreements, advising on and procuring technology transfers and its registration

Corporate, Commercial, Real Property and Estates Administration.

Work/services being rendered by the Firm in this regard include:-

Advising on and the floatation, incorporation, restructuring and winding up of different kinds of companies and associations, quotation of companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange to raise working capital, acquisitions, mergers and joint venture arrangements, acting as nominees, Company Secretary and providing company secretariat support.

Guiding and advising on Nigerian laws and procedures for foreign direct investment in Nigeria, procurement of office and residential buildings and Government’s consents where necessary, procurement of expatriate quota or business permits and resident permits and processing their renewals for foreigners doing and intending to do business in Nigeria.

Advising and assisting both employers and employees on different aspects of employment law including negotiation and preparation of various contracts of employment, director’s service agreements, employee manuals and handbooks, consultancy agreements, restraint of trade, discrimination, promotion, appointment, disciplinary control and dismissal of staff, employment disputes, actions for unlawful or unfair dismissal or breach or termination of contracts of employment and wrongful dismissal.

Negotiations of sales, purchases and assignments, development leases or agreements and management of real estate; conducting due  diligence  process for local and foreign Clients intending to invest in real property and companies and advising them on such investments.

Preparation, registration and stamping of deeds of assignments, leases, subleases, and mortgages of landed properties and procurement of Governor’s consents and certificates of occupancy.

Preparation of Wills and procurement of Letters of Administration of Estates and Letters of Administration [with Will annexed] de bonis non administratis.

Litigation in trial and appellate courts on titles to lands, damages for trespass, administration of Estates and succession to Estates of deceased persons, recovery of possession, arrears of rents and mesne profits in respect of landed properties.

Telecommunications & Broadcasting.

In this regard, the Firm:-

Advises on the legal and regulatory frameworks of telecommunications and all types of broadcasting, advises and procures the relevant PTO licences and renewals for radio and mobile telecommunications and radio, cable and television broadcasting, and on any arbitration or litigation on them.

Negotiates and advises on the structure of interconnection agreements, peering and transit agreements, telecommunications and broadcasting outsourcing, technology transfers and prices, monitoring, interception and recording of communications and their legal and constitutional implications, mergers and acquisitions, privatisation and liberalisation in telecommunications and broadcasting.

 Is engaged in debt recoveries and settlement of commercial disputes.

Dispute Resolution.

The Firm advises and assists on the best, most effective and beneficial methods of resolving commercial disputes and claims using arbitration and alternative dispute resolution methods and different options at different stages where applicable and effectively and efficiently applying and tackling any inevitable litigation that arises.

Legal Consultancy/Seminars/Training .

Various services rendered and work done by the Firm in this regard cover:-

Acting as legal consultants for enterprises, organizations and Government agencies in different areas of its practice and in this connection given legal advice and opinions on the interpretation and application of constitutional and statutory provisions relevant to, affecting or relating to the functions, duties and powers of such organisations and agencies. The firm acted as the Maritime Consultant of the National Maritime Authority on cabotage services and as the Maritime Consultant to the Federal Ministry of Transport in 2002 that reviewed the Cabotage Bill 2001 passed by the House of Representatives and reflected therein the views of the different agencies under the Federal Ministry of Transport.

Involved in the negotiation, reviewing, interpretation of and advising on the application of contract documents.

Organising, and acting as resource persons at seminars and workshops for the training and capacity building of clients’ staff and the sensitisation of the stakeholders and the general public on the activities, functions and work of clients. In this regard, trained the staff of International Energy Insurance Company Limited in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt in 2004 on the insurance and financial opportunities available under the Cabotage Act, 2003 and its Guidelines; trained the staff of National Maritime Authority on Cabotage and Maritime Capacity Enhancement at a workshop organised by the Firm on 28th and 29th November, 2002.

Legislative Sensitization and Advocacy, as was done by the Firm for the National Maritime Authority and the Federal Ministry of Transport on Nigerian Cabotage Policy and Act; and for the National Maritime Authority on the merger of JOMALIC and National Maritime Authority into one maritime safety authority.