The Practice

Aviation

The Firm parades a team of exceptional aviation experts with enviable credentials and experiences in the area of aviation law and practice. Members of this team have participated at various times and in various capacities in some landmark and innovative projects in the Nigerian aviation industry. We consistently provide advisory services in the sector, including the restructuring of companies, sale/leaseback, mortgage, senior and subordinate loans, securitization and recovery of aviation assets. The Firm consistently provides multi-jurisdictional, cross-border and domestic financing advisory services in the sector. We also provide dispute resolution services including arbitration, mediation and, as occasion demands, litigation up to the Supreme Court for our aviation sector clients.

Banking and Financial Consultancy Services

We are among a select few law firms of first recourse for banks and other financial institutions, both locally and internationally in the provision of full-fledged, in-depth and excellent banking and corporate finance consultancy and debt recovery services. We are constantly on retainer to provide commercial consultancy services including documentation and advisory roles, especially in loan syndications, securitization and regulatory/legal compliance issues for banks and bank customers. We regularly advise on subordination, financing structure and diverse credit issues. We also provide exceptional advisory services on investments and divestments, foreign exchange repatriations, financial and other disclosure regulations. We act for borrowers and lenders, including major international financial institutions, private equity firms, brokerage, mortgage and other investment institutions.

We have stellar industry reputation in the provision of such services as:

• Asset-based finance, construction finance and project financing.
• Debt advisory and rescheduling
• Local and offshore syndicated loan transactions and guarantees
• oreign exchange regulations and hedging mechanisms
• Debt recovery
• Investment structures
• Regulatory Compliance issues
• Credit Security documentation
• Sale and lease back agreements
• Share Holders agreements
• Foreign Exchange Forward Contracts

Business Set-Up

At AD Attorneys, we regularly assist local and international promoters of diverse business entities to get their dreams off the ground. We help clients to establish and incorporate companies, branches and liaison offices within Nigeria. Our clients are both public companies and privately held entities, active in a wide range of industries and commercial activities. By carefully analyzing each client’s business goals and objectives, we provide crucial guidance through the business establishment process, ensuring that the most appropriate and tax efficient business structure is established. We break down the business incorporation process in clear, easily understood terms, providing necessary documentary checklists, as well as the procedures that should be followed during the preparation and execution of incorporation documents. We support clients through all necessary dealings with government authorities, including notaries public, the Companies Registry Office and tax authorities.

Company’s charters are developed in close collaboration with the client, always with a view to providing for a range of issues with potential long-run impact on either the founding process or the life cycle of the company.

Our clients benefit from the onset of the business establishment from the Firm’s wealth of multi-disciplinary talents, receiving, as a result, comprehensive and future-focused advice by way of support provided by our teams working in related practice areas such as tax, labour and employment and intellectual property. We provide advice on tax incentives, pioneer status, investments in free trade zones and other tax-efficient processes beneficial to the business. We are thus best positioned to afford our clients the most comprehensive business establishment services available.

Company Secretarial

Our services in this area straddle the entire focus of company secretarial duties, including areas which would normally have fallen within the scope of duty of an in-house counsel. We attend the meetings of the Board or management of corporate clients, prepare the necessary resolutions that follow such meetings, keep and maintain the statutory books of the company. We also generally prepare and/or vet documents as may be required by our clients.

Dispute Resolution & ADR
Arbitration & ADR

The firm has a heavy footprint in International Commercial Arbitration, mediation and other ADRs. We have garnered vast experiences in Oil and Gas and maritime Arbitration and have represented clients, both locally and internationally at arbitration tribunals. Some of the firm’s partners consistently serve on arbitral panels. We currently are retained counsel to two major IOCs before an arbitral tribunal sitting in Lagos; and for a major Nigerian conglomerate before another arbitral tribunal sitting in Lagos in a claim against the conglomerate.

We are also retained counsel before the Court of Appeal for the same Nigerian conglomerate in an appeal stemming from an attempt to enforce a purported arbitration agreement. We acted for an indigenous oil company before an international arbitral tribunal against the flagship oil company of an east European country. We are currently before the Court of Appeal in pursuance of an enforcement of the award. One of our Partners is currently serving as a Court-appointed Arbitrator on an arbitral panel involving a multi-million dollar claim by an international hospitality company against a State Government in Nigeria. The Firm is also currently engaged in a mediation at the Lagos Multi-Door Court House where it is acting for a Romanian Power company in a U$D3 million claim against a major IOC in Nigeria, arising from a power lines relocation contract. Our arbitration practitioners are active members of the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Nigeria Branch.

Corporate & Commercial Litigation

As one of our specialties, the Firm approaches Corporate and Commercial Litigation with a client-focused business mindset. We believe that litigation should be a last resort and therefore adopt an approach that provides clients with strategic legal guidance on how to minimize litigation-risk and avoid litigation, such as how best to manage evolving disputes, or support in establishing and using alternative dispute resolution procedures. We recognize however that litigation is not always avoidable. As a result, where litigation is unavoidable, or presents the best alternative for our client to resolve a dispute, our litigation team is involved from an early stage. Our specialist Dispute Resolution team provides support, risk assessments, as well as guidance on litigation strategy and available settlement options at any given stage, always keeping in view the client’s best commercial interest.

Our Dispute Resolution team recently concluded a N1.2 Billion recovery via receivership for a Nigerian bank; a N1.4 Billion naira recovery via receivership on behalf of the same bank against an agricultural produce company; concluded a N6 Billion recovery against a multi-national company for a leading Nigerian bank via receivership and also obtained judgment in the same amount on behalf of the bank (the judgment sum was negotiated and full and final settlement reached); a N25 million recovery against a vehicle tracking company (culminating in an out-of-court settlement, whereby a negotiated sum was paid by the company); obtained an N800 million judgment at the Supreme Court on behalf of a foreign company against one of Nigeria’s oldest banks; obtained a N200 million judgment on behalf of our client for breach of contract; successfully obtained a U$D45 million judgment against the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of a Nigerian shipping company; among many others.

We are currently pursuing diverse claims on behalf of our clients in many superior courts across Nigeria, including the Supreme Court.

Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency

AD Attorneys provides creative and pragmatic legal advice and alternatives to clients involved in corporate restructuring. We provide timely and effective advice to assist in improvement of a businesses’ performance, overcome operating or financial difficulties, and ultimately protect future value for stakeholders. Our interdisciplinary approach to corporate restructuring means clients benefit from our expertise in other practice areas such as corporate law and corporate group regulations, tax, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, dispute resolution and structured finance, among others.

In the area of Insolvency practice and Debt Recovery, the firm has established itself not only as a leader, but also as an efficient and reliable practitioner. We have successfully undertaken debt recovery instructions on behalf of many Nigerian banks running into several billions of naira. We have recorded over 90% success in these recoveries, using such means as Receivership, litigation, arbitration and compromise.

Insurance

AD Attorneys combines superior technical skills, ingenuity and deep industry knowledge to provide industry-focused and issue-based legal solutions to our diverse clientele in the insurance sector. We advise on a full range of contentious and transactional matters, constantly thinking outside the box to provide effective and incisive legal solutions to our clients. Over the years, we have garnered an industry-wide reputation as a law firm of choice in the insurance sector. Our Principal Partner is Chairman of the Board of Directors of one of Nigeria's oldest and foremost insurance companies.

Intellectual Property (IP)

We provide world-class advice on all aspects of intellectual property. Our Intellectual Property experts constantly advise on local and cross-border acquisition, exploitation, use and enforcement of intellectual property rights. We provide cost effective advice to clients on the resolution of intellectual property rights across a broad spectrum of industries both locally and internationally.

We have particular experience across our key industry sectors such as financial institutions, energy, infrastructure, power and renewable energy, transport (including shipping and aviation) and technology and innovation. With our vast network in the industry, we are able to provide intellectual property enforcement in most jurisdictions across the world. We also provide strategic advice to established and developing companies. We have substantial experience in litigating all classes of IP in many different courts and tribunals globally. We provide strategic, commercial IP advice on mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, restructurings, insolvency proceedings and competition enquiries. Our IP team are in regular demand for the provision of services in such areas of work as patents and designs, trademarks and brands, copyright and database rights, trade secrets and confidential information, patents and trademark prosecution and portfolio management, IP audits and due diligence, IP litigation, false advertising and unfair competition, technology transfer, commercialization of IP, including strategic advice on licensing, supply, distribution and related commercial agreements, branding, advertising, marketing, packaging and labelling strategies, franchising law, entertainment law, IP support on corporate and financing transactions and data protection and data privacy.

Labour & Employment

We are renowned for our practical business perspectives and solutions in guiding clients through the complex morass of employment laws and regulations. We take a holistic and preventative approach to labour and employment law to minimize liability and to enable our clients to stay focused on the business at hand. We are highly regarded across all aspects of contentious and non-contentious labour and employment law. We continue to offer full-service, local and cross-border labour and employment services to varied clientele across all industries. We have substantial transactional experience, and regularly advise on the employment and labour law aspects of multi-jurisdictional corporate re-organisations and mergers and acquisitions. We regularly engage in employment and labour civil court cases and tribunal advocacy, consistently advising on matters ranging from sensitive severance issues and boardroom disputes through to matters of corporate governance and whistleblower claims, and more standard disciplinary and grievance issues.

We provide consistent advice on a wide range of labour and employment issues such as boardroom disputes and severance claims, including team moves and post-termination restrictions, collective labour issues, such as trade unions, unfair labor claims and other industrial relation issues, workplace and government investigations, labour relations issues before labour boards, arbitrators and the courts, collective bargaining on behalf of employers and employers' organisations, human rights issues and employment litigation, including discrimination and breach of contract claims in all courts.

Oil and Gas

AD Attorneys provides advisory services in all aspects of the oil and gas industry, including, but not limited to energy industry agreements and securing compliances, registration and regularization with the Department of Petroleum Resources. We advise on Joint Venture Agreements and Production Sharing Contracts between the Government (acting through the NNPC) and Oil companies in Nigeria. We also assist our clients in negotiating the terms of Production Sharing Contracts and Service Contracts. We advice on issues related to oil and gas exploration and production, refining, transportation and marketing of petroleum products oil, gas, and product pipelines, terminals and storage facilities, LNG plants and facilities, gas processing and gathering facilities, petrochemical plants and facilities, oil and gas field services.

We also represent clients at hearings before Courts, Tribunals and Arbitration panels on issues such as proposed oil pipeline routes, environmental concerns and oil service contract disputes.

Power

AD Attorneys has extensive and wide-ranging experience in providing legal advice on power transactions and renewable energy. We guide clients in structuring diverse projects in the power and renewable energy sector. We provide our clients with world-class cradle-to-the-grave consultancy, working them every step of the way to provide crucial legal advice on employment matters, taxation, environmental and safety issues arising from power projects, dispute resolution and arbitration, power trading, disposals and emergency response. We continually have our finger on the pulse of cutting-edge developments in the power and renewable energy sector and are always positioned to provide the most in-depth legal services relevant to the current trends and developments in the industry. AD Attorneys was recently appointed as one of a three-member consortium of leading law firms in the Power and Renewable energy sector advising the umbrella body of all Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) in Nigeria and their investors in their engagement with the Government towards the resolution of disputes arising from Government regulations in the sector and the vesting contracts.

Private Equity

AD Attorneys provides full legal support to clients involved in private equity transactions, including institutional and accredited investors, as well as to businesses receiving such investments. Our firm advises clients involved in sophisticated structured acquisitions and financing, ensuring that our clients have tax efficient investment vehicles and acquisition structures, compliant with complex regulatory requirements.

We support clients involved in share or asset transfers, financially distressed businesses, as well as leveraged or management buyouts, among other transactions. These transactions often cross international borders, with all the associated tax and regulatory considerations attendant upon such transactions.

Our support services cover a range of industries, regularly involving comprehensive and focused due diligence analyses of target companies. Our client investors are equipped, through our in-depth knowledge of the sector, with full awareness of the current legal developments relevant to their target investments. We provide experience-based advice that ensures the representations and warranties given for the target business are appropriate and understood by all parties.

We consistently advise clients on all aspects of Nigerian law and regulatory requirements relating to fund formation, capital raising and operational matters for private equity funds received from Nigerian investors or private equity funds that wish to enter the Nigerian market. We continue to provide post-transactional support throughout the life of the investment and guide them through any divestment and profit repatriation process.

Project Finance

Our project finance practice offers in-depth knowledge across a range of industry sectors, including financial institutions, energy, power and infrastructure, transport, including aviation and shipping and technology and innovation. We work closely with our clients to deliver advice on all aspects of a transaction. We have extensive local and cross-border experience in project financing, representing a broad range of lenders, sponsors, developers, institutional investors, contractors and operators. Our in-depth understanding of issues of concern to clients globally enables us to offer bespoke risk management solutions to diverse clients' concerns. We have an established track record of innovation in debt and equity financing, constantly providing consultancy services in equipment leasing, infrastructure financing, LNG projects, oil and gas facilities leasing, renewable power financing, power projects financing, among a host of others. Our services are aimed at guaranteeing that project goals are brought to a timely and cost-effective financial conclusion at all times.

Real Estate

Our Real Estate Practice is renowned for its sophisticated experience, skill and support necessary to deliver a high level of service across all real estate matters. We represent investors, developers, landlords, tenants, lenders and institutions on complex real estate projects and transactions. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, we provide clients with bespoke advice on Tax, Litigation, Securities, Labor and Employment, Fund Formation, Bankruptcy and Environmental issues arising out of Real Estate transactions. Our lawyers have outstanding achievements, experience and reputation in big ticket and complex Real Estate transactions. We cover the spectrum of real estate sectors and industries, including hotel and hospitality, office, retail, multi-family, industrial, energy, and distressed assets. Our clients include public and private companies, private equity funds, operators, developers, universities and other nonprofit institutions, and lenders. We provide on-going services in the areas of acquisitions and disposal commercial leasing, construction, development, dispute resolution and litigation, economic incentives and programmes, environment, safety and planning, land use regulation, leisure and hospitality industry, property management, real estate financing, residential developments and projects, restructuring and insolvency.

Shipping

We at THE FORTRESS render specialized, experienced and efficient services in this area of law and business. We have a well-established shipping law practice. Because we are alive to the time-sensitive nature of this sector of business, we treat with the expected dispatch, the demands of the client, without compromising quality. We have rendered excellent, experienced and diverse legal advisory services in virtually all areas of shipping, including but not limited to the following:

• Investigation of ship title
• Documentation in ship finance transaction.
• Arrest and release of vessels.
• Ship insurance.
• Litigation/Arbitration in respect of carriage of goods by sea.

Taxation

The firm has a well-established Taxation practice. We have been retained tax advisors to 3 of the major indigenous players in the upstream sector of the petroleum industry in Nigeria for more than eight years. The firm also provides tax advisory services to many other blue chip companies, including an international beverage company with a local presence in Nigeria; a major manufacturer of household goods in Nigeria and an IT Firm exclusively licensed by the Federal Government to render specialized services in the telecommunications industry, among its many clientele. We have litigated a wide range of taxation issues, representing clients both in the courts, arbitral and tax tribunals and negotiation of tax-related disputes. We remain one of the few firms constantly retained by the Federal Government for the provision of tax advisory services.

Telecommunications

We are conscious that this is a heavily regulated sector. As a result, AD Attorneys works with clients to ensure they fully understand and meet their regulatory obligations, both in transactional and operational matters. We provide clients with clear advice on the regulatory, strategic, commercial and technical aspects of this industry. We advise on a wide range of industry matters and diverse clientele, including fixed and wireless telecommunications activities, broadband and internet service providers, broadcasters, and content providers, as well as financiers, private equity and venture capital investors. We provide regulatory compliance guidance and consultancy services to clients covering cloud services, data protection, spectrum allocation, loan syndication, project finance, and documentations. We also prepare or review interconnectivity agreements and contracts and provide regulatory advice related to licenses, registrations, pricing tariffs, as well as ongoing information disclosure requirements. We also advise clients regarding regulatory compliance strategies, risk-mitigation, as well as related litigation and investigations by governmental agencies.