The Legal 500

Aluko & Oyebode is one of Nigeria’s largest and best firms, with a ‘thorough understanding of the needs of international clients’. Of the nine partners, ‘consummate dealmaker’ Gbenga Oyebode is considered ‘superb’, and former Citi lawyer Kofo Dosekun is also name-checked by impressed international firms. A first choice for all corporate and banking matters, it is on the biggest Nigerian deals in the projects sector where this firm has really set itself apart from competitors. It continues to advise the sponsors Brass on the huge multi-billion dollar Brass LNG Project (White & Case LLP International Lawyers is international counsel); and has also just closed a supplemental $220m financing for Exxon Mobil and NNPC for the NGL 2 Project. On the corporate finance side, Oyebode has also advised the shareholders on MTN Nigeria’s $1bn private placement of shares.

Olaniwun Ajayi & Co is always a contender for the most complex deals, where the firm has unsurpassed experience of major transactions, especially in those sectors which have been especially busy in recent years: project financing, telecoms and banking. Clients praise the firm’s ‘strength in depth’, and leading partner Konyin Ajayi enjoys an outstanding reputation with international clients and law firms for referrals; ‘one of the leading lights in the corporate field’, and ‘knows all there is to know about capital markets’. Ajayi leads four other partners and 23 associates. Examples of big-ticket deals the team has been involved in during 2008 include advising the lenders (with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP as international counsel) on the huge NGL 2 Project; and more recently for the same clients on a $220m additional financing. The firm is well-placed to advise on the increase in M&A and insolvency in 2009.

Completing the ‘Magic Triangle’ of top Nigerian law firms, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie has a ‘great reputation’, and is considered ‘highly responsive’. Of the six partners and sixteen associates, Myma Belo-Osagie is very well thought of, especially for major deals in the telecoms sector. She has often worked with the likes of Norton Rose LLP, for example recently advising Standard Bank on a $2bn loan to MTN Nigeria, one of the largest ever telecoms deals in Africa. The World Bank is also a client, and the team has often advised the government on legislation. On the projects side, it is advising the lenders on the multi-billion dollar Lekki toll road deal, Nigeria’s first PPP. The firm also has an associate office in Ghana.

Twenty-five lawyer Adepetun Caxton-Martins, Agbor & Segun competes with the very top firms for big-ticket energy transactions. Its ‘very good name’ for energy work is increasingly appearing in mainstream corporate transactions, where it is well-placed to advise on M&A, corporate finance and joint ventures. Sola Adepetun is an oil and gas specialist - and is a member of the Executive Board of the African Institute of Petroleum.

Meritas affiliate AELEX strives to offer the most modern and international client service of all Nigerian firms. It is ‘one of the best full-service firms’, where Lawrence Fubara Anga is ‘punctual, commercial’ and ‘good to deal with’. His team acts for banks, energy companies, airlines, insurance companies and multilateral agencies, with a 2008 highlight being advising Hallmarks Beteiligungs on its sale to a leading infrastructure company of shares in an aluminium company. It has also advised Shawcor on the acquisition of two oil services companies. In its projects practice, the firm acted for a local state government on a PPP monorail project, funded by the DFID.

Ajumogobia & Okeke experienced some changes in 2008, with H Odein Ajumogobia SAN being appointed national oil minister. Managing partner Chris Okeke remains to head up the corporate and projects groups, and he is very well respected Nigerian clients. Energy transactions are a forte, but Okeke himself is known as a solid all-rounder. Nearly 30 other lawyers assist on privatisations, M&A, finance and projects to a very high level.

Banwo & Ighodalo stands out from the rest of the mid-size firms in Lagos, and is making a serious push for a top-tier recommendation. Of the four partners and 22 associates, two who stand out are Asue Ighodala (capital markets and projects) and Femi Olubanwo (finance and mining). Examples of quality instructions in 2008 include advising MTN Nigeria on the private placement of $1bn of shares. Competitors compliment the firm’s ‘extreme professionalism’, and until the recent capital markets slowdown, it was considered one of Lagos’s top specialists for equity capital markets transactions.

Relatively new and ‘hungry’ Templars Barristers and Solicitors stands out amongst the mid-size firms, and has the ‘best client service of any firm in Nigeria’. Olayemi Anyanechi is experienced in M&A, corporate finance, private equity, and commercial agreements. Corporate partner Olumide Akpata is advising the main contractor Bechtel on the massive Brass LNG Project; and the firm is also local counsel for the originator of a multi-jurisdictional private equity fund, which will at final closing amount to about $300m. The firm’s competition practice is advising Lafarge (one of the world’s largest cement producers) on compliance with Nigerian antitrust legislation.

Abdulai Taiwo & Co is especially adept in banking for a largely Nigerian client base, and benefits from a close relationship with South African giant Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs Inc. Shelter Afrique has been advised on many mid-market deals over the years and, at the upper end of the market, the team has advised the Urban Development Bank of Nigeria on the federal roads and railway network and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria on a $850m residential mortgage-backed bonds programme. Chief Ladi Taiwo is one of Lagos’s most eminent names.

Mainly known for its disputes work, Aina Blankson, LP also covers M&A in the banking, pharmaceutical construction and entertainment sectors and capital markets work for the Securities & Exchange Commission. Local banks (such as Chartered Bank) have also recently been advised on trade finance, asset finance and rail leasing.

West Africa Legal Network member F.O. Akinrele & Co competes for major transactions in the energy sector in particular. In 2008 Adedolapo Akinrele advised Chevron Holdings on a major acquisition in the energy sector, with Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP as international counsel; and also Svenska Petroleum on its acquisition of Occidental’s upstream interests in Nigeria.

Fidelis Oditah & Co was originally known for disputes work (especially for Shell), but the corporate and commercial team under Ugochi Uzoma has made impressive in-roads into the Nigerian market in recent years. In 2008 the firm’s highlights included advising on the commercial aspects of two hotels in Lagos for Starwood Hotels; and representing Bank PHB on its proposed acquisition of a Nigerian bank, and its acquisitions of foreign financial services companies. Cadbury is also a major client.

With two other partners and 14 associates, managing partner Fred Onuobia’s corporate and commercial team at G. Elias & Co. operates at the upper end of the market on a range of M&As, joint ventures, privatisations and energy work. Of late the firm has advised the Nigerian government on the privatisations of NICON Insurance and the Abuja Hilton Hotel. On the M&A side, the firm has represented insurance companies Phoenix and Sovereign Trust on their recent spate of mergers; and advised Shell on plans to acquire National Oil.

One of Lagos’s most sophisticated firms serving a predominantly local client base, Jackson, Etti & Edu has a decent record on restructuring and general finance matters. In 2008 the team advised a major Nigerian media company on the acquisition of a Ghanaian media business; and also advised Den Norske Bank on several ship and aircraft financing transactions. Partner Folosade Olusanya works with eight other partners and 14 associates. One client remarked: ‘the firm was extremely good, prompt, commercial and very easy to deal with’.

Mid-market commercial outfit Matrix Solicitors has three partners handling mainly local commercial law matters, with a notable niche in insolvency. Internationally it has a loose association with Webber Wentzel of South Africa. ‘In our dealings with them, they provided practical solutions and all-round excellent service’ remarked one client.

A new recommendation this year is mid-market firm Odujinrin & Adefulu. Standout recent mandates include advising BGL Asset Management on a $17m facility to a local energy company to develop hydrocarbons technology; advising Afrexim and Standard Chartered on a $75m loan to Union Bank of Nigeria; and representing Lafarge WAPCO on its huge factory expansion project in south western Nigeria. Oladipo Odujinrin has a good name, and one client remarked that: ‘The quality of the firm’s report and the manner in which the firm conducted the exercise was brilliant’.

Three-partner Lagos firm Paul Usoro & Co covers finance, commercial and IPP work for a predominantly Nigerian client base. Paul Usoro SAN is a respected expert in the telcoms sector. In 2008 the firm advised local banks on loan agreements in deals worth up to $250m; and a $100m aircraft finance for local bank, as well as being one of the top local firms for ship finance.

Sixteen-lawyer Solola & Akpana is clearly one of Port Harcourt’s premier full-service firms, and covers M&A, finance and commercial work in the energy and telecoms sectors to the highest standards. Iboroma Akpana gets good client references, and Tope Solola is also recognised as a reliable oil and gas lawyer. Akunna Nwagha at the more junior end is also recommended.