Aman & Partners LLP

Growing consumer needs, high margin business opportunities, and policy shift towards liberalization is attracting major investments in Ethiopia.

Our qualified team of lawyers have years of experience in proactively identifying and maximizing on regulatory opportunities while ensuring a compliant presence and operation. We offer best-in-class and actionable advisory and representation services on corporate structuring, tax compliance, licensing, privatization, M&A, shareholder matters, securities, corporate finance and company secretariat services, among others.

Our extensive experience in corporate legal service, complemented by our close working relationship with regulatory and policy makers, helps to overcome legal and regulatory challenges faced by our clients.

Sophisticated and complex business relationships at times can lead to disagreements. Often is the case that businesses frequently resolve their disputes amicably and that fosters an improved and continued relationship between the parties. When that fails however, litigation before courts or other alternative dispute settlement procedures are triggered.

Our lawyers have received international trainings on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms including mediation and international arbitration. In addition, our team benefits from first hand experienced lawyers in litigating major business, investment, labor and other disputes before Ethiopian courts. We combine both international and local expertise in dispute resolution as we have lawyers who have served as judges in the judiciary, litigated international cases before international arbitration tribunals and others who are experts in negotiation and amicable settlements of disputes.

Our team has triumphantly won several complex and large sum litigations before different levels of courts and administrative tribunals including the Ethiopian Tax Authority. Our lawyers have also been part of a team that consulted and advised a party to a dispute in a claim involving over a billion dollars.

Increased workforce productivity and maintaining industrial peace are key ingredients for the success of business and investments. The employment law framework in Ethiopia is highly regulated and affords significant protection to employees. There are nonetheless legal mechanisms to implement workplace productivity and legal approaches to implementing harmonious labor relations.

Our experience in working closely with human resources departments and company leadership has allowed us to best mitigate risks in labor relationships. Our policy of “prevention is better than cure” comes to life in our employment practice. We design various strategies with employers and HR personnel to equip them with labor compliance tools such as comprehensive employment contracts, manuals, work rules, and guidelines.

Our team has represented clients in major town hall meetings and negotiations with labor unions in collective bargaining agreements. Our deep cultural understanding and multi-lingual team of lawyers is an asset to our clients. An example of this versatility can be seen through a case in which our team defended a multi-million Euro railway rehabilitation, water supply and sanitation project involving over 250 employees in a cross-regional labor dispute involving suits in more than 8 different cities.

The future of businesses is continuously tied to their intangible values and ability to innovate and utilize technology. Ethiopia is witnessing a significant catch up with other developed economies by way of brand affinity of consumers, increased relevance of new technologies and software aiding day to day activities of consumers, be it by way of facilitating easy payment solutions or otherwise. Hence, protecting and maximizing on intellectual property rights and innovative technologies is vital.

Our managing partner, Mr. Aman Assefa, is a pioneer in the intellectual property and technology law practice in Ethiopia. In addition to his tenure as lecturer at Addis Ababa University, he has researched vastly in the area of intellectual property laws in Ethiopia and abroad and has been at the forefront in drafting Ethiopia’s current intellectual property and technology related legal framework. As a result, our contribution to the development of the young intellectual property and technology laws of Ethiopia is quite notable.

Our Firm guides clients through each phase of the IP licensing and registration process, including initiation, ownership searches, application and renewals. Our service extends to IP litigation including infringement, opposition, unfair competition and anti-counterfeiting procedures and enforcement in Ethiopia. We also advise clients in IP management, major deal structuring and protection and enforcement of IP and technology related rights.

The property and real estate market in Ethiopia continues to develop and does so against the backdrop of a booming economy and high urbanization into the main urban centers. Consequently, the sector has witnessed a continued growing interest from both foreign and local property developers and technical experts in the sector.

We have been involved in property transactions and real estate cases since the time the sector started picking up in Ethiopia. Our practical knowledge of the law and the practice at the courts coupled with our interdisciplinary approach of working closely with technical experts helps us maximize the benefit to our clients. Our lawyers have been at the forefront of major cases in property and real estate practice.