Minerva Legal (ML) is a full-service Nigerian law firm with international reach and an exceptional breadth of services. We pride ourselves in providing strategic and pragmatic legal guidance, which is client-focused.
ML is a modern law firm with traditional values, strategy and approach; and this has led to a culture of dynamism and ambition that makes us different. Our optimum size means you receive a high calibre of service from partner-led teams with strength and depth across our various practice areas.
As a team of experienced lawyers who have depth of knowledge and experience in different areas of law practice, we provide legal solution to our client’s legal need by evaluating any and all risks involved in their transactions and applying varied risk management tools and strategies to mitigate and hedge those risks.
The ML ethos is about delivering a friendly and approachable service, with the commitment that the needs of our clients come first – at every stage. We are able to keep the needs of our clients in view as well as secure solutions in ways that create value for them through consistency in service delivery, diligence in legal research and cutting-edge information technology support system.
Our international practice means we are structured to advise clients either directly from our well established office in Nigeria, or in collaboration with several leading law firms across Africa and Europe. This ensures clients receive the most appropriate expertise.
We offer a unique combination of expert advice and distinctive service that meets the legal and commercial needs of our clients. We draw on the experience and expertise of our team to anticipate our clients’ legal needs and help our clients achieve their goals.
With lawyers who think and act beyond their traditional role, we have a deep understanding of today’s fast-paced and increasingly complex business environment. We apply that understanding and a commitment to provide outstanding service to ensure quality and value is delivered in every instance.
We are a relationship-driven firm and strive to develop enduring relationships with our clients by developing a deep understanding of their business needs applying our broad knowledge of the industry sectors in which they operate. As a result, we are well placed to provide pragmatic, commercially relevant advice through every stage of the company life-cycle. As a result, we are able to assist our clients achieve successful deal outcomes in all areas of our corporate practice, which include:
Closely-held and family-owned businesses
Franchise and distribution
General business counseling
Mergers and acquisitions
Public-private partnerships and ventures
Tax
Venture capital
With a valuable combination of global insight and local knowledge that enables us to handle all aspects of complex domestic and cross-border corporate transactions, we are well-placed to develop a deep understanding of our client’s business needs and to provide cost-effective, pragmatic advice on business development strategies.
Our corporate practice is fully integrated with our finance, corporate governance, dispute management, employment, real estate, tax, IT, IP, employment and pensions practices.
Our structure places our lawyers in different industry sectors based on their competence. We comprehend the pressures that our clients experience in the course of a transaction and the industry-specific issues critical to the success of a deal. We advise and support our clients through the life cycle of a deal-from due diligence and structuring, to negotiation and preparation of relevant documents, to post-transaction transition and post-merger integration. As M & A activities affect other areas of company law, our cross-disciplinary approach places us in a great position to address all aspects of M & A deal.
We understand that litigation can be complex, costly and time consuming, which is why, for us, litigation is viewed as the final option – dispute avoidance is our aim and we provide strategic advice to achieve this.
We partner with our clients to determine how they define success. Through this we mitigate any contentious issues and find practical and proportionate solutions to resolve them. If and when dispute arise, our specialist team will strive to provide honest, legal and strategic advice to resolve them with as little disruption to business as possible – recognition of this is central to how we approach any matter. Our focus is efficient and cost-effective advice – with the aim of achieving the most benign result possible. It is in view of this that our team encourages the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques when and where appropriate.
Some clients are not so risk-averse and view litigation as an investment that can bring a short-term yield or simply preserve long term value in their business. Whatever your situation, we will move quickly and assertively to place you and keep you in the strongest negotiating position.
With expertise in all forms of dispute resolution and risk management with an understanding of the interplay between different legal systems and regulations, we can advise on every aspect of litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Our legal team is supported by an in-house team of accountants who provide assistance and expertise on all financial aspects of litigation, arbitration and investigations.
The intellectual property of many organisations is potentially the most prized asset. Arguably, innovative ways of developing, exploiting and protecting these assets are required to stay ahead of the curve.
Drawing on detailed expertise and with strong partner-level leadership, we have the expertise to tackle a broad range of intellectual property issues, both contentious and transactional IP matters by advising clients on national and cross-border strategies, IP protection and enforcement of IP rights.
We are able to develop strategies for the use, protection, management and exploitation of intellectual property; negotiate, review and draft commercial agreements involving the development, application and commercial exploitation of intellectual property.
From searching to registration to use and enforcement and where necessary, litigation upon infringement, the firm is able to provide an imaginative legal advice to clients in the use and protection of their assets.
We recognise that IP issues often arise in the context of commercial and regulatory landscapes. For this reason, our multi-disciplinary approach working with sector experts from corporate, tax, TMT, and employment teams positions us to provide coordinated and value-added legal advice to our clients.
We have an unrivalled knowledge and experience in employment and labour related matters, and therefore well-positioned to manage risk and find resolutions in relation to challenges from employment, incentives and pension matters, whether in a single jurisdiction or to support their cross-border operations.
We have significant experience derived from providing advice to the boards of listed and privately-held companies on employment issues, as well as the latest corporate governance and efficient policies to deal with any potential labour issues.
Our multi-disciplinary approach positions our pension lawyers to join the dots, contemplate the wider picture and think laterally and work in efficient, partner-led teams. Our team have the experience in developing and implementing cost-efficient reward, compensation arrangements and stock-based incentive schemes tailored to each client’s unique human resource and corporate strategy.
We also provide legal advisory with regard to issues involving discrimination, termination, restrictive covenants and other work-related claims.
We understand that effective personnel management is an important means of minimizing the number of lawsuits an employer faces and increases the likelihood of success when a suit is filed. We assist our clients in attaining that goal by ensuring compliance with employment laws and regulations; and providing counsel on the increasing technical requirements of employment laws, regulations, and court decisions.
Considering a significant part of our practice involves managing employment disputes and unfair dismissals; we deploy all resources to ensure many of the matters in which we are involved achieve amicable solutions, and in the event that any of the matters including pension matters are placed before an adjudicator, we deploy our proven litigation capability.
We have a versatile range of skills and a deep bench of experience, which puts us in a position to assist our clients across the entire range of real estate needs.
Cross-border experience and in-depth industry knowledge gives the firm a significant competitive advantage. Our team comprises of specialists in real estate investment and development, real estate finance and tax, real estate derivatives and structured finance and real estate disputes.
Our legal practice covers all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisition, development, financing, multi-layered funds and joint ventures structured for tax and regulatory efficiency, portfolio asset management, and complex real estate mergers and acquisitions.
It has become apparent that real estate is an attractive long-term investment for investors seeking diversification and stable yields within an uncertain economy. Furthermore, with the emergence of a global real estate industry following demands from multi-national corporations and traditional real estate companies, we know the importance of delivering to our clients commercially sound and legally robust solutions focused to their business objectives.
We extend our responsibility to our client beyond the traditional role of drafting documentation and due diligence. We have a skilled team which collaborates with our clients from inception of each transaction to add value by giving excellent commercial advice from project procurement and contract negotiation to avoiding and resolving disputes, within timescale and budget.
We recognise that issues involving immigration can be complex, stressful and frustrating, whether it applies to a large multinational corporation or a single individual.
We are able to provide clients with practical, balanced advice to assist them understand the complex immigration legislation, rules and guidance.
We have significant experience in managing the immigration needs of businesses wishing to employ foreign nationals, foreign businesses and entrepreneurs wishing to set up in Nigeria, private individuals and families wishing to live in Nigeria, and those desiring to reduce their tax exposure by establishing residence or citizenship in different jurisdictions.
We have the unique ability to develop immigration strategies or creative solutions for exceptional cases and work closely together with associates in other discipline to “stress test” applications before submission.
Should immigration or expatriation be part of a broader set of needs, we can depend on our cross-disciplinary approach by utilising lawyers in related fields such as employment, banking and finance, real estate, tax, trusts to assist.
Our immigration team has developed long-established network by working in partnership with local lawyers, and through these networks can offer advice to clients in a multitude of jurisdictions.
