NKEM CHUKA EZE LLM (Dalhousie), BL (Nig).
Nkem Chuka Eze leads the firm's Energy and Natural Resources practice group. He has extensive experience advising on several aspects of energy and natural resources transactions ranging from the acquisition of interest in upstream petroleum assets, corporate restructuring of upstream petroleum companies, compliance with the local content and cabotage regimes in Nigeria, as well as raising finance and creating security interest over upstream petroleum assets.
Chuka (as he is fondly known) obtained his bachelor of laws degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and graduated with first class honours from Nigerian Law School. He then proceeded to the Schulish Law School, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on full scholarship where he obtained his master’s degree in law with distinction. He settled into legal practice in Nigeria after concluding a stint with the United Nations Environment Programme, Geneva, Switzerland.
He is a keen-eyed practitioner with a knack for proffering practical solutions to knotty commercial problems. He has published articles in international journals and participates in seminars and conferences.
He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and International Bar Association.
KELLY MOGBO LLM (UniLondon), MBA (LSBF), BL (Nig), ACIS, ACTI,
Kelly heads the firm’s Company Secretarial team has been involved in a number of high-profile corporate restructuring and commercial transactions including legal due-diligence on an upstream oil and gas company, acquisitions by private equity and ventures firms, establishment of Free Trade Zones, and was involved in structuring the debut issuance of enrolment debenture instruments in Nigeria. He has advised on the restructuring of a leading IT company and was involved in the company’s operationalization and management of platforms for the deployment of various financial services to Microfinance Banks within Nigeria, among numerous other transactions.
His relevant areas of specialisation include Information and Communication Technology, Company Secretarial, Corporate Structuring, Finance & Secured Credit Transactions, Tax and Nigerian immigration law. Kelly has involved in a rich diversity of commercial matters including advising on private equity deals and novel securitization transactions. He has written several published articles on law and non-law related topics and advised on a number of transactions involving contingent liabilities, letters of credit, commercial papers, project finance and structured loan facilities. Kelly is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigerian Conflict Management Group (NCMG). He holds certification on Negotiation of Financial Transactions from the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR), trained at the Oxford International Study Centre, on best practices for institutional administration. Kelly is also a member of the Nigeria’s Financial System Strategy (FSS 2020) an elite team of the Central Bank of Nigeria charged with developing and implementing the strategy for the financial architecture of Nigeria. He is also a member of the country’s National Assembly’s Business Environment Round-table (NASSBER), a committee of lawyers responsible for reviewing finance and business-related bills before enactment into statute. Some of the Bills reviewed include the Microfinance Bill, Factoring Bill, Currency Conversion Bill, Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Bill, Securitisation Bill, Mortgage Institutions Bill, National Payment Systems Bill, Data Protection Bill, Bankruptcy & Insolvency, Competition & Consumer Protection Bill, among others. Kelly has written a number of articles on tax, doing business in Nigeria, and on Nigeria’s natural gas industry. He has facilitated a number business workshops and trainings on tax, regulatory compliance, corporate governance and a host of business areas and is a thought-leader in finance law in Nigeria. Sequel to his contributions at the World Law Congress held in Madrid, Spain, in February 2019, Kelly was appointed and currently serves on the Board of the World Jurist Associations (WJA), as its African President. He oversees the activities of the WJA across the African continent.IBEH CYRIL CHINEDU LLB (Nig.), BL
Ibeh, Cyril Chinedu is a Senior Associate in Lexfin Partners; he leads the Commercial and Corporate Law Department. He holds a degree in law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He was called to the Nigeria Bar in 2008. He has gone through professional training in Business Recovery and Insolvency Practice. He is a member of Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria. He is currently pursuing an LLM in International Business Law.
Cyril is a skilled solicitor with about fourteen years’ extensive knowledge in a wide areas such as Corporate law, Taxation, Compliance Regulatory Laws, Commercial Law, Contract Law, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Law, Business Recovery, Commercial Arbitration, Intellectual Property Law, Consumer Protection law and Property Law. He has been involved in several remarkable corporate restructuring and most cutting-edge commercial transactions, advising clients from business start-ups to seasoned companies. He provides general secretarial duties to corporate institutions and advising on compliance issues; provides guidance on corporate governance issues and commercial contracts. Cyril also provides corporate and individual clients with counseling on intellectual property law. He has handled and solved issues concerned with obtaining or licensing patents, design, copyrights and trademarks. He provides expert advice on real estate purchasing, acquisition, selling and leasing activities; he advises on tax, legal and regulatory framework for real estate investment in Nigeria.ISIADE OTITONI LLM (CEU) LLB (Ife), BL
Otitoni Isiade is an Associate Counsel in the firm. She has gathered considerable experience in corporate practice as well as corporate law, company secretarial, civil, criminal litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). She has represented a broad range of clients in resolving disputes, including actions relating to corporate law, complex commercial transactions, property law and energy law.
Otitoni graduated with a second class (upper division) from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Osun State Nigeria after which she won full scholarship to the Central European University, Hungary where she bagged Master’s degree in International Business Law. Otitoni has played a significant role as part of the team that handled the privatization of a leading corporate organization in the airline services space. She also partook in several post-privatization monitoring exercises then carried on by the BPE. To her credit, several contentious issues relating to property, contracts, corporate governance as well as tort and criminal prosecutions have been successfully handled at the lower and higher courts of record. Otitoni is a member of the Nigerian Bar association and an Associate member of the Nigerian Conflict Management Group (NCMG). She is also a student member of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (ACCA) London.LAURETTA AISAGBONHI LLB (Benin), BL
Lauretta is a legal associate with Lexfin Partners. She is a young, vibrant, productive and versatile legal practitioner with a high sense of enthusiasm and attention to detail. She obtained a law degree from the University of Benin and her B.L from the Nigerian Law School, Abuja following which she has continued to gain considerable experience in Commercial and Corporate Law. She is proficient in legal research and review, company secretarial practice as well as advisory work in compliance and corporate governance.
A member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigerian Institute of Management, Edewede is imbued with a deep sense of commitment to management development. In addition to the foregoing, she is an Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist. Whenever Edewede is not engrossed with Corporate and Commercial Law practice, you are likely to find her reading a good motivational book or novel. She also engages in intellectual discussions with people of diverse backgrounds and ideologies.FATIMA AKANO LLB (Jabu), BL
Fatima is an Associate in the Firm’s Corporate and Commercial Department. She is a resourceful legal practitioner with a keen eye for detail and a flair for innovation. Her areas of interest include Corporate and Commercial Law, Tax, Corporate Restructuring and Company Secretarial. She combines an astute sense of responsibility, hard work with clear-thinking and continues to make robust contributions to the business of clients through insightful legal advice and innovative solution to business problems. Fatima is an excellent team-player and has been aptly described as “open to learning with a creative mind and a huge sense of dedication to her job”.
She has assisted in a number of company incorporations and post-incorporation matters, advised clients on labour disputes, land transactions and a host of other corporate work. She is unwaveringly committed to delivering quality legal services to all clients. Fatima attained her LLB from Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Osun State and thereafter proceeded to Nigerian Law School Kano where she obtained a Bachelor of Law degree. She is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.