Business Setup & Advisory
We are passionate about this aspect of our practices. We appreciate our Clients’ commercial goals, constraints, and concerns and make it our business to know our clients’ businesses. Business priorities change with various factors that include the socio-economic environment and the age of the enterprise. While a start-up undertaking may prioritize funding and market entry, a more established business will prioritize new market penetration, change management, innovation, and corporate governance.
Whatever the case may be, our team of experienced experts can offer hands-on, practical help, advice, and support in specific business areas to help make a difference to business success.
We advise on finance and corporate decision making and act on behalf of public and private companies and partnerships in dealing with the tax implications of commercial transactions and advising on tax-efficient business.
Company Secretarial Services
Our team provides company secretarial services to several companies, including companies incorporated by the Firm. Apart from covering board meetings and maintaining the corporate records, we offer advice on regulatory compliance issues and do the necessary filings of returns. Our clients benefit from our versatility in and thorough knowledge of company and commercial laws, corporate governance, and practices. Our partners are equally board members of other thriving businesses in varying industries; therefore, bringing in their vast boardroom experience to this practice area.
We advise on finance and corporate decision making and act on behalf of public and private companies and partnerships in dealing with the tax implications of commercial transactions and advising on tax-efficient business.
Corporate, Commercial and Compliance
Our team of professionals offers a broad range of specialized services in this all-encompassing group covering sectors such as ICT, banking & finance, education, intellectual property, tax, real estate, foreign investment, telecommunication, employment law, mergers and acquisitions, construction and engineering, transport and infrastructure law.
We handle the entire encompassment of corporate and commercial law practice. Our ultimate goal is to satisfy our clients by providing a seamless one-stop service integrating their diverse business interests. The Firm ensures that clients comply with the laws applicable to them, and is proactive in ensuring that clients are regularly updated with information that may affect their business objectives.
ZCL Solicitors has a robust Compliance and Due diligence practice that is strategically positioned to advise and support clients with legal, procedural, governance, and reputational aspects of compliance and ethical issues and associated investigations in Nigeria.
The Compliance team routinely advises and assists diverse businesses, firms, organizations and their respective boards, management and employee with establishing, maintaining and improving corporate and contractual standards and controls, identifying and mitigating their exposure to risk, achieving adherence to business ethics, conducting internal audits and investigations to review, evaluate and recommended remedial action concerning misconduct, anti-corruption and bribery, sexual offenses, general corporate governance, and leadership assessments.
Legal Advisory Services and Transactional Advisory Services
Our team advises on mergers, acquisitions, investments, corporate restructuring, general, corporate, commercial, and transactional matters. The team has an impressive domestic and cross-border transactional experience advising corporates, investors, joint venture partners, shareholders, boards of directors, financial institutions, and a host of other local, regional, and international clients.
The sectors that these clients operate include finance, ICT, banking, fast-moving consumer goods, food, beverage, packaging, brewery, manufacturing health, logistics, insurance, infrastructure, and retail, among many others.
The team routinely advises on mergers, de-mergers, acquisitions, domestic and foreign investments, restructuring, commercial contracts, joint ventures, and strategic alliances, equity and asset disposals, employment, foreign investment, due diligence, and risk management, governance, including anti-trust, competition, business ethics, and anti-corruption issues, and insolvency, data protection laws among other matters.
Intellectual Property Protection
ZCL Solicitors have developed considerable experience with various aspects of intellectual property protection and product and brand management in Nigeria. Our team routinely advises clients on the registration of trade and service marks at the Nigerian Trade Marks Registry. We provide additional services including registration, enforcement, transfer and revalidation of trademarks, registrations and renewals of patents and designs, registration with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), as well as advising on franchising and distributorship arrangements in Nigeria.
Our team also negotiates and drafts intellectual property-related agreements and advises on the commercialization, registration, and protection of copyright, the marketing of intellectual property rights, conducts intellectual property asset audits, and advises on competition law and brand protection mechanisms.
Labour And Employment
Our lawyers possess vast knowledge and experience in labor and industrial dispute matters. We work and partner as necessary with leading human resources, thereby providing our clients the benefit of vibrant, cross-fertilized ideas and strategies.
We advise and represent clients on various aspects including human resources and labour laws, compliance audit, industrial relations, and labour litigation, preparation of employees policy manuals and handbooks, negotiations and preparations of contracts of services, severance agreements, collective bargaining agreements, labour management relations, negotiation of outsourcing arrangements, and representation in the National Industrial Court, and the hierarchies of courts in Nigeria.
Property and Real Estate
Our Firm is very concerned about ensuring that the purchase or sale of your property goes smoothly. It is important to us that all possible loopholes are covered in the Sale and Purchase transaction. We act as solicitors to the buyer or the Seller, depending on which side needs our services to ensure that the interests are covered and protected.
We represent real estate players ranging from investors, financiers, purchasers, vendors, and property development companies. We possess the expertise and are very commercial in handling complex property deals ranging from acquisition, development, leasing, joint venturing, and financing to the final exit.
We have advised on development and planning, project and construction, large loans, and loan restructuring.
Our team also have in-depth knowledge of the operations of the Lands Bureau of Lagos and other State in Nigeria. Such knowledge is put into carrying out land verification searches, due diligence, registrations of properties, and perfection of titles.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
As a commercial law firm, our alternative dispute resolution portfolio is heavily weighted on commercial litigation. Our ADR Practice covers a broad spectrum of areas, including but not limited to Banking & Finance, ICT, Constitutional Law, Corporate Restructuring, Mergers & Acquisition, Construction and Engineering, Intellectual Property, Labour and Industrial Relations, Project Finance & Infrastructure, Property and Building, and Taxation matters.
Our team is proud of their in-depth knowledge and strategic thinking in the handling of complex commercial disputes.
Our teams are skillful negotiators and mediation advocates who have mastered the art of negotiation and mediation. We will get the best deals for clients regardless of the complexity of the dispute.
Regulatory and Operating Licenses procurement
Since our team of experts advise across various industries, we have robust years of securing and obtaining regulatory and operational licenses upon which our clients have the legality to operate.
We can do so while our clients can focus on their core areas of competence. We can handle the process from commencement to final without having our clients feel the hassles of dealing with these agencies, ministries, and bodies empowered to issue these licenses and certificates.
We have procured licenses in various sectors and industries, including Education, ICT, Finance and Banking, Money Lending, Recruitment, Betting License, to name but a few.
