Expertise
Aviation
Our team provides Legal advisory to all players in the aviation industry, including airlines, leasing companies, passengers, airport operators, aviation logistics services providers, financiers, aviation insurers, repair facilities, and regulators.
Our team has an in-depth understanding of aircraft leasing, mortgage contracts, aircraft liens, and debt structuring. Our team has represented clients across the hierarchy of courts in aviation disputes.
Banking & Finance
Risk Management:
We provide expert advice on identifying, assessing, and mitigating financial risks.
Debt Recovery:
Our team assists in efficient debt recovery processes to ensure financial stability.
Regulation and Supervision:
We offer guidance on navigating complex banking regulations and supervisory requirements.
Consumer Disputes:
We resolve consumer disputes effectively, safeguarding client relationships and compliance.
Secured Credit:
We advise on structuring and managing secured credit facilities to optimise financial performance
We advise companies on all levels of the spectrum, the recipients of finance, the financiers, and the financial advisers. Our team helps clients make informed investment decisions at every stage of the deal life cycle by providing services ranging from pre-investment diligence, risk management advisory, regulatory compliance, post-investment diligence and documentation
Charities
At Acorn & Mustard, we believe in fostering a brighter future for all. We're dedicated to supporting the vital work of non-profit organizations and charities by providing them with the legal guidance they need to thrive.
Challenges Faced by Charities:
Navigating Complex Regulations: Non-profits operate within a complex legal framework. We help ensure compliance with tax regulations, fundraising laws, and governance best practices.
Maximizing Resources: We advise on tax-exempt status, grant applications, and structuring charitable giving programs to optimize financial resources for your cause.
Building a Strong Foundation: We guide you through establishing your organization, drafting bylaws, and structuring your board to ensure effective operation.
Protecting Your Mission: We advise on intellectual property protection, risk management strategies, and ensuring transparency with donors and the public.
Corporate & Commercial Services
As a Corporate Law Firm in Nigeria, we understand the dynamic nature of the corporate landscape. We are your trusted advisor, providing a comprehensive range of legal services designed to empower your business at every stage of its journey, including dedicated company secretarial services
Our Services:
Company Formation & Structuring: We guide you through the legal intricacies of establishing your business, ensuring a solid foundation for growth. This includes forming corporations, partnerships, and joint ventures, both incorporated and unincorporated.
Mergers & Acquisitions: We navigate the complexities of M&A transactions, maximizing value and minimizing risk.
Contract Negotiation & Drafting: Our skilled attorneys draft ironclad contracts that protect your interests and ensure smooth business relationships.
Corporate Governance & Company Secretarial Services: We help you establish robust governance practices and navigate complex regulatory frameworks, ensuring your business operates ethically and within the law. Our expert company secretarial services ensure compliance with all filing requirements and maintain accurate corporate records. This includes:
Maintaining the company register of members and directors.
Preparing and submitting all necessary statutory filings and returns to regulatory bodies.
Managing and coordinating board meetings and general meetings of shareholders.
Ensuring proper authorization for key documents.
Advising the board on compliance with CAMA and other sector-specific regulations.
Foreign Investments & Regulatory Compliance: We advise on navigating foreign investment regulations, ensuring a smooth entry into new markets. We also provide comprehensive guidance on all aspects of regulatory compliance, helping you avoid legal pitfalls and operate seamlessly.
Divestments & Liquidations: When necessary, we guide you through the legal complexities of divestments and liquidations, ensuring a smooth and efficient process.
Corporate Restructuring: We advise on and execute strategic corporate restructuring plans to optimize your business for growth, profitability, and long-term success.
Dispute Resolution
Facing a legal dispute can significantly disrupt your business operations and cause considerable stress. At Acorn & Mustard, we specialize in comprehensive dispute resolution services to help you navigate complex legal disagreements efficiently. Our experienced team is dedicated to delivering swift and favourable outcomes, ensuring minimal disruption to your business.
Our dispute resolution services encompass litigation, arbitration, and other alternative dispute resolution methods. With extensive experience representing clients at all levels of the Nigerian judicial hierarchy, we possess the competence and expertise to handle even the most challenging cases. We tailor our services to meet your specific objectives, minimizing the business disruptions typically associated with dispute resolution.
Additionally, our expertise includes managing client risk to prevent the need for litigation, providing proactive solutions that safeguard your business interests.
Energy & Natural Resources
Our Energy and Natural Resources practice group provides legal and business support services to the upstream, midstream and downstream industries. We also provide legal services to the power and renewables industry as well as advising on various infrastructure development projects.
The group consists of lawyers with significant private practice and in-house industry experience in fields such as energy, power, finance, tax, dispute resolution and regulatory compliance. Thus, our lawyers have an exceptional understanding of the industry and regulatory environment, enabling them to provide expert legal advice to our clients.
Employment, Immigration & Incentives
We provide innovative labour law advice to deal with our clients’ employer-employee relations, consultancy arrangements, pensions, outsourcing and health and safety compliance. We also advise on the immigration and tax status of foreign workers in Nigeria.
FinTech
FinTech is revolutionizing how we manage money. But navigating regulations, protecting data, and securing funding can feel like a high-altitude balancing act.
Acorn & Mustard is your co-pilot. Our team of legal experts, well-versed in the Nigerian FinTech scene, empowers your vision for takeoff.
We understand the unique challenges and opportunities FinTech companies face. We've helped countless startups launch and scale, ensuring their innovations reach new heights.
How We Fuel Your Growth:
Regulatory Compliance: We chart a clear course through complex financial regulations, mitigating risks and ensuring smooth operation.
Payment Systems and Licensing: We secure the licenses you need and guide you on building secure and compliant payment systems.
Data Security and Privacy: We fortify your data fortress, ensuring user trust and compliance with data protection laws.
Investment and Fundraising: We help you soar through fundraising rounds with strategic legal counsel.
Intellectual Property Protection: We safeguard your ideas, protecting your competitive edge.
Partner with Acorn & Mustard and focus on revolutionizing the financial future. We'll handle the legal complexities, empowering you to reach new financial frontiers.
Intellectual Property
As technology advances, it's important to develop a well-thought-out Intellectual Property (IP) rights strategy to profit from innovation, protect against illicit use, and create value for innovators. Therefore, our IP team partners with our clients to ensure that their IP rights are protected and properly utilised.
Startup Advisory
Starting a business in Nigeria is an exciting adventure, but navigating the complexities can be daunting. At Acorn & Mustard, we understand the unique challenges faced by founders in the tech, media, and telecom (TMT) sector – the engine of Africa's digital revolution.
Our team of experienced lawyers bridges the gap between legal expertise and business acumen. We've helped countless startups launch successfully and established TMT companies navigate the ever-evolving regulatory landscape.
How We Empower Your Growth:
Strategic Guidance: We advise on service offerings, product development, and market entry strategies to ensure your business thrives.
Intellectual Property Protection: We safeguard your innovations with robust intellectual property strategies.
Regulatory Compliance: We navigate complex legal and regulatory frameworks, mitigating risks and ensuring smooth operation.
Licensing and Data Protection: We ensure compliance with data privacy laws and secure the licenses you need to operate.
Navigating Challenges: We're your shield against regulatory hurdles, and when necessary, we can explore establishing your business in more favourable environments.
Private Client Succession Planning & Tax
At Acorn & Mustard, we understand the importance of building a lasting legacy for your loved ones. We offer a comprehensive approach to private client succession planning, ensuring your wishes are carried out smoothly while minimizing the tax burden on your beneficiaries.
Why Plan for Succession?
Secure the future of your loved ones.
Minimize family conflict and ensure a smooth transition.
Reduce tax liabilities associated with inheritance.
Ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes.
Our Services:
Will Drafting & Review: We create personalized wills that accurately reflect your desires and minimize legal challenges.
Trust & Estate Planning: We establish trusts to protect assets, manage beneficiaries, and achieve your estate planning goals.
Tax-Efficient Strategies: We help you minimize inheritance tax and other taxes through smart planning and legal structures.
Business Succession Planning: We guide family-owned businesses through a smooth transition to the next generation.
Charitable Giving: We advise on incorporating charitable donations into your succession plan, supporting causes important to you.
Infrastructure, Projects, and PPP
Acorn & Mustard is your trusted advisor, navigating the complexities of infrastructure development in Africa, with a commitment to comprehensive due diligence.
We understand the critical role infrastructure plays in driving economic growth and social progress. Whether you're a government agency, developer, investor, or contractor, we have the expertise to help you navigate every stage of your project, ensuring informed decision-making through rigorous due diligence.
Our Services:
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): We structure and negotiate complex PPP agreements, performing meticulous due diligence on all parties involved to ensure a balanced and successful partnership between the public and private sectors.
Project Finance: We guide you through securing financing for large-scale infrastructure projects, leveraging our deep understanding of financial markets and regulations, and conducting thorough due diligence on potential lenders and investors.
Due Diligence for Infrastructure Projects: Our team meticulously examines all aspects of a project, including technical feasibility, financial viability, environmental and social impact assessments, and legal compliance. This comprehensive due diligence process minimizes risks and maximizes project success.
Regulatory Compliance: We ensure your project adheres to all environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, mitigating risks and delays, and conducting due diligence to identify potential regulatory hurdles.
Contract Negotiation and Management: We draft and negotiate watertight contracts that protect your interests throughout the project lifecycle, performing due diligence on counterparties and project risks.
Dispute Resolution: We have a proven track record of resolving disputes efficiently and effectively, minimizing disruption to your project.