Principal Partner
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Abiodun Olaleru is the Managing Partner of Headwaters Legal Advisory®, a full service law Firm nestled in the Central Business District of Lagos, the heartbeat of Nigeria's financial hub.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1993 and was appointed as a Notary public in 2012. His experience cuts across several areas of law notable of which is Banking, Finance and Commercial Law as well as Insolvency and Business Combinations/Mergers and Acquisitions.
After a fifteen year stint as Head of Chambers and later Partner in charge of litigation at the commercial Law Firm of George Ikoli & Okagbue, he branched out in 2017 to establish Headwaters Legal Advisory® with a vision of offering qualitative legal advisory and related services at competitive rates and changing the face of law practice across the African Continent.
He is a vastly experienced superior court litigator in the areas of corporate/commercial law, international contracts documentation and negotiations; corporate management and finance; secured credit; energy (oil and gas, and power); for private and government Institutions.
He has advised on corporate restructuring especially with respect to Mergers and Acquisitions, Management Buyouts, and hybrid business combinations to suit the objectives and aspirations of the client and has varied experience in alternative dispute resolution as well as transactional work.
He has defended many high-ticket cases notable among which, is a $2.8Billion claim against a Russian conglomerate; UC Rusal Aluminum of Russia concerning the privatization of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria located in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State.
He represented an indigenous gas producer (Continental Industrial Gases Limited) in a winding up action which was a fallout of a National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) dollar–denominated loan granted to the company and succeeded in moving the court to dismiss the petition on the grounds that a winding up action was not a Common Law action for debt recovery.
He acted for Indagro S.A of Switzerland in an admiralty action in rem for the recovery of due and unpaid demurrage.
He represented the United States Export and Import Bank in the recovery of loans under an export guarantee scheme whereby the United States Export and Import Bank guaranteed the repayment of loans granted for transactions involving the exportation of US products.
Advised Marine Technical Services International in respect of litigation arising out of a warehousing finance contract worth over N500million in a claim involving N.V. Theobroma Amsterdam, one of the major Cocoa Importers in the Netherlands.
Advised National Maritime Authority (now NIMASA) in respect of litigation involving the regulation of the shipping industry and the incoming and outgoing of merchant vessels in Nigeria in a claim involving over $10Million and succeeded in negotiating a settlement.
Advised Pentascope International B.V Limited of Netherlands in the negotiation of the Management Contract for the privatization of the Nigeria Telecommunications Plc which entailed advise on transfer of technology and know-how, ownership of Intellectual property, personnel inheritance amongst other areas.
He has undertaken advisory work which led to the business combinations of at least three of the big banks in Nigeria during the Banking consolidation exercise of 2006 ordered by Nigeria's Banking Regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He is a member of the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) which is an Affiliate of the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL) International.
Between February 2019 and February 2021, he served as the Honorary Secretary of the Ikoyi Club 1938, the foremost family and Country Club in Nigeria
