Onari Duke
Senior Partner
Owanari is a lawyer, entrepreneur, strategist, and business development professional, a United Nations certified trainer on entrepreneurship and a Non-Executive Director of the Board of United Bank for Africa, where she chairs the Audit Committee. Specialising in corporate governance, Onari guides entrepreneurs and startups in building and maintaining thriving businesses while avoiding pitfalls. She has enjoyed extensive success resolving client disputes, particularly through mediation and has consulted on various transactions and industries ranging from real estate to energy acquisition, transfer and distribution.
Xerona Duke-Phillips
Managing Partner
An alumna of the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law, Xerona is a New York Bar and Nigerian Bar-certified attorney possessing varied experience in Intellectual Property Law, Technology, Art, Media & Entertainment Law, and Project Finance. She has advised on diverse transactions from multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects, international technology transfer transactions, and transcontinental financial acquisitions to telecoms, natural gas pipeline acquisition, music licensing, trademark protection, and enforcement.
Paul Okonji
Of Counsel
Paul has over 15 years experience in a range of transactions spanning project/corporate finance, joint ventures, private equity, dispute management and resolution, project development, project/transaction structuring, and infrastructure finance. He has been involved in transactions covering diverse sectors including telecommunications, film finance, real estate, power, energy, manufacturing and processing, hospitality and franchising. Paul is keen on supporting and promoting ESG and Sustainability related activities with a focus on corporate structuring, infrastructure projects, and finance transactions.
Oyinda Awoniyi
Of Counsel
A graduate of Cambridge University, Oyinda is a creative, results-driven, energy and technology lawyer with corporate communications and legal problem-solving experience with private and non-governmental organisations. She is a skilled negotiator and solutions expert in complex multijurisdictional transactions, as well as in developing and implementing effective communication strategies in multi-stakeholder projects.
Ifeoluwatomi Adenuga
Managing Associate
A commercially-oriented lawyer, Ife has a deep understanding of intellectual property issues and is a skilled negotiator, notably negotiating several infringement claims on behalf of the Audio-Visual Rights Society of Nigeria to recoup artiste royalties worth millions of Naira. With his passion for democratizing technology, Ife regularly works with digital native entrepreneurs in advising on the Nigerian landscape for technology and assisting them to successfully navigate it.
Folake Ayodele-Davis
Associate
Folakemi is a corporate and intellectual property lawyer. A published academic, her proficiency in her field is derived from a sharp attention to detail and a drive to learn. Combined with her flexibility, creativity, and commitment to excellence, highlight her as a valued member of D&B's team.
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