Emmanuel Ekpenyong: An Expert Legal Advisor Providing Groundbreaking Legal Assistance

Emmanuel Ekpenyong, a renowned individual, author, and seasoned legal expert, earned Second Class Upper Degrees from the Faculty of Law of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and the Nigerian Law School in Lagos in 2006 and 2007, respectively. In 2021, he also obtained a Master’s Degree in International Business Law from the University of Liverpool, England.

In 2007, Emmanuel was called to the Nigerian Bar, and in 2009, he joined Strachan Partners, a leading Nigerian commercial law firm. Later in 2011, Emmanuel moved from the Lagos office to open and manage the law firm’s Abuja practice.

Eventually, in 2014, Emmanuel joined his partners to establish Fred-Young & Evans LP, a full-service commercial law firm in Nigeria, and Fred-Young Recoveries, an international debt collection firm.

A Vastly Experienced Leader

Emmanuel has vast international business advisory experience. He is a Member of the Nigerian Bar Association, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management Consultants, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration, England. He has enrolled for the Fellowship Course of the Institute of Construction Industry Arbitrators (ICIArb). He has a wide-ranging experience in the recovery of diverse debt across borders. He has been engaged in several major commercial and public interest litigations at the High and appellate courts.

Emmanuel has also served as Counsel in both domestic and international commercial arbitrations and advises foreign companies on business formations in Nigeria and other legal compliance matters in doing business in Nigeria. He is also involved in Nigeria’s intellectual property practice and legal regime in Nigeria’s real estate, construction, and oil and gas sectors.

Additionally, Emmanuel has authored several scholarly works in both local and international journals. His recent books, “Impact of Nigeria’s Legislations” and “Business Practices on Foreign Investments,” are currently available on amazon.com. He also contributed as a specialist contributor on “Enforcement of Arbitral Awards and Foreign Judgments in Nigeria” and Contemporary Issues in Law and Society: Legal Essays in Tribute to the Hon. Justice Chinwe E. Iyizoba JCA of the Court of Appeal.

Ensuring Best-in-class Legal Support

Fred-Young & Evans consists of three broad practice groups; Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, and Corporate/Commercial Law Group. Its practice areas include Business and Corporate practice, Commercial Litigation, Arbitration, and ADR Proceedings, Real Estate and Construction, Intellectual Property, Debt Collection, Labour and Employment Law, Adoption, Matrimonial Causes, Probate, Sports and Entertainment Law, Due Diligence Investigations and Process Servers, Foreign Investments, Aviation, Telecommunication, Energy and Oil and Gas, Enforcement of Foreign Judgments and Arbitral Awards.

Taking Challenges Head-on

As a core member of the founding team, Emmanuel’s primary challenges were start capital, office space, law book, and core practice areas. After several years of pupillage, months of preparation, and reading literature on start-ups, Emmanuel and his partners were ready to launch the law firm.

However, the main challenge was getting people to know about the firm and believe in its service offerings. So, through publishing weekly articles on diverse areas of law, hard work, quality performance, patience, and perseverance, Fred-Young & Evans started attracting Clients and referrals within Nigeria and abroad.

Eventually, when the law firm started its practice, its dedication to its clients made them realize its potential, which they harnessed further by providing more tasks and referrals. This improved the law firm’s research on several areas of law toward meeting its clients’ legal needs.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a bold step in the right direction”

Emmanuel feels it is challenging to effectively meet its client’s legal needs while maintaining its values and standards. So, he has to get the right employees for each position and harness their potential for their own growth and that of the firm. He also coordinates with the practice groups to ensure Fred-Young & Evans continually satisfies its clients while maintaining their trust and growing in line with its founders’ vision and values.

“When we set up our law practice, we had more will to succeed than any other thing. We believed in the process and continued taking baby steps with each passing day. Today, our perseverance has paid off to some extent as we have been recognized in several areas of our practice areas as our practice continues to grow. Our will to succeed created a way for us to succeed,”– Emmanuel said.

Picture of the Future

The law firm’s membership in reputable law networks such as The Lawyers Network, Advisory Excellence, Leaders in Law, The World Law Alliance, Startupoverseas, Association of European Lawyers, Global Law Experts, and International Credit Exchange has connected it to other industry experts in different continents who often refer their clients who are need of legal representation in its jurisdiction.

These memberships have also enabled Fred-Young & Evans to measure its services with other industry experts across the planet and continually strive to meet international standards by researching new principles and trends in its practice areas, investing in both local and foreign law books, and participating in international training in diverse areas of law.

In the future, Fred-Young & Evans intends to join more international networks to connect with more industry experts on their continents. It also plans to contribute to many more local and international publications on their practice areas, attend and speak on several areas of Nigerian law at conferences and seminars within Nigeria and abroad.

“The increased use of technology in law and the adoption of online services due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a blessing to our practice. Many Courts in Nigeria, especially appellate Courts, now conduct fully virtual hearings. The Court system has integrated electronic means of filing and serving processes. Even the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) responsible for the registration of businesses in Nigeria has incorporated online registration procedures and post-incorporation filings and email services,”- explained Emmanuel. “To be more effective, save time and reach a wider audience, we will be deliberate in applying technology in our law practice. We will also invest more in books in several areas of law, philosophy, religion, culture, and encyclopedias. We will engage with our employees more and invest more in continuous training of our employees to make them relevant in modern day law practice.”