Uwa is a Partner and Head of the Intellectual Property Department (IP) of the Firm. She has specialist experience in all aspects of IP Law & Practice, all manages (from start to completion) the IP portfolios of numerous blue chip international corporations based particularly in the US and Europe. By virtue of her position, Uwa has oversight responsibilities for all services rendered by the IP Team.
She was appointed a Panel member of the US National Arbitration Forum in 2002 to arbitrate on the largest Domain Name dispute involving a well-known cable news provider. The only Nigerian Panelist of the WIPO Domain Names Arbitration & Mediation Center, she was featured in the 2013 and 2014 Editions of International Who is Who of Professionals in Nigeria. She has also handled Domain Names Disputes through WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), one of which, she was Sole Panelist.
Uwa’s accomplishments include: Member of the Committee of Experts, appointed by the Federal Science & Technology Minister in April 2011, to review the Draft Science, Technology & Innovation Policy’s compliance with Intellectual Property law; nominated as one of Nigeria’s 50 Most Influential women in the legal profession by Business Day, April 2011; recognized as one of the leading IP lawyers in Nigeria by Practical Law Company, 2011; and drafted terms of reference for a study on Intellectual Property for OPEC’s Research & Development (R&D) officials in July 2010. She was also Chairperson, Panel on Review of Nigerian Draft Trademarks Act (2002). In addition, she has advised government on various IP-related issues (e.g., “Should Nigeria Join ARIPO?” in August 2002); and was commissioned by the then Minister of Commerce to prepare a Study on revamping the Trademarks registry in April 2002.
EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Harvard Business School, Boston, USA – Leading Professional Service Firms, March 2013
- Executive MBA for Lawyers; London, UK 2007
- Lagos Business School (Pan African University) – Mastering Human Resources Management 2005
- Nigerian Law School; B.L 1986
- University of Benin Nigeria; LL.B 1985
PRACTICE AREAS
- All aspects of IP Prosecution, Administration and Portfolio Management in Africa.
- Domain Name Registration & Advisory
- IP Watch Services & Anti-Counterfeiting Advisory.
- Legal/Advisory Services
- IP Audit; Valuation & IP Policy Formulation
- Commercial IP
- Contentious IP Services
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- American Bar Association (ABA) (IP & Entertainment Law)
- Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)
- Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria (IPLAN)
- IP Committee Section on Business Law (SBL)
- International Trademark Association (INTA);
- INTA Anti-Counterfeiting Committee (2002-2004), INTA Bulletin Committee (2005-2007), INTA Legislation & Regulation Committee (2011-2013)
- Institute of Trade Mark Agents (ITMA)(Overseas Member)
Folasade is a corporate finance lawyer. She specialises in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Banking and Finance work, general Commercial and Corporate work, Tax and Real Estate.
She is regularly listed as a leading lawyer in M & A, Banking and Finance and Capital Market in IFLR 1000 and regularly recommended as a leading corporate and commercial lawyer In Chambers Global. She is said to “inspire confidence in her clients” and is commended for being “well grounded in what she does”
Fola has extensive corporate experience and has been involved in major transaction in this field for over 15 years. She specialise in all aspects of corporate law including public and private M & A (domestic and cross border, flotations, secondary equity fund-raising for listed companies, company reconstructions, schemes of arrangement, share reduction, privatisation of government assets on both the sell and buy side.
She recently advised on the acquisition of minority shareholding of a major oil service company as part of its re-organisation to take advantage of the Nigerian Content Development Act.
She has advised the Nigerian, Ivorian and Ghanaian subsidiaries of Baker Hughes Incorporated on the acquisition of BJ Services Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana as part of global acquisition of BJ Services Company – the entire (global) transaction is valued in excess of US$ 5.5 billion – and acted for Standard Chartered Private Equity and Corsair Capital being part of a consortium of Private Equity Firms on the investment of significant portion of about US$500 Million in the acquisition and recapitalisation of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. (the oldest banking enterprise in Nigeria). She is advising on the divestment of majority interest in one of the oldest EPIC entities operating in the oil and gas sector and the acquisition of a major player in Nigeria’s financial services sector.
Fola has extensive experience in finance transactions and has represented financial institutions both locally and internationally including Standard Chartered Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc. and other well-known multinationals and Nigerian corporations.
She also has expertise in commercial property development and is acting on the development of a New Town Development, residential estate as well as a mixed use development.
Fola holds a law degree from the University of Lagos and is called to the Nigerian Bar. She is a Fellow of the International Bar Association and hold Practice Diplomas in International Business Organisations; International Joint Ventures; International Capital Markets; International Commercial Law and International Mergers and Acquisitions. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria. She is a Partner in the Firm and heads the Corporate/Commercial Department.
JACKSON, ETTI & EDU, one of Nigeria’s leading commercial practices, renders specialist legal services and advice to local and international clients. The Firm is a Full Service Firm with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.
Our Goal
To provide quality legal services by adopting an innovative and practical approach to achieving our clients’ objective and attain preferred Law Firm status in all our core areas of practice.
Our Values
At Jackson Etti and Edu, our core values revolve around our Clients and People. We consistently strive to exceed Clients’ expectations and we are uncompromising in providing quality service and deploying quality people whilst maintaining excellent turnaround time. Our Values remain:
• Client Focus
• knowledge
• Team Work
• Innovation
• Professional Integrity
• Client Loyalty
Our Approach
We believe that our role as legal advisers involves more than the provision of technical legal advice. Our approach is to know and understand our Clients’ business, adopt a practical business-like approach to legal problems and ensure the delivery of tailor-made, personalized services.
Our Practice Areas
The Firm is organized into three departments:
• Intellectual Property; and
• Corporate/Commercial.
• Litigation/Dispute Resolution;
Within these departments, we have specific practice groups which focus on particular areas of legal practice. We also have specific industry groups which provide our lawyers with a deeper understanding of the distinct challenges of our Clients in these sectors.
