Welcome to the August 2011 edition of Focus.
We’re having a busy summer at Trinity and have lots of news and information to share with you. We moved our London headquarters at the end of June to Dashwood House in the heart of the City, next to Liverpool Street station. We look forward to welcoming clients old and new into our new offices over the coming months.
Headlines
In other news:
- Trinity has grown its mining practice.
- Trinity has been appointed on three renewable energy deals in South Africa.
- A Trinity-led consortium has been appointed by DfID in relation to a major new initiative in relation to renewable power in Africa.
Mining Practice
Trinity has expanded its mining and mining finance capabilities through the addition of three senior lawyers to the team.
David Nanson joins us in London. David has practised law for over 23 years, most recently as a partner in the Energy, Infrastructure and Project Finance Department at Denton Wilde Sapte (now SNR Denton). David was previously Resident Partner at DWS’ Istanbul office. Over the years David has worked on transactions throughout the world ranging from mining projects in Uzbekistan, Turkey and Malaysia, power projects in Jamaica, India, Pakistan and the Philippines, petrochemical plants in Turkey and Bangladesh, process plants in Thailand and Turkey as well as hospitals, power stations, roads and water treatment plants in the UK.
Bruce Falcon and Andrew Hume have joined us, based in Johannesburg. Bruce routinely advises corporate clients active in the mining sector in South Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Bruce’s geographical mining experience includes Australia, Canada, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania. Andrew was previously a director at a South African law firm following which he was South Africa Country Counsel and Africa Division Counsel at Citigroup. Andrew advises various corporate clients, including in the mining sector.
International Lawyers for Africa
As part of Trinity’s commitment to International Lawyers for Africa (www.ilfa.org.uk) we are pleased to announce the arrival of secondee Mulambo Haimbe who will be with us for three months.
Finally, Trinity has its first trainee in the form of Zambian national Tamila Nakazwe. Tamila was previously our paralegal and has previously worked at the African Development Bank and the Central Bank of Zambia.
We welcome David, Bruce, Andrew, Mulambo and Tamila to the Trinity team.
New deals
We have had a busy few months and have in July and August been appointed on new transactions, including:
- A Trinity-led consortium has been appointed by the UK’s Department for International Development in relation to a proposed renewable energy initiative (“Green Africa Power” or “GAP”). GAP’s purpose will be to stimulate private sector investment in renewable energy generation across the African continent.
- We have been appointed to advise a major South African bank in relation to the financing of an oil products storage terminal in Mozambique.
- We have been appointed to advise the developer of a 450MW independent power project based in Edo State, Nigeria
- We have been appointed by a client to review the current sanctions regime in Libya and its impact on various in-country investments.
- We have been appointed by a major African development finance institution to advise in relation to a subordinated loan to a major West African central bank.
- We are advising a major contractor on the construction aspects of a 38.5MW straw-fired biomass IPP in Sleaford, UK.
- We have been appointed to advise developers on a UK IPP wind deal in the Thames Estuary.
- We acted for the shareholders and venture capital investors in Zimiti Limited, a UK technology company, on its sale to AIM-listed Digital Barriers plc.
- We provided the English law legal opinions in respect of Trans-Century’s recent multi-million dollar Eurobond issue.
We continue to work day-to-day on transactions in Kenya, Ghana, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia, Madagascar, Uganda, Tanzania, Liberia, Libya and Nigeria as well as in the UK and Romania.
Photography competition
Trinity’s new HQ has a beautiful feature wall. We would like our clients to send in their best photographs and we will pick the winners, post them on our website and hang them on our wall! The photographs can be of anything, but if they are connected to Trinity’s work – the law, emerging markets, Africa, power, infrastructure, investment – you stand more chance of being selected. Start looking through your photo archives or get snapping! Please send entries to kaushik.ray@trinityllp.com and simon.norris@trinityllp.com.
Article
In this month’s article, Simon Norris looks at corruption in Africa in the context of foreign investment. In the first part of a series of four articles, we take a closer look at bribery legislation in three key economic centres: South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. In the first article, we look at the practical implications of the UK’s Bribery Act.
Legalese
In this month’s Legalease Senior Associate Kaushik Ray looks at the common issue of drafting indemnities – and how to avoid the common pitfalls that trip up many lawyers and clients alike.
Party hats
Finally, we are planning an inaugural wine and art event in London in the Autumn, focusing on the emerging markets art scene. Look out for your invitation!
Getting in touch
As ever, if you have any comments or questions about Focus, or generally, please get in touch.
We are in the process of changing landline numbers – these will be posted online in due course. In the meantime, you can contact us on our BlackBerry or mobile numbers, which are set out here: http://trinityllp.com/aboutus/news201
Remember you can follow us on Twitter @TrinityIntLLP.
