11/02/2024
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO:
LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDED/PRACTICE AREAS
1. ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION LAW
The legislation prohibiting anti-competitive behavior (monopoly) and unfair business practices is covered by OMM Banda & Company’s coverage of Competition and Antitrust. This includes actions that harm businesses, consumers, or both, as well as practices that breach ethical standards in general. This section includes:
i. Antitrust litigation
ii. M&A-related competition efforts, such as merger control.
Our clients are provided strength and depth in all areas of antitrust law that matter to businesses seeking a coordinated and efficient approach to resolving matters before agencies and tribunals.
Our attorneys assist clients in assessing and resolving a wide range of antitrust challenges in a variety of industries and jurisdictions. The focus areas include:
i. Antitrust & Energy,
ii. Antitrust & Health Care,
iii. Antitrust & Intellectual Property,
iv. Antitrust & Technology, Telecom & Media
v. Antitrust & Insurance
vi. Civil Antitrust / Competition Litigation,
vii. Criminal Antitrust Investigations a
viii. Merger Control.
2. Domestic & Family Law
Family law issues, such as divorce and child custody, affect every element of a person's life. It has an impact on your relationship with your children, as well as your financial well-being and business assets.
With so much on the line, it's critical that you get strong advice and expert representation from experienced family law attorneys. Our seasoned family and domestic law team at OMM Banda & Company has vast expertise assisting clients through the difficult and emotional challenges that arise while dealing with issues such as:
i. Divorce and separation:
We provide legal advice to clients on all aspects of divorce and separation, including child custody, child support and visitation, spousal support, alimony and maintenance.
ii. Protective orders:
We offer domestic abuse victims information and assistance in securing court orders to protect themselves and their families.
iii. Family matters:
Adoption, paternity, name change, and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are among the services we offer.
iv. Child Custody:
Custody of children is often one of the most difficult matters for divorcing spouses, as it creates a great deal of tension among the family. Our family law attorneys are familiar with the difficulties that arise from custody arrangements and in cases of contested custody, and are well versed in these matters. We work with clients to ensure that custody disputes and arrangements are executed in such a way that the interests of our clients are balanced with the best interests and well-being of the children involved.
v. Alternative Dispute Resolution
Divorce does not always fit the traditional mold. Alternative dispute resolution allows divorcing couples an alternative to the occasionally tense nature of divorce litigation, and at times can provide couples with the option for a significantly less stressful divorce. The family law attorneys at OMM Banda & Company have the ability to assist our clients in alternative dispute resolution and mediation regarding matters of divorce, custody arrangements, property division and more.
3. Environment Law
Clients benefit from our litigation and advisory services. This encompasses typical corporate challenges, brownfield site development, and pollution concerns.
Regulatory compliance, litigation, and enforcement activities related to air, water, wetlands, waste, and endangered species are examples of "traditional" environment work. We also provide environmental guidance to corporate and financial clients in connection with financings, securities offerings, and other transactions including due diligence and environmental insurance.
We have a team of expert environmental lawyers on standby to cover all bases and advise our clients on local environmental rules that apply to their business.
We provide well-founded legal advice and assistance in connection with environmental compliance issues, transactions, and disputes, as well as potential environmental damages. Our practice advises on environmental law include:
i. Environmental due diligence and transactional advice
ii. Environmental compliance and regulatory advice
iii. Remediation and development of contaminated properties
iv. Environmental impact assessment and approval of energy, infrastructure,
v. Resource and development projects
vi. Environmental insurance
vii. Environmental disclosure and reporting
4. Employment & Pensions
OMM Banda & Company handles both contentious and non-contentious personnel issues arising from day-to-day corporate operations, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Employment discrimination cases including s*x, race, and age are included.
Includes workforce redundancies as well as employment concerns arising from the merging of two businesses. For major corporations, we also provide guidance on policy handbooks, HR training, and corporate governance.
We render thorough legal advice to our clients, who may be employers or employees, on employment law principles and concepts from the start of the employment relationship to the end. As such, we give detailed advice to our clients and litigate on:
i. Employment offers
ii. Employment contracts
iii. Employers and Employees rights and duties
iv. Negotiations and resolutions for disputes
v. Conditions of service
vi. Termination of employment and procedures
vii. Terminal benefits
viii. Gratuity
ix. Disciplinary codes
x. Various other related documents and scenario
5. Technology & Telecommunications
Contractual agreements in the technology industry, such as outsourcing contracts between large corporations and IT service providers, are the subject of technology.
The telecommunications and broadcasting section of OMM Banda & Company focuses on a variety of legal challenges stemming from the highly regulated fields of telecommunications and broadcasting. Transactional and litigation advice to telecoms companies, wireless operators, TV and/or radio broadcasters, and regulatory issues that these companies face are all part of our practice. Government-sponsored inquiries, investigations, or compliance actions could be involved. Interconnection and resale laws, multimedia agreements, and licensing activity are among the other issues.
6. Cyber Security, Privacy & Data Security
Zambia's Cyber, privacy and data security laws cover a wide range of personal and state privacy and information management regulations. The Data Privacy and Protection Act, the Cybersecurity and Cyber Crimes Act, and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act are all sector-specific regulations in Zambia.
We provide privacy, cybersecurity, and digital technology advice to organizations. Our business includes data protection and compliance programs, data breaches, crisis management, consumer protection issues, and internet laws. Businesses can turn to OMM Banda & Company for cybersecurity and digital governance consulting, as well as litigation, regulatory defense, internal investigations, and policy advocacy.
7. Immigration
OMM Banda & Company helps clients with all elements of inbound and outbound immigration, including:
i. work permits and visas,
ii. workforce mobility, and other legislative and regulatory changes.
iii. Personal immigration services are also available, including student, asylum/refugee, and publicly financed immigration difficulties.
8. Property and Conveyancing
Whether you're buying or selling a home or a business, you'll need a conveyancing lawyer to guarantee that the process runs smoothly and that the transaction is completed quickly and in accordance with all legal requirements. OMM Banda & Company has a team of property lawyers with over 20 years of expertise and a solid reputation in Zambia.
We are knowledgeable and experienced in all aspects of property law, conveyancing, wills and estates. We make certain that the sale or purchase of your property is completed on schedule, and that you receive the property free of liens and just as you expected.
What we do
i. Sale of Real Estate
ii. Advice on leases
iii. Property Development
iv. Purchase of Real Estate
v. Drafting of leases
vi. Review and Advising on a Contract for sale/purchase
vii. Advising on mortgage documents
9. Intellectual Property
Intellectual property law is a subset of property law that governs creative property ownership. Tort, contract, and competition law are only a few of the legal disciplines covered by the law. We offer commercial counsel to customers on a variety of topics, including:
i. product design protection,
ii. advertising and licensing.
iii. Technology and the internet era have created a slew of issues when it comes to establishing IP rights.
iv. Websites that illegally stream movies, TV shows, and music are all over the internet, and artists are only now discovering that their intellectual property rights have been violated. Globalization and cross-border conflicts over intellectual property rights have added to the complexity of this area of law, especially given the challenges of enforcing sanctions against individuals who infringe on another's IP rights across two or more jurisdictions.
In court proceedings, we act as advocates for our clients. We also act as consultants, advising customers on intellectual property issues.
We compile the necessary documentation for filing:
i. patents,
ii. trademarks,
iii. industrial designs,
iv. and then work with patent and trademark authority in Zambia, as well as regional and international levels, to obtain those patents and trademarks.
I0. Insurance & Reinsurance
Insurance is the practice of hedging against financial risk; the practice and its fallout require a lot of legal work. Insurance and reinsurance (even insurers are vulnerable to financial risk and they transfer part of their risk on to reinsurers). The Firm is currently retained by a wide range of clients in the area of insurance policy interpretation, subrogation recoveries, and general insurance law.
We specialize in:
i. Personal injury and clinical negligence (including public liability, employers' liability, accident-at-work claims etc)
ii. Transactional aspects of the insurance industry, advising on tax, regulations, restructurings, drafting insurance policies, and M&A activity between insurance companies.
iii. Professional indemnity
o Represent professionals accused of malpractice and their insurers. The professions most often affected include engineers, architects, surveyors, accountants, brokers, financial advisers and solicitors as well as dentists, surgeons etc.
o Investigate a claim, assess its authenticity and look into the coverage of a given insurance policy to determine an insurer's degree of liability.
o Draft letters in response to claims.
o Prepare documents for court or out-of-court settlements.
o Attend joint-settlement meetings, arbitrations or mediations in out-of-court cases.
iv. Commercial insurance disputes
o Work on claims related to things as varied as properties damaged by flood or fires, oil rigs destroyed by hurricanes, or gold mines nationalised by socialist governments.
o Work on disputes between insurers and the insured over insurance payouts and what insurance coverage consists of, or act for the insurer and the insured together in litigation with a third party.
o Assess coverage and the insurer's liability.
o Interview witnesses to find out how events occurred.
o Value the claim and build up the case for what the client feels is an adequate settlement.
o Attend court or mediations/arbitrations in order to come to a settlement.
11. Securities & Capital Markets
OMM Banda & Company covers fund raising on the Capital Markets as separate tables or as part of a larger umbrella:
i. Equity Capital Markets:
Initial public offerings, follow-on issues, right offerings, capital raises, rapid bookbuildings, and block trades are among the transactions on which the Firm advises.
ii. Debt Capital Markets:
Investment-grade debt offerings (stand-alone bond issues, Commercial Paper programs); equity-linked debt offerings (regulated capital, convertibles and exchangeable offerings); and high-yield debt offerings.
iii. Derivatives:
Regulatory and transactional legal assistance on derivatives products such as exchange-traded derivatives, over-the-counter derivatives, securitized derivatives, interest rate, currency, equity, credit, and commodity-linked products are included. OMM Banda & Company provides advice on product development and regulation, transaction structuring and paperwork, tax concerns, and litigation.
iv. Securitisation:
Commercial loans; derivatives exposure; bonds and corporate debt; project cash flows; trade receivables; credit card and trade receivables; commercial and residential mortgages; life insurance and annuities; auto loans are among the asset types covered.
12. Banking & Finance
A broad definition of banking transactions that includes both borrower and lender client guidance. The Firm specializes in the following subjects:
i. Acquisition finance:
Acting for either the lender or the borrower in transactions including securing financing for acquisitions.
ii. General bank lending:
Syndicated loan, structured finance, and leveraged finance are all terms for the same thing.
iii. Project finance:
Infrastructure and industrial project financing. Frequently negotiated as a non-recourse loan
iv. Refinancing:
Existing loan refinancing and restructuring, as well as debtor-in-possession financing, are all covered.
Our Banking and Finance team has the knowledge and experience to help clients manage the intricacies of emerging markets and provide commercially focused legal and tax advice based on our experience in representing major banks and financial organizations.
We represent a number of domestic and international banks, both lenders and borrowers, sponsors, private and institutional investors, insurance companies, development banks, governments, agencies, and state-owned enterprises in domestic and cross-border finance transactions such as commercial and institutional lending, acquisition and leveraged finance, project finance, securitization and structured finance, derivatives, secured and unsecured transactions, and regulatory matters.
Our purpose is to provide realistic legal advice that meets our clients' needs in these areas.
v. Corporate Banking, Loan Syndication, and Cross-Border Lending
We have a lot of expertise preparing loan and security agreements, financial leasing agreements, legal opinions, and local law and practice advice.
vi. Project Finance and Acquisition Finance
The legal work required for the development, equity and non-recourse debt financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of major industrial and infrastructure projects such as power plants, hydrocarbon processing and chemical plants, pipelines, transmission lines, toll roads, airports, seaports, and sports stadiums falls under the category of project finance.
These complicated projects necessitate a comprehensive and deep understanding of a variety of legal practice areas, including securities and business organizations, debt and finance, tax, real estate, energy, construction, environmental, and utility and trade control laws.
OMM Banda & Company provides legal assistance in the financing of large construction projects, which are frequently in the energy (dams, power plants, wind farms) or infrastructure sectors (railroads, airports, canals). We work with multinational enterprises, private equity firms, huge banks, and foreign government organizations on a regular basis.
vii. Financial Services Regulation
By assisting in legal and regulatory reform, we have developed solid ties with governments and the business sector. We have developed with these governments and businesses over the last twenty-three years as they have progressed. Assisting in the shaping of the regulatory environment has increased our ground-level knowledge and skills, allowing us to provide the best legal services to our markets and clients.
viii. Securitisation, Derivatives and Structured Finance
Our lawyers are well-versed in the regulations and business concerns that regulate local financial systems and apply to derivative transactions in Zambia. We tailor seamless solutions to unique financial, regulatory, and tax requirements across a broad range of sectors and locations, from structuring to documentation and closing.
13. Energy and Mining
Although OMM Banda & Company is aware of the overlap with Projects and project financing, the Firm focuses on corporate / commercial, regulatory and capital markets issues arising from the energy sector. These include the regulatory components of M&A and other transactional work, pure regulatory work related to the application for licenses and compliance and enforcement with regulatory bodies. The Firm advise on:
i. Electricity / Power:
Includes guidance on the creation, funding, and approval of energy projects (such as nuclear, hydro, coal, and oil & gas power plants), facilities management, co-generation, and restructuring and deregulation resulting from the wholesale and retail markets.
ii. Oil and Gas:
Covers all upstream and downstream work including exploration, infrastructure and pipeline developments and service contracts, royalties, licensing and operation agreements. It also includes corporate issues such as M&A, capital raisings, taxation and regulatory compliance.
iii. Renewables:
focuses on the funding, development, and legal difficulties associated with the production of wind, wave, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy. Additionally, the Firm offers guidance on adhering to laws governing sustainable energy.
iv. Nuclear:
Includes licensing and operation, commercial transactions, reactor oversight, enforcement and compliance, whistleblower statutes and non-retaliation policy, as well as nuclear waste and fuel procurement.
v. Natural Resources:
Focuses on mining and minerals exploration, development and production agreements, including royalty issues, project finance, taxation and other financing arrangements. Engineering, processing and refining contracts, sales structures and environmental issues are also covered.
Vi Mining
• Mining companies must possess a number of rights and permits on either public or private lands before they may start their activity legally. Other necessary permits and permissions for mining activity include:
a) A plan of operations
b) Air quality permits
c) Water quality permits
d) Safety plans for dam activities
e) Permits for artificial pond use
f) Hazardous waste storage and transfer authorization
g) Drilling permissions
h) Road use and right of way authorizations
i) Water rights
• The rules that may be applicable to various types of minerals must be understood by miners. The Law Firm helps mining companies to apply to state and municipal authorities for the authorizations and permits required to carry out their work.
• In addition to needing a variety of permits and permissions, there are a number of types of law that impact mining law. The Frim provides advice on the following types of laws relating to mining:
• The Firm helps mining businesses to enter into agreements with third parties ownership of land and the right to mine and ensure that their activities do not cause a nuisance or infringe on the property rights of others.
• Further, the Firm helps mining companies to comply with mining safety rules and regulations and help implement laws designed for employee safety.
14. Corporate Law Advisory
Our team of experienced legal advisors are ready to provide a full range of services within the field of corporate law, ranging from initial professional support with the incorporation, to comprehensive provision of all business transactions and changes during the company’s lifetime.
Our legal services in corporate law cover:
i. Incorporation and sale of readymade companies (including provision of registered office and secretarial services)
ii. Full range administration support and company liquidation
iii. Provision of changes in company’s legal status at the respective authorities
iv. Company’s Shared Capital distribution, increase and reduction
v. Agreements governing the relationships between related parties, shareholder agreements
vi. Provision of legal support by the negotiation with trading partners and preparation of corresponding legal documentation
vii. Preparation of Annual General Meetings and other executive meetings
viii. Corporate governance and management rules
15. Insolvency, Restructuring & Bankruptcy
If your company is no longer able to pay its debts, you will need to go through a lengthy and complex insolvency procedure and at the same time try to recover your business and establish its normal course. If dealt within time and with the right legal advisors, you will be able to find the best solutions for your company and also preventive measures from ever entering insolvency again, or even worse: bankruptcy.
In case you are dealing with insolvency litigations, our experienced lawyers are qualified to support you in various matters, mitigate potential risks and provide the most effective solutions for your specific case.
Our legal advisors will guide you through the whole insolvency litigation procedure and represent you at administrative, civil and insolvency courts and in out of court negotiations. We provide all the required professional assistance to companies by pre-insolvency negations. We do investigate and design solutions for insolvency restructuring taking into consideration your special conditions and cover all possibilities. Moreover, we can also provide complex support and assistance enacted by enforcement proceedings and debt recovery proceedings.
