Charting Legal Excellence in Africa's Largest Economy

Stren & Blan Partners has had a standout year in 2023, with the firm and some of its lawyers being lauded by numerous leading ranking bodies including Legal500, IFLR1000, ManagingIP, IP Stars, IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders and WIPR. Africa Legal spoke to Christian Aniukwu to find out how they manage this.

This industry-focused Nigerian law firm prides itself on creating a blend in knowledge between the industry’s behaviour and its legal requirements in order to provide sound advice and help their clients steer their businesses through the changing market – while still driving profitability and growth.

Stren & Blan Partners’ understanding of the market and the related legal issues comes naturally as a result of their internal expertise. This year Managing Partner Christian Aniukwu was recognised in the IAM Strategy 300 as a World-Leading IP Strategist; he was also recently appointed as a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) Anticounterfeiting Committee for the 2024-2025 term. But he’s not the only shining light, and the firm goes to great lengths to secure top talent.

“We have been intentional in ensuring we deliver excellent service through investments in our digitization and internal capacity to attract the best and brightest minds in their respective fields,” explained Aniukwu. “We are very invested in the quality of services we offer and have not spared any effort in ensuring we are the best.”

The firm also achieved the status of an Award-Winning Law Firm in Nigeria in The Trademark Lawyer 2023 Law Firm Rankings.

Stren & Blan Partners’ work includes advising on some of the market-defining transactions across various sectors, such as representing a Nigerian state government in developing its power sector policy. They also represent blue-chip clients in handling disputes, and recently won a celebrated case for a French pharmaceutical multinational.

The partners know, however, that they don’t work in a vacuum, and ESG-related initiatives are central to the firm’s activities.

“As a socially aware firm, we believe in not just serving our clients but also contributing towards the growth and development of our society. The current drive for a green economy and sustainable planet has been the underlying objective in our various corporate social responsibility activities,” noted Aniukwu.

“We try to improve our coastline through periodic beach cleaning exercises in collaboration with environmental-focused organisations, and we are also in the drive for increased tree planting across various areas within our environment and are presently looking to expand this initiative across the country.”

The firm also invests in the community by sponsoring tertiary students' activities, providing paid internship opportunities to law students, and offering pro bono legal services to startups in the tech space and indigent defendants accused of or being prosecuted for crimes.

Asked about his vision for the firm's growth and its role in the legal profession in Nigeria and across Africa, Aniukwu made it clear that the firm’s success is intrinsically linked to the continent’s success.

“When we speak to the vision of the firm, we are looking more at the desire for an economically strong continent,” he said. “Understanding how crucial the African continent is to the world and how vital Nigeria is in the context of the potential prosperity of the region, we envisage a new continent with immense economic strength and are willing to guide businesses looking to contribute to the continent’s development. We are working to do this by expanding our reach into other regions in the continent within the shortest time and trying to open up those areas for economic growth and prosperity.”

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