Summary Profile of: Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye, Esquire

Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye (informally or simply known as “Emeka” or “Emmy”) trained as a lawyer; first at the University of Benin Law Faculty, Nigeria, where he received a degree in law (LL.B.), graduating in the top ranks of his class. He further attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, where he also obtained a diploma in law (B.L.), graduating also in the top ranks.

He subsequently worked for two oil and gas companies in Nigeria - Texaco (Nigeria) and, later, Chevron (Nigeria) - as counsel in the offices of the General Counsel of the respective entities. It was while working with Chevron that Emeka first encountered from a professional point of view the incidence of indigenous community activism in Nigeria, which ultimately mutated or morphed into the present-day militancy and targeted kidnapping of expatriates for ransom or bargaining chips; and the wider ramifications of justice, equity, due process and development in the oil producing territories in the less developed countries of the world.

After some practical experience as a lawyer in Nigeria, Emeka was accepted at Harvard Law School. He graduated in the LL.M. class of 1994, also earning top ranks in his class. Upon completion of his studies, Emeka was employed at Harvard. He worked as research associate and legal and policy advisor to the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID). He was, during his time, the youngest member of the Policy and Planning Committee of HIID, the highest policy-making body for that institute. During his tenure at HIID, Emeka researched and taught law and policy studies at Harvard and was listed among top experts on corporate law, finance and governance; and on issues pertaining to multinational corporations and development.

Emeka’s period at Harvard was remarkable for a number of reasons. Major social and economic reforms were sweeping across the entire Eastern Europe, with several emerging countries in that region having recently enacted new corporation laws. At the same time, serious and new questions were being raised about institutional and economic reforms in the continent of Africa. Emeka followed closely in his work and research the market-oriented reform of Russia as well as the political reforms that surround the ending of Apartheid in South Africa. While at Harvard, Emeka played active roles in some of these major reform events in Europe and Africa during that period. In this capacity, Emeka visited and consulted with many countries, directly advising presidents and top officials of governments, mostly on reform projects either sponsored or otherwise endorsed by the United States Government.

Specifically and in respect of Africa, Emeka advised governments and leading economic actors in Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria on law and economic reform issues of the day such as commercialization and privatization. Also, Emeka spearheaded research projects and studies in various areas of law and policy, including specifically, access to credit and finance in Africa, privatization and restructuring of state-owned enterprises, reforms in corporate law and governance, etc.

Emeka later left Harvard to join the World Bank, in Washington, D.C. in 1997, where he worked as counsel in the office of the General Counsel. There he focused on the operational activities of the Bank in its Europe and Central Asia regional divisions. In addition to the regular operational activities of the World Bank lawyers, Emeka dedicated a significant part of his time to work on special projects such as the Trust Funds activities and Currency Conversion Programs of the Bank and researching, teaching and speaking on legal aspects of anti-corruption reforms in developing countries. Emeka also conducted the pioneering study at the World Bank on strategies and modalities for the World Bank’s private-public sector partnership initiative. This was a multi-country study that involved reviews and revisions of Word Bank policies in key normative and operational areas.

With a combination of experience at Harvard and the World Bank, Emeka was well positioned to launch a career as an international lawyer and strategy consultant. He quickly developed a reputation as a well-grounded international legal scholar and practitioner and as a professional that knows how to get results for clients, even under complex and difficult conditions, utilizing conventional and asymmetrical strategies . As an illustration, Emeka was consulting with the African Development Bank in the country of Ivory Coast, in December of 1999, when that country’s first military coup confronted him with a life and death situation, and ultimately forced that country into a spiral of political turmoil and ethnic hostilities. Over the years, Emeka has returned to Africa with even stronger commitments both as a lawyer and as an entrepreneur.

Emeka has practiced law in several international jurisdictions, including the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the United States Court of International Trade, and several state and federal bars.

Over the years, Emeka’s practice of law has focused mainly on representing African clients in the United States or representing American clients interested in doing business in Africa. Emeka’s strongest strength lies in his ability to execute tasks that involve complex and strategic operations and interdisciplinary approaches. His ability to make critical contacts in a wide range of situations and to assemble a task force of experts on short notices enables him to achieve best results for clients in varying scenarios. Expanding between the traditional African/American axis, Emeka and the team that he leads have long recognized the emerging opportunities of trade and business involving new regions in the near and far East and the Eastern Europe. Emeka if focused in positioning his clients well for these new and expanding opportunities in an increasingly integrating world and converging global best practices.

Among Emeka’s most important clients has been the Government of Nigeria, for which he acted as counsel and advisor for ten years in the United States of America. Matters over which Emeka has rendered services to Nigeria include, but are not limited to: (a) the drafting of the first ever antitrust / competition bill for Nigeria, (b) representing (up to the United States Supreme Court) a former President of Nigeria, at the behest of the Nigerian Government, (c) representing the Nigerian Government in a class action lawsuit before a U.S. federal court, and (d) representing the Government of Nigeria, through its embassy in Washington, D.C., for a period of over seven (8) years on various matters. Emeka is the first to admit also that having governments as clients, particularly a transitioning polity like Nigeria, has had its significant risks such as undue exposure to politically oriented controversies. Yet, each such incident bring with it several teachable moments which has enriched his overall understanding and mastery of the challenges ahead of those who seek to penetrate the African markets.

Emeka’s ability to understand the interface between practical questions and legal problems remains of immense value, as he strives to render quality services to clients across the globe in a complex, dynamic and intensely competitive environment. Similarly, as an avid student of the interplay between world cultures and global market forces, Emeka and his team are ever poised for the requisite sensitivities it takes to thrive amidst uncertainties.

In 2009, there was a breakdown in relations between Emeka and his firm, on the one hand, and the Embassy of Nigeria and the Nigerian Government in Abuja, on the other hand. That controversy escalated to a point where a Nigerian Ambassador to Washington was recalled by Nigeria. The Embassy of Nigeria Washington filed a bar complaint against Emeka in Washington, DC, which was subsequently dismissed in favor of Emeka. In the same year, Emeka filed a defamation lawsuit against an online tabloid, Saharareporters.com, and its owner, Omoleye Sowore, for defamation and conspiracy with Nigerian officials.

Emeka has emerged a vociferous critic of the Nigerian Government, his former clients, and has repeatedly described the regimes as corrupt, inept and dysfunctional. While a civil case was pending in the United States between Nigerian Government and Emeka Ugwuonye, the Nigerian authorities made the dramatic move of abducting Emeka in Nigeria in February of 2011, while he was on a business trip to Nigeria. He was detained in Nigeria for over 150 days in 2011 under questionable jurisdictional circumstances. Emeka has alleged that he was bullied by the Nigerian officials in a blatant act of intimidation and in a bid to silence his growing opposition to Government corruption.

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