Legal Adviser East at TotalEnergies

Candidate Profile

• Must be a qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria with a minimum of 8 years cognate experience
• Must have a thorough knowledge of the working and practice of Nigerian Law 
• Must have good communication skills, both oral and written
• Must have very good negotiation skills
• Must be a good team player
• Possess good interpersonal skills
• Rigor, drafting skills, capacity to synthesize and focus on key issues
• Autonomy in a demanding environment
• Diplomacy and ability to work in a multicultural environment
• Capacity to report, share, communicate, and manage people and resources.

Activities

• Advisory/Agreements: Advise on, prepare and review assigned legal, commercial and other transactional contracts entered into by the company.
• Debt Recovery: In conjunction with the other Legal Advisers, manage the legal risk of the company’s credit portfolio by issuing demand notices, liaising with external solicitors to institute recovery actions in Court, maintaining a debt recovery register and actively participate in Credit Control meetings.
• Litigation Management: Manage the entire litigation portfolio of the Eastern Region including developing strategies and mechanisms for the avoidance of litigation and where suits are instituted against the company, ensure efficient management of the litigation to minimize the risk of litigation crystallizing against the company. Submit monthly litigation reports. Attend court on behalf of the company, facilitate witnesses and documentation required for prosecution and defence of litigation matters in Court.
• Landholding Management: Investigate title of properties prior to negotiation; facilitate expeditious perfection of the company’s interests/titles. Maintain, update and submit a monthly plot register.
• Regional Regulatory Management (laws, regulations and ground rents): Regularly monitor and advise management on applicable laws and regulations in 11 states in the Eastern Region. Ensure prompt payment of ground rents, land use charge and other statutory rates and fees in the 11 states of the Eastern Region.
• Law Enforcement Agents: Represent the company and liaise with company solicitors in all Police and other law enforcement agencies’ related matters. Proactively take steps to respond to and provide required documents to law enforcement agencies to prevent disruption of the company’s business and its operation.
• Legal Training: Provide and facilitate training sessions for internal clients, Retail Sales Executives, Regional Retail Managers, dealers etc in the Eastern Region of the company.
• External Correspondences: Draft and/or review all relevant letters/correspondences to be sent out to external parties to ensure legal protection for the company.
• Patrimonial Operations: (acquisitions, disposals, internal reclassification): participate in and aid the Retail Development Department in matters relating to patrimonial operations: advice, risk analysis of legal arrangements, proposals for adapted solutions, participation in negotiations, preparation and review of various leaseholds and acquisitions.
• Procedures: participate in the development and updating of legal procedures, guides, manuals, and operating methods of the company/affiliate.
• Primary Legal Support to Head Office Divisions: provide legal support to all head office divisions: Lubricants, HSEQ, Human Resources, Retail & Cards, Commercial, Finance, TotalEnergies Country Services, etc.
• Commercial Transactions: prepare, review and negotiate contracts or other instruments for the purchase of goods and services. Interact with legal counsels for third parties regarding contracts for the company. Guide and counsel company negotiators in relevant laws and evaluate alternative strategies.
• Participate in administrative panels.
• Participate in Area Sales meetings, territorial community, public relations matters and credit control.

Context & Environment

• Interfaces with the company’s internal and external customers including staff, management, directors, external counsel, dealers, partners and other stakeholders. Must be able to work independently, proactively, and under minimal supervision.
• Regular contact with Legal Affairs Manager/Company Secretary and the company’s external solicitors for preparation and defence of company’s interest in Court.
• Proactively advise the management team as to the best legal and strategic protections for the company in any given legal and related situations.
• Covers a wide geographical area for representation in court and regulatory agencies in the Eastern Region.
• Attends State High Courts, Federal High Courts and Court of Appeal within the Region, when required.
• Regular contact with the Lands Registries and other Governmental Regulatory Agencies within the Region which are usually characterized by inordinate governmental bureaucracies, delays, and excessive bottlenecks
• Manages the inordinate delays and bottlenecks of the judicial system in the country.
• Manages the increasing arbitrariness on the part of regulatory and security agencies.
• Manages the increased speculative lawsuits against the company.
• Deals with criminal and other matters involving the police and other law enforcement agencies that affect the interest of the company.