Mary Ekemezie is a Managing Associate in Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie’s Labour and Employment, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity and Corporate Advisory teams. She has extensive experience in corporate commercial legal practice, an excellent understanding of Nigeria’s regulatory environment and has been involved in various transactions across her practice areas. She routinely coordinates due diligence reviews in the context of various investment and financing deals, assist clients in determining the most efficient structuresfor their transactions, advises on foreign investment approvals, conducts legal audits aimed at identifying potential liabilities and risks in her clients’ regulatory compliance culture and advises on strategies for addressing any such liabilities and risks.

Mary advises clients on the Nigerian law requirements for employment contracts, restraint of trade, immigration requirements for foreign employees, requirements for termination of employment contracts, redundancies and the restructuring of employee remuneration structures, among others. Her experience in this practice area also covers advising on trade union laws and trade disputes and employers’ statutory obligations under Nigerian law. Mary contributes to The International Comparative Legal Guide (ICLG) to Employment and Labour Law, the World Bank’s Women Business and Law Report and the Taylor Vinters Employment Law Newsletter. She also co-authored the 2018 Nigerian Chapter of the Chambers M&A 2018 Guide, the IFLR 2016 Mergers and Acquisition Review and the Practical Law – International Acquisitions Transaction Guide 2016 and contributed to the Bowmans Africa Guide – Employment Consequences of Business Transfer. Mary is recognised as a very well-regarded labour and employment practitioner, known for her excellent work on related issues pertaining to significant M&A transactions, and as a National Leader for labour and employment practice in Nigeria, by Who’s Who Legal 2019. She is also the current Secretary of the NBA/SBL Employment and Industrial Relations Committee. In addition to her legal practice, Mary enjoys giving back to the community. In this respect, she has served as a guest lecturer at the Wavecrest College of Hospitality – Nigeria’s first monotechnic – where she taught hospitality and corporate law. She was a WimBiz Big Sister Mentor for secondary school girls in 2016 and is currently mentoring two female entrepreneurs under the SheTrades and WimBiz mentorship programmes.