Africa

Move into Morocco signals commitment to supporting clients

Clifford Chance is delighted to announce that we have opened our office in Casablanca. This is the firm's first office in Africa and a hub for clients across the wider North African and Sub Saharan Francophone region. Clifford Chance has been active on the ground in Africa for 30 years, helping clients to identify opportunities. The new office cements our capabilities and will be led by Mustapha Mourahib, who is already active in the Moroccan market and will relocate to Casablanca. The Casablanca office is a part of Clifford Chance's broader Africa Initiative, led by Paris partner, Anthony Giustini, Casablanca partner Mustapha Mourahib, Frankfurt partner, Edmund Boyo and London partners, Jeremy Connick and Kem Ihenacho.

Supporting your business in Africa

We have extensive experience advising on finance transactions, project finance, M&A, equity and debt capital markets and dispute resolution alongside market leading industry expertise spanning a range of industry sectors – power, including renewables, oil and gas, water, mining and metals, transport, leisure, financial services and telecoms.

We offer an integrated team from across our Africa group network - providing clients with a dedicated team who are committed to providing a first class service and who have the requisite skills and experience to do so.

Our lawyers have an understanding of the foundations of local legal systems such as Roman Dutch law, French civil law and English common law and how this may impact on transactions, as well as extensive understanding of Organization for Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) requirements and their application.

We have multi-lingual language capability, including  English, Arabic, French, Spanish and Portuguese, and have practical knowledge and experience of selecting and working with local counsel across Africa, as well as experience of political risk mitigants (including use of bilateral investment treaties, insurance and agency support).

A long history of acting for all types of clients

Our dedicated Africa group has acted for all types of clients including corporates, investors, commercial lenders, export credit agencies, development agencies and governments. As a result, our lawyers are fully familiar with the underlying business issues, risks and local considerations to be taken into account. We provide our clients with the best "commercial advice" for a successful transaction.

The firm is also involved in a number of pro bono and community programmes in Africa including advising on legal reform, and the establishment of local charities.