Cabinet Hoegah & Etté

Managing Partner: Me Théodore Hoegah
Number of partners: 04
Number of lawyers: 07
Languages:English & French

Firm Overview:
Founded in July 1996 by Theodore Hoegah, a former Tax & Legal Counsel, and Michel Etté, Attorney-at-Law, Hoegah & Etté Law Firm (“the firm“) is one of the best business practitioners in Côte d’Ivoire.
Specialised in business law with areas of practice in corporate law, taxation, labour and social law including expatriates regulation, oil, gas and mining, energy, securities in financing transactions, foreign exchanges regulations etc., the firm is provided with a litigation division which processes an important volume of cases before state jurisdictions and arbitration courts. Hoegah & Etté Law Firm usually advises foreign investors headquartered in Australia, Canada, China, France, South-Africa, United-Kingdom, etc., finance organizations (banks and funds), leading local business groups, owned-state companies and public administration, on main legal and tax issues raised in the course of their investments, commercial and financial transactions.
The firm consists in qualified and experienced practitioners, lawyers, solicitors and tax advisors, which enables it to handle the most complex files with a maximum of security and guaranties of services provided. The firm combines multidisciplinary competence and expertise in advisory and litigation. This relevant multidisciplinary competence in litigation and advisory fields, provides clients with the confidence in the firm’s know-how. In addition, the team of the firm is qualified, reliable and is able to meet clients’ needs and expectations.

Main Areas of Practice:
■ Corporate law
■ Tax services & Customs
■ Mining, Oil and Gas
■ Securities
■ Litigations
■ Labor and Social Law
■ Arbitration
■ Banking and Finances

Corporate & Business Law:
The expertise of the firm in this field starts in providing sound advice on business environment in Côte d’Ivoire, most appropriate legal vehicle to drive businesses, incorporation of companies, company secretary support services, corporate governance, restructuring (i.e., mergers, de-mergers, capital increase…), securities in financing transactions, due diligences prior to acquisitions, issuance of legal opinions, dissolutions and winding-up. The firm’s diverse and cross-disciplinary expertise and approach along with its long-standing experience in this field are evidence of the quality and efficiency of its services, clients should rely on.

Tax Services & Customs:
With the deep-rooted experience of the firm’s managing partner as tax expert in international audit firms (Arthur Andersen, KPMG and PWC), associated with the relevant skills and experience of seniors counsels in taxation, the firm acquired the reputation of being the best specialist and is referred as the N°1 in terms of taxation in Côte d’Ivoire marketplace. To that extent, the firm services in taxation include tax advisory and compliance works. Advisory works involve tax opinion, tax optimization, tax advice in complex cross-border transactions, tax issues in mergers-acquisitions, capital increase transactions, advising in new tax legislations and their interferences in businesses. Compliance works cover assistance to clients with tax audits, tax controls and customs controls. The firm also assists or/and represents clients before the tax administration, customs administration or any other Côte d’Ivoire government agency.

Mining, Oil & Gas:
having the two-third multinational companies operating in the mining industry in Côte d’Ivoire in its portfolio, Hoegah & Etté Law Firm has built a strong and rewarding reputation in this field of natural resources. The firm’s assistance covers a broad range of supports in legal, taxation, foreign exchanges regulations and customs matters to subsidiaries of multinationals that are operating in Côte d’Ivoire and even across the West African sub-region. Moreover, the firm assists in negotiating and drafting mining investments convention and also in drafting Petroleum Production Sharing Contract (PCS). In addition, the firm advice clients in upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors. Besides, Hoegah & Etté Law Firm often conducts due diligences and issuing legal opinions prior to the acquisition of mining companies or prior to the financing of mining companies. Finally, the firm also offers training in mining and upstream petroleum as well as on the development of structuring investments in mining project.

Litigation:
Since its creation, the firm is representing clients before state jurisdictions and arbitration courts, as plaintiffs or defendants, in litigation proceedings both in civil & commercial matters (civil liability, collection of civil and commercial debts), as well as in real estate matters (leases, real estate sales etc.), or in enforcement proceedings (debts recovery, seizure of movable and immovable property, etc.). Besides, the firm represents clients in mining disputes (compensation of landowners, arbitration before the mining commission, expatriates regulations, etc…), in criminal matters (complaints with the constitution of a civil party, investigation and judgment) and in labor & social procedures.

Securities in Financing Transactions:
In order to provide value to companies and being involved in their development, their growth and being more competitive, Hoegah & Etté Law Firm supports clients in financing or refinancing transactions. In that respect, the expertise of the firm covers the reviewing of credit facility agreement (under English law) from a Côte d’Ivoire law perspective, drafting/reviewing securities documents, registration of securities with relevant authorities, issuing legal opinions on the same, due diligence of borrowers involved in financial transactions.

Legislative and Regulatory Monitoring:
The firm regularly carries out the review of legal, social and taxation news for the purpose of identifying changes in regulatory, legislative and case-law that may affect or impact clients’ businesses.

Key Clients:
■ ENDEAVOUR MINING
■ PERSEUS MINING
■ MITZUBISHI CORPORATION
■ STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
■ UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA
■ STANBIC BANK
■ COMPAGNIE HEVEICOLE DU CAVALLY
■ TRANSIT TRANSPORT SERVICES
■ BANQUE POPULAIRE
■ AERIA
■ COLINA INSURANCE COMPANY
■ MIPA (CFAO GROUP)
■  EUROFIND GROUP (SOTACI, EUROLAIT, SCCI, ACIERIES DE COTE D’IVOIRE, EUROFIND PARTICIPATION, etc…)

Contatcs:
Corporate Law
Theodore HOEGAH
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Aboudramane OUATTARA
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Dognime COULIBALY
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Evelyne M'BASSIDJE
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]

Tax Services & Customs
Theodore HOEGAH
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Aboudramane OUATTARA
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Dognime COULIBALY
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Evelyne M'BASSIDJE
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]

Mining, Oil and Gas
Theodore HOEGAH
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Aboudramane OUATTARA
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Dognime COULIBALY
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Evelyne M'BASSIDJE
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]

Securities, Banking & Finances
Theodore HOEGAH
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Aboudramane OUATTARA
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Dognime COULIBALY
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Evelyne M'BASSIDJE
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]

Litigations
Michel ETTE
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Aboudramane OUATTARA
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Theodore HOEGAH
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]

Labor and Social Law
Theodore HOEGAH
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Aboudramane OUATTARA
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Dognime COULIBALY
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Evelyne M'BASSIDJE
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Arbitration Aboudramane OUATTARA
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]
Theodore HOEGAH
Tel: + (225) 20 30 29 33
Email: [email protected]