Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans

The founding partner of the firm, William Erskine Gill, commenced practice in 1912 and the firm became known as Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans in October 1931. We are one of the most well established and largest legal firms in Zimbabwe, serving major international and Zimbabwean corporate clients as well as a wide range of smaller businesses and individual.

At Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans we apply our vast experience to business needs providing results focused legal expertise. We pratice in over 12 diverse areas of law. GGG specialises in corporate and commercial matters with a highly skilled team of lawyers and associates.

We are one of the most well established and largest legal firms in Zimbabwe, serving major international and Zimbabwean corporate clients as well as a wide range of smaller businesses and individuals.

Managing Partners: Raymond Moyo and Naboth Matingo

Senior Partner: Peter Lloyd

Partners & Professional Assistants:

1. Peter Carnegie Lloyd
2. Susan Mary Brighton
3. Mordecai Pilate Mahlangu
4. Kay Ncube
5. Raymond Moyo
6. Simon Sadomba
7. Herbert Mutasa
8. Naboth Francis Matingo
9. Duduzile Ndawana
10. Constance Mabhande
11. Brian Mataruka
12. Faro Mahere
13. Dorothy Pasipanodya
14. Ruvimbo Zakeo
15. Gugulethu Ndlovu
16. Brian Ziwa
17. Anjalee Mead
18. Stephen Alumenda
19. Nathanael Manjoro
20. Lynn Phiri
21. Panashe Donzwambeva

Number of partners: 16

Number of other fee-earners:5

Our Offices:

15 Natal Road,

Corner East Road,

Belgravia,

Harare, Zimbabwe

VoIP: +263 8688 003 063

Tel: +263 242 707 023-7 / 707 224-9

[email protected]

MAIN PRACTICE AREAS

ARBITRATION

We offer advice, guidance and legal services in the following areas:

• Recommend wording of dispute resolution clauses in arbitration agreements
• Service as arbitrators in commercial and labour disputes in which we have no interest
• Are named in divers lists of arbitrators maintained by various arbitration structures in Zimbabwe
• Advise in relation to the law and procedures of arbitration, including enforcement of international awards in Zimbabwe

Our arbitration department is headed by Mordecai Mahlangu with Peter Lloyd, Kay Ncube and Simon Sadomba.

Commercial and Corporate Law

We offer advice, guidance and legal services in the following areas:

• Investment and exchange control issues generally, but with specific reference to foreign direct investment
• Legal due diligence work generally, and with reference to proposed acquisitions in particular
• Advice in relation to Zimbabwe’s indigenisation laws and policy
• Guidance in relation to the various legal regimes applicable to particular fields of business activity in Zimbabwe, with particular reference to mining, banking, insurance and manufacturing Zimbabwe’s competition law
• Mergers, acquisitions and restructurings
• Advice in relation to Zimbabwe’s environmental laws
• Compliance with Zimbabwe’s Companies Act and subsidiary legislation
• Compliance with the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Listing Requirements
• Drafting of all necessary commercial contracts

Our commercial and corporate department is headed by Peter Lloyd with Sue Brighton, Mordecai Mahlangu, Dudu Ndawana, Constance Mabhande and Brian Mataruka.

Conveyancing and Notarial Practice

We handle all aspects of conveyancing work, including:

• Registration and transfers of fixed property
• Registration of mortgage bonds over fixed property
• Registration of notarial bonds over moveable property
• Advice on tax matters involved in property transfers
• Advice on security registration generally
• All legal issues pertaining to fixed properties, such as usufructs, servitudes and related real rights
• Advice on share block schemes and sectional title schemes

Our conveyancing department is headed by Naboth Matingo, who has practised in this field for over 30 years.

Criminal Law

We handle criminal law issues which may be faced by our corporate clients.

Over the years we have built a vibrant team of lawyers who have amassed a wide range of experience in criminal law related work.

Our services include:

• General criminal law advice.
• Criminal law litigation.

Our criminal law department is headed by Herbert Mutasa with Brian Mataruka.

Energy and Mining Law

We have worked on the major energy projects in Zimbabwe both thermal and renewable. We provide:

• Advice in respect of the legislative and regulatory requirements relating to energy and mining projects including environmental and safety issues
• Advice in respect of Zimbabwe Investment Authority applications, Special Economic Zones and immigration requirements
• Drafting of transaction documentation
• Drafting or reviewing project finance agreements
• Investment issues particularly pertinent to the mining sector
• Advice relating to and registration of security

Our energy and mining department is headed by Sue Brighton with Raymond Moyo, Peter Lloyd, Dudu Ndawana and Brian Mataruka.

Estate Planning, Wills and Successions

We handle all aspects of:

• Estate planning with consideration to trusts, company structures, tax and estate duty
• Drafting of trusts
• Drafting of wills
• Winding up of estates.

Our Estate Planning, Wills and Deceased Estates department is headed by Sue Brighton with Peter Lloyd and Mordecai Mahlangu.

General Civil Litigation

We service all areas of civil dispute resolution that our corporate or private clients may need assistance with. We regularly appear in local courts as well as in arbitration tribunals. Peter Lloyd and Mordecai Mahlangu also act as party appointed arbitrators in a wide variety of commercial disputes.

We advise on:

• All manner of civil litigation arising from commercial transactions of every kind
• Debt collection work on behalf of commercial clients
• Applications for liquidation and judicial management, acting both on behalf of creditors and on behalf of the corporate entity itself
• Advice in relation to schemes of arrangement with creditors, drafting scheme documents, the necessary applications to court, and generally managing the process
• Settlement negotiations, mediations and other forms of alternative dispute resolution

Our General Civil Litigation department is headed by Raymond Moyo and this department is made up of twelve legal practitioners.

Insurance Law

We handle all aspects of insurance law including:

• Reviewing insurance contracts
• Provision of regulatory advice
• Advising on insurance claims
• Insurance related litigation
• Advising on insurance legislation

Our insurance law department is headed by Herbert Mutasa with Raymond Moyo, Mordecai Mahlangu and Dudu Ndawana.

Intellectual Property

Our department:

• Advises both local and international clients as to the general protection of intellectual property rights,
• collaborates with a variety of international IP practitioners in relation to the registration of IP rights regionally and internationally, and
• maintains a close relationship with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) whose office is in Harare.

Three of our Practitioners are active members of the ARIPO Working Group on the Improvement of the ARIPO Protocols.

In addition, our department also has active members of the Zimbabwe Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Agents (ZIPTA). A member of our department Dorothy Pasipanodya is presently serving as President of ZIPTA in the year 2020-2021

The Intellectual Property Department comprises of the following practice areas:

Trade Marks

We handle national, ARIPO and Madrid trade mark filings, prosecutions, oppositions, renewals and general maintenance. Included amongst our services are the following:

• registrability and availability searches
• national and Convention Trade Mark registrations
• ARIPO (Regional) Trade Mark registrations, in terms of the Banjul Protocol on Marks to which there are currently 11 signatories, namely: Botswana, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Sào Tome & Prìncipe, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique and Zimbabwe
• trade mark oppositions
• civil litigation in trade mark infringement, passing off and unlawful competition matters
• anti-counterfeiting litigation
• recordal of proprietary changes, including assignments
• amendment of trade marks
• the drafting and formal recordal of franchising, licence and registered user agreements
• renewals and restorations, and
• due diligence investigations.

Patents / Utility Models (Petty Patents)

We handle the filing, prosecution and maintenance of patents through the national office (ZIPO) and ARIPO. Utility models (petty patents) registrations are undertaken through the ARIPO route only. Currently there are 18 member States (including Rwanda) under ARIPO’s Harare Protocol for the protection of Patents and Designs, namely Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leon, Sào Tome & Prìncipe, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Copyright

Copyright is a growing area of concern in Zimbabwe. In respect of this practice area we offer the following services:

copyright law advice

civil and criminal litigation in respect of piracy, and

the drafting of licence agreements and assignment agreements

Designs

We offer the following services both locally in Zimbabwe and regionally in respect of designs:

• national and Convention Industrial Design applications, prosecutions and renewals, and
• ARIPO (Regional) Design and Utility Model applications, prosecutions and renewals.

Domain names

We undertake domain name registrations and maintenance, in liaison with the Zimbabwe Internet Provider’s Association (ZISPA). Our practice in this area is growing.

Plant Breeders’ Rights Registrations

These are procured through the Ministry of Agriculture. Our services offered include filings, prosecution and renewals.

Labour Law

• Advise on the labour law regime applicable in Zimbabwe in all its aspects, including minimum conditions of employment, unfair labour practices, the requirements for an employment contract, the applicability of collective bargaining agreements, codes of conduct, retrenchments and termination of employment
• Draft contracts of employment
• Manage retrenchment processes – both voluntary and compulsory
• Manage disciplinary proceedings
• Advise clients in relation to labour disputes
• Represent clients in labour arbitration or before the Labour Court and related appeals
• Draft confidentiality undertakings and agreements in restraint of trade.

Our labour department is headed by Simon Sadomba.

Business Rescue and Insolvency

We provide

• Advice on various business rescue alternatives and their implication
• Advice in respect of the Insolvency Act, the Companies Act and related legislation
• Advice in relation to securities in insolvency
• Drafting and prosecution of court applications relating to judicial management, liquidation and insolvency and the opposition of hostile applications
• Advice relating to the liabilities resulting from judicial management, liquidation and insolvency
• Advice relating to employment issues arising from judicial management, liquidation and insolvency
• Advice on Schemes of Arrangement. We have assisted a number of private and public companies in business rescue initiatives including creditor, shareholder and stakeholder schemes of arrangement

Our department is headed by Brian Mataruka with Sue Brighton, Mordecai Mahlangu. The partners in this Department have vast experience with company law related issues in the fields of business formation, rescue and dissolution.

Tax Advice and Litigation

We offer services in the following areas:

• Often working in conjunction with established accounting firms, we offer advice on a wide range of issues relating to income tax, various categories of withholding tax, and VAT
• We provide advice in relation to tax litigation generally, and in particular with respect to:
• Framing objections to tax assessments
• Filing appeals to the tax appeal courts in terms of the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act and Value Added Tax Act
• Prosecuting tax appeals up to the stage of hearing
• Arranging representation for clients at the hearing of tax appeals

Our tax advice and litigation department is headed by Peter Lloyd