Guozun Cathay Associates formally established its Nigeria Office in March 2023 as the core service hub for the African market within the Firm's global strategic footprint.
This document constitutes the official uniform fee schedule for 2026 published by the Nigeria Office of Guozun Cathay Associates. All quotations are exclusive of the prevailing 7.5% Value Added Tax ('VAT') in Nigeria. Settlement may be made freely in Nigerian Naira ('NGN'), Renminbi ('CNY') or United States Dollars ('USD'). The fee schedule is fully compliant with the Legal Profession Act of Nigeria and the professional fee rules of the Nigerian Bar Association ('NBA').
PART 1 — Compliance Basis for Fees and Core Billing Models
All fee-charging activities of the Firm strictly adhere to the 2024 revised Legal Profession Act of Nigeria and the Code of Practice for Legal Service Fees issued by the Nigerian Bar Association. Having regard to the operational practices of Chinese-funded enterprises in cross-border matters, the Firm has adopted five standardised billing models, fully aligned with Nigerian judicial regulatory requirements and international commercial legal service conventions:
1.1 Fixed Fee Arrangement
Applicable to standardised basic legal services where the workflow is routine and the workload can be precisely quantified. The total service fee is locked in upon execution of the retainer agreement. Save where the Client proactively varies the scope of services, no hidden charges shall apply. This model covers standardised matters including incorporation of Nigerian corporate entities, foreign investment admission filings, work visa application agency services and drafting of standard commercial documents.
1.2 Hourly Rate Arrangement
Applicable to non-standardised services such as major cross-border investment projects, complex dispute resolution cases and bespoke specialist compliance advisory services. Fees are calculated by reference to the actual chargeable hours of the solicitors. A detailed timesheet shall be issued to the Client on a monthly basis, rendering the entire service process verifiable and auditable.
1.3 Tiered Percentage Arrangement
Applicable to property-related legal services such as cross-border mergers and acquisitions, asset transactions and substantial commercial claims. Fees are charged on a tiered proportional basis by reference to the subject-matter value of the matter, consistent with prevailing industry practice for high-end commercial legal services in Nigeria.
1.4 Conditional Fee / Recovery Arrangement
Within the framework permitted by Nigerian legal professional rules, this model applies exclusively to debt recovery, commercial recovery and tort claim matters. Fees are charged only upon the Client's actual recovery of funds or the successful outcome of the case. The maximum fee ratio shall not exceed 30% of the amount actually recovered.
1.5 Annual Retainer Arrangement
Provides enterprises with year-round, full-scenario legal support services, with a fixed service fee charged annually.
PART 2 — Hourly Rate Standards by Solicitor Seniority and Additional Billing Rules
All solicitors of the Nigeria Office of Guozun Cathay Associates hold valid practising certificates issued by the Nigerian Bar Association. The core team is proficient in the application of laws across both the Chinese and Nigerian jurisdictions. Senior partners hold multi-jurisdictional practising qualifications across the Economic Community of West African States ('ECOWAS'), with deep expertise in core areas including China-Nigeria cross-border investment, infrastructure projects, energy and mining, and compliance regulation. A tiered pricing system is implemented by reference to solicitors' years of practice, professional seniority and industry specialisation.
The official baseline hourly rate range for 2026 is USD 180 to USD 580 per hour, covering all grades of fee earners, as detailed below:
Junior Practising Solicitor (less than 3 years' local Nigerian practising experience): applicable to standardised basic services such as routine document drafting, compliance filing agency services and evidence collation.
Specialist Solicitor (3 to 10 years' practising experience, with specialist qualifications in niche areas): applicable to specialist services such as routine litigation representation, specialist compliance review and contract bespoke drafting.
Senior Partner (over 10 years' China-Nigeria cross-border service experience, with multi-jurisdictional practising qualifications): applicable to high-end services such as major project coordination, complex case representation and top-level compliance framework design.
Cross-border Specialist, Beijing Headquarters: fees determined on a project-specific basis, applicable to major cross-border projects and difficult dispute matters requiring collaboration between the Chinese and Nigerian headquarters.
2.1 Additional Billing Rules
2.1.1 For out-of-state on-site attendance within Nigeria, a travel and fieldwork allowance of 15% to 30% shall be added. For attendance outside Nigeria (including other West African countries), a travel and fieldwork allowance of 25% to 50% shall be added.
2.1.2 For services activated on an expedited basis within 48 hours, or for attendance on statutory public holidays, a uniform expedited service surcharge of 50% shall apply.
2.1.3 For matters involving multi-jurisdictional collaboration across West Africa or cross-border multi-party coordination, an uplift of 20% shall apply.
2.1.4 For exclusive supporting services for bilingual (Chinese-Nigerian / Chinese-English) court hearings, an uplift of 15% shall apply.
2.1.5 For specialist matters in oil and gas energy, mineral development and large-scale infrastructure projects, an uplift of 10% to 25% shall apply.
PART 3 — Official Fee Breakdown for Core Practice Areas
3.1 Specialist Legal Services for China-Nigeria Cross-border Investment, Infrastructure, Energy and Mining
Fee Range: USD 1,200 to USD 80,000
3.1.1 Full-process agency services for the establishment by Chinese entities of wholly-owned subsidiaries, regional headquarters, representative offices and branches in Nigeria, including foreign investment admission compliance screening by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission ('NIPC') and full-process corporate registration and filing agency services.
3.1.2 Nigerian industry operating licences, compliance framework design for foreign shareholding, and full-process compliance services for the application and renewal of oil and gas exploration and production rights and mineral development rights.
3.1.3 Full-process legal services for infrastructure projects including highways, railways, ports, power and municipal engineering, comprising Public-Private Partnership ('PPP') / Build-Operate-Transfer ('BOT') project framework design, tendering compliance review and full-lifecycle management of project contracts.
3.1.4 Legal due diligence for two-way China-Nigeria investment, investment path planning, and implementation of Nigerian tax and investment incentive policy applications.
3.1.5 Full-process services for greenfield investment, equity / asset mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as specialist services for corporate equity restructuring, entity deregistration and liquidation.
3.1.6 Post-investment compliance management, design and implementation of investment exit mechanisms, with supporting government-enterprise liaison and policy compliance filing support.
3.2 Corporate Commercial and Routine Compliance & Risk Control Legal Services
Fee Range: USD 3,800 to USD 65,000
3.2.1 Optimisation of Nigerian local corporate governance structures, establishment of internal control and risk management systems, and bespoke drafting and compliance review of core documents including articles of association, shareholder agreements and procedural rules.
3.2.2 Construction of a full-dimensional compliance system and specialist audit in respect of competition law (antitrust), unfair competition, data protection, anti-corruption and anti-commercial bribery.
3.2.3 Full-cycle compliance risk screening for business operations, interpretation and early warning of regulatory policies, response to industry specialist inspections, replies to regulatory enquiries and administrative penalty relief services.
3.2.4 Corporate compliance in-house training, formulation of compliance contingency plans, and localisation implementation of dual-jurisdictional compliance standards as between China and Nigeria.
3.2.5 Annual corporate legal retainer services, providing year-round routine legal consultation and business compliance support.
3.3 Cross-border Trade and Customs, Foreign Exchange & Tax Compliance Legal Services
Fee Range: USD 5,000 to USD 75,000
3.3.1 Full-chain compliance review for China-Nigeria cross-border trade, bespoke drafting and risk control of international trade contracts, supply chain agreements and settlement security documents.
3.3.2 Specialist advisory on Nigerian customs compliance, import and export control and tariff planning, response to trade barriers and compliance handling, and agency services for compliance with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria ('SON') certification for import and export goods.
3.3.3 Advisory on full-category tax compliance in Nigeria, tax planning and tax return guidance, response to tax investigations, and agency services for administrative review and litigation in tax disputes.
3.3.4 Design of compliance schemes for Nigerian foreign exchange account opening, cross-border fund transfer and profit repatriation, foreign exchange control risk prevention, and specialist services for foreign exchange compliance in cross-border financing.
3.3.5 Full-process services for compliant operation of cross-border e-commerce platforms in Nigeria, including supporting legal services for merchant onboarding, product compliance and consumer protection.
3.4 Full-Chain Intellectual Property Protection and Brand Enforcement Legal Services
Fee Range: USD 280 to USD 30,000
3.4.1 Full-process agency services for registration applications, registration filings, renewal and alteration of intellectual property rights in Nigeria, including trade marks, patents, copyright, trade secrets and geographical indications.
3.4.2 Investigation of intellectual property infringement leads, cross-border evidence gathering, administrative complaints, judicial enforcement litigation and full-process agency services for brand anti-counterfeiting.
3.4.3 Compliance review and document drafting for intellectual property licensing and assignment transactions, cross-border intellectual property portfolio planning and risk prevention and control.
3.4.4 Specialist services for core technology protection and restrictive covenant compliance system construction for technology innovation enterprises and manufacturing enterprises.
3.5 Labour Employment and Expatriate Visa Supporting Legal Services
Fee Range: USD 300 to USD 22,000
3.5.1 Drafting and compliance review of bilingual (Chinese-Nigerian) contracts of employment, employee handbooks, confidentiality and restrictive covenant agreements adapted to Nigerian employment law.
3.5.2 Full-process compliance guidance on corporate recruitment, dismissal, remuneration and benefits, and social security contributions, with supporting support for trade union negotiation and collective bargaining.
3.5.3 Full-process agency services for the application, renewal and alteration of work visas, business visas, residence permits and dependant visas for expatriate employees of Chinese-funded enterprises.
3.5.4 Full-process agency services for labour dispute mediation, labour arbitration and litigation, annual corporate employment compliance health checks and response to Ministry of Labour inspections.
3.5.5 Compliance design of executive employment and share incentive schemes, and supporting employment compliance management for cross-border employee secondment.
3.6 Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Capital Operations Legal Services
Fee Range: USD 5,500 to USD 78,000
3.6.1 Full-process services for China-Nigeria cross-border equity mergers and acquisitions and asset acquisitions, including comprehensive legal due diligence on target companies.
3.6.2 Design of corporate investment and financing transaction structures, drafting of transaction documents, commercial negotiation support and full-process transaction completion management.
3.6.3 Compliance review of Nigerian corporate financing, capital increase and share expansion, asset restructuring and division, and full-process risk prevention and control of capital operations.
3.6.4 Specialist services for cross-border financing and financial compliance, and supporting legal services for corporate insolvency liquidation and restructuring, and distressed asset disposal.
3.6.5 Cross-border M&A regulatory filings, foreign exchange compliance liaison, and dual-jurisdictional transaction compliance collaboration services as between China and Nigeria.
3.7 Cross-border Dispute Resolution and Award Enforcement Legal Services
Fee Range: USD 1,500 to USD 480,000
3.7.1 Mediation of various civil and commercial disputes including commercial contracts, investment rights and interests, project arrears, equity disputes and creditor-debtor disputes, as well as design and implementation of settlement schemes.
3.7.2 Full-process agency services for litigation proceedings at all levels of Nigerian courts, and full-process agency services for domestic and international commercial arbitration cases.
3.7.3 Specialist services for cross-border recognition and enforcement of Chinese and Nigerian court judgments and arbitral awards, and full-process agency services for cross-border asset preservation (interim relief) and enforcement proceedings.
3.7.4 Full-process handling of specialist disputes including intellectual property infringement, labour disputes, tax disputes and administrative disputes.
3.7.5 Full-case agency services for cross-border debt recovery, arrears recovery and commercial tort claims, as well as cross-border criminal compliance review and supporting legal services.
Special Note: For major cross-border economic crimes, transnational financial violations and serious criminal matters, there is no fixed upper fee limit. The final quotation shall be bespoke, having regard to the complexity of the matter, the scale of cross-border collaboration, and the difficulty and cost of evidence gathering.
3.8 Personal Cross-border Planning and Family & Commercial Legal Services
Fee Range: USD 800 to USD 4,800
3.8.1 Full-process handling and compliance guidance for business visas, long-term residence visas, investment-based residence status and permanent residence applications.
3.8.2 Compliance review of real property purchase and lease transactions for foreign nationals in Nigeria, and full-process legal risk management of asset transactions.
3.8.3 Legal advisory and dispute resolution agency services for family disputes including cross-border marriage, inheritance and division of assets.
3.8.4 Advisory on personal cross-border asset allocation compliance, and legal risk screening and compliance advice for personal commercial conduct.
PART 4 — Core Factors Influencing Service Fee Pricing
4.1 Dual-jurisdictional Compliance and Cross-border Collaboration Complexity. For matters involving the application of Chinese and Nigerian laws, cross-border evidence gathering, multi-party collaboration across jurisdictions and multi-regional linkage across West Africa, fees shall be increased proportionally by reference to service difficulty.
4.2 Industry Specialisation Threshold and Sectoral Service Barriers. Fees for sectors with high professional barriers, including oil and gas energy, mineral development, large-scale infrastructure and financial regulation, shall be higher than those for basic civil and commercial legal services.
4.3 Matter Handling Difficulty and Local Implementation Cost. For matters such as major litigation and arbitration, difficult cross-border enforcement, cross-regional evidence gathering and specialist government-enterprise liaison, fees shall be dynamically adjusted by reference to actual workload and implementation difficulty.
4.4 Service Response Timeliness and Urgency. For expedited service activation and holiday attendance, an expedited service surcharge shall be strictly charged in accordance with official standards, with no scope for negotiation.
4.5 Service Procurement Model and Cooperation Period. Compared with single-service procurement, the overall service cost for annual legal retainer package procurement and long-term cooperation projects may be reduced by 15% to 25%.
4.6 Service Team Configuration and Resource Input. For projects handled jointly by experts from multiple fields, collaborative services between the Chinese and Nigerian headquarters, and projects followed up throughout by an exclusive bilingual team, fees shall be correspondingly adjusted by reference to team configuration.
4.7 Matter Performance Difficulty for Conditional Fee Matters. The fee ratio for conditional fee services shall be directly linked to the probability of success, difficulty of fund recovery, service cycle and enforcement jurisdictional risk.
PART 5 — Breakdown of Third-Party Disbursements
The following fees are independent of legal service fees and are directly charged by third-party institutions. They shall be reimbursed at actual cost in accordance with Nigerian official standards or actual expenditure. The Firm does not charge any agency premium, service fee or intermediary mark-up:
5.1 Official Government Fees. Including company registration fees, foreign investment admission filing fees, visa application fees, court litigation fees, arbitration fees, intellectual property official fees, industry operating licence application fees and mining right-related official fees.
5.2 Notarisation and Legalisation Fees. Including fees for Nigerian local notarisation, Hague Apostille and China-Nigeria consular legalisation, settled in accordance with official standards of the relevant institutions.
5.3 Professional Translation Fees. Including fees for legal document translation between Chinese and Nigerian / Chinese and English, and court simultaneous interpretation services, settled per document / per word in accordance with Nigerian translation industry standards.
5.4 Third-Party Professional Service Fees. Including fees charged by institutions such as forensic appraisal, industry expert consultation, third-party due diligence, geological exploration and assessment, audit and environmental assessment, settled at actual expenditure.
5.5 Travel and Fieldwork Expenses. Including transport, accommodation and fieldwork allowances incurred during matter handling, reimbursed against valid vouchers.
5.6 Financial-Related Fees. Including bank charges incurred from cross-border transfer and currency exchange, borne by the Client.
5.7 Other Third-Party Fees. Other compliance fees incurred during the service process not charged by the Firm, settled at actual entrusted expenditure.
PART 6 — Important Notice
The fee schedule set out in this document constitutes the official baseline reference price for the Nigeria Office of Guozun Cathay Associates for the 2026 financial year. It is published solely for the purpose of information disclosure in respect of China-Nigeria cross-border legal services and does not constitute any form of offer or commitment of legal services.