A legal catalogue of the work we do for Yoruba-descended families, founders, and cultural institutions whose lives and assets span Lagos, London, Houston, and Brooklyn. Read the index; route yourself to the chapter that fits your matter.
Three chapters. Each led by named partners. Each accountable to the bar associations that govern the jurisdictions in which we hold admissions. Read the chapter that names your matter.
Probate, estate administration, and customary-law succession for Yoruba families coordinating inheritance between Nigeria, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Closed 612 cases since 2017 at an average cycle time of 11 weeks.
Sub-services — Letters of administration, Ìjọba Ilé succession opinions, cross-border grant resealing (UK), ancillary probate (TX, NY), chieftaincy estate counsel.
Read Chapter OneAncestry-visa strategy, OCI filings, cross-border real-estate purchase and dispute, and remittance-structuring counsel for Yoruba professionals in the UK, US, and West Africa. 96.4% success rate on OCI / UK ancestry visa appeals (2019–2024).
Sub-services — UK ancestry visas, OCI through ancestral Nigerian claims, Lagos and Ibadan property diligence, cross-border conveyancing, remittance compliance review.
Read Chapter TwoGovernance, intellectual property, and compliance counsel for nine of the fourteen Yoruba-affiliated cultural organizations in the US diaspora directory — including three chieftaincy councils and seven arts and education nonprofits.
Sub-services — 501(c)(3) governance, chieftaincy council bylaws, Adire and Àdìẹ̀ IP registration, cultural-property import/export, board fiduciary training.
Read Chapter ThreeSeven years of diaspora practice, measured by hours billed and cases closed — not by impressions, awards applied for, or markets entered.
Most diaspora succession matters are not single-jurisdiction problems. They are Ìjọba Ilé questions wearing English probate clothing, or quiet chieftaincy disputes dressed up as ancillary-grant technicalities. We draft for both — not as a courtesy, but as the core competency.
Letters of administration in NY and TX; resealing of UK grants in England & Wales; ancillary probate for Nigerian-domiciled estates. Sample — £3.4M estate, London will with Ibadan compound and Houston rental portfolio, resealed in England and ancillary-filed in Harris County, closed in 9 weeks.
Succession opinions under Yoruba customary law, written for filing alongside statutory probate in US and UK courts. Sample — chieftaincy estate of 18 beneficiaries across four states, customary opinion admitted as expert evidence in Surrogate's Court, Kings County, 2023.
Representation when one heir litigates in two forums. Sample — contested intestate succession, Lagos High Court and NY Surrogate's Court parallel proceedings, coordinated through single-counsel strategy, settled at mediation, 2022.
UK IHT, US estate tax (IRS Form 706), and Nigerian capital-gains exposure; coordination of filing calendars across HMRC, IRS, and FIRS. Sample — $11.2M cross-border estate, three-jurisdiction filing calendar, no penalties on first assessment.
For Yoruba professionals in the UK on ancestry visas, and US-side families handling OCI filings through Nigerian ancestral claims — we advise on the visa and the property purchase as one matter, not two.
A UK-resident Yoruba professional approached us after a prior attorney withdrew from an ancestry-visa renewal complicated by an evolving Nigerian property interest. We re-structured the application, filed OCI in parallel (so travel to Lagos would not jeopardize UK status), and ran coordinated due diligence on the Ibadan title. The visa was renewed without interview; the property was acquired clean. Time from intake to completion: 14 weeks.
Application, refusal-response, and renewal strategy. Maintained a 96.4% success rate on appeals, 2019–2024.
Foreign Citizenship / OCI filings anchored to documented Yoruba ancestral records and customary lineage evidence.
Title search, governor's consent, and acquisition structure for Lagos, Ibadan, and Abeokuta residential and small-commercial property.
Form 8938 and FBAR exposure mapping for diaspora property income; CBN-compliant inflow structuring.
Retained by nine of the fourteen Yoruba-affiliated cultural organizations in the US diaspora directory — including three chieftaincy councils. We draft the bylaws, register the IP, and train the boards.
501(c)(3) formation, restated bylaws, board fiduciary training, and conflict-of-interest frameworks adapted for chieftaincy councils and lineage associations.
Lead — Adetokunbo (governance); support — Ọlábísí (customary-law interaction points).
US trademark registration for Adire, Àdìẹ̀, and related textile marks; design-rights filings in the UK and EU; takedown counsel for infringements on commercial platforms.
Lead — Ọlábísí; support — Adetokunbo (US PTO prosecution).
Pre-clearance review under the Convention on Cultural Property and Nigerian NCAC requirements for touring exhibitions, loaned objects, and commissioned regalia.
Lead — Ọlábísí (Nigeria-side); support — Adetokunbo (US CBP filings).
IRS Form 990 review, state charitable-solicitation registration, and the periodic re-chartering work that Yoruba councils require when leadership rotates by customary process.
Lead — Adetokunbo; support — Ọlábísí (process documentation).
Engagements typically begin with a one-hour governance review at our standard consultation rate. Book a consultation or read more in the Journal.
A 30-minute paid consultation is the most efficient way to route your matter. The fee is $195, applied to engagement retainer if we accept the matter within 30 days.
