Irfan Dinani

Consult and advise on business and legal services with expertise in various areas including real estate, corporate, employment, and transactional law. Liaise with clients over phone, email, and in person. Negotiate contracts and customize services to bespoke needs. Build professional relationships. Legal and HR compliance. Support clients such as Amazon Delivery Service Partner and international PPE broker/reseller. Serve as primary point of contact with owners for all legal and compliance issues. Supervised responses for compliance audit, ensuring timelines maintained and issues satisfactorily resolved. Drafted various human resources related templates to comply with DSP’s contractual obligations to Amazon Logistics.

Assisted and counseled domestic and international clients with diverse projects relating to competition, corporate, commercial, employment, energy, minerals law, procurement law, real estate, regulatory, transactional, and transportation matters in Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, and North America. Oversaw client communications and retention, firm marketing, and networking; as Finance Partner, administered and reviewed all firm tax and finance matters. Managed 30+ cases/clients concurrently, observing timelines and scheduling to ensure all instructions, procedures and regulations were met. Represented clients at regional and national levels in agency investigations, commercial disputes, injunctive relief, real estate litigation, employment claims, and human resource actions. Advised clients on regulatory compliance. Liaised with clients over phone, email, and in-person. Counseled clients on the legal ramifications of corporate policies and procedures. Mediated disputes before pursuing legal action. Conducted risk analysis and mitigation. Drafted and filed company formation documents and maintained company law compliance. Prepared and edited lease templates, negotiated terms, and finalized leases and contracts; drafted leases for diverse uses, including retail units, apartments, and cell phone towers. Negotiated license agreements. Drafted business separations, joint venture agreements, MOAs, MOUs, NDAs, non-competition agreements, product supply/distribution agreements, and settlement agreements. Counseled shareholders and prepared shareholders’ agreements, share sales agreements, and share transfers. Effectively utilized paralegals and support staff; reviewed work product and provide constructive feedback. Responded to inquiries from national and regional agencies such as Fair Competition Commission, Fair Competition Tribunal, and Tanzania Revenue Authority. Researched and assessed case law. Drafted and reviewed domestic and international contracts, employment policies and agreements, corporate procedures, mortgages, guarantees, cross-border security sharing agreements, and legal filings, including motions, pleadings, memoranda, opinions, and briefs. Filed documents with local, regional and national court systems.
• Successfully represented Government of Tanzania’s interests in regulatory dispute against international telecommunications provider before the Fair Competition Commission resulting in post-judgment settlement enabling GOT to increase equity to 49%, achieve $409MM debt cancellation and secure $26MM payout.
• Retainer counsel from inception, construction to completion, and operation of $25MM commercial real estate project - negotiated, reviewed and amended construction agreements, drafted leases and unit sales contracts, protected client’s legal/business interests resulting in significant cost savings.
• Served as Tanzanian counsel for multi-jurisdictional tax restructuring and related sale of Pan African oil marketing company stake to Omani investor, including submissions to and procuring expedited approval of competition regulator; successfully facilitated sale and netted client $30MM+.
• Successfully appealed ex parte injunction, prevented takeover by receivers, and represented defendants in multi-million dollar shareholders’ derivative suit, saving client $50MM in payouts/loss of business.
• Clients included casinos; domain host; financial institutions; foreign investors; government agencies; high net worth individuals and private entities; insurance companies; logistics providers; mining concerns; NGOs; Pan African oil marketing companies; plastic manufacturers; real estate development companies; and retail-wholesale fuel dealers.

Consulted and advised domestic and international clients in in Tanzania, UAE, Canada, and USA on business and legal services with expertise in various areas including real estate, corporate, employment, and transactional law. Liaised with clients over phone, email, and in person. Negotiated contracts and customized services to bespoke needs, including litigation consulting. Built professional relationships. Drafted acquisitions, correspondence, indemnity agreements, lease agreements, legal notices, MOAs, MOUs, sales of shares. Facilitated international joint ventures between companies and investors. Represented on matters before quasi-judicial government authorities including Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority, Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, and the Fair Competition Tribunal.
• Negotiated multi-million dollar long-term hospitality and commercial building lease from initial offer to closing; improved client position by $10MM through minimizing rent increases and securing concessions from landlord including expanding rented premises without change in consideration.
• Represented Dubai based property developer on joint venture agreement with UK based investor; drafted MOUs and MOAs for various off-plan acquisitions, assignments and sales; Drafted acquisition of structure and sale of shares for Sharjah labor camp; drafted legal notices, indemnity agreements and various compliance-related correspondence. Aggregate deal values exceeded $500MM.
• Clients included US logistics and surveillance systems companies; Swiss-funded NGO; Dubai-based conglomerate involved in real estate development and management; US-headquartered development consulting company focusing on emerging economies; Tanzanian subsidiary of Kenya-based oil marketing company; various local businesses of varying sizes including printers, water drilling and related-project consultancies, hospitality services providers, and real estate developers.

Substantive responsibilities included counseling wide-ranging clientele from diverse business and industry segments with respect to corporate, commercial, transactional, banking, company law and real estate matters.
Sample projects included negotiating, drafting and finalizing: commercial and residential leases and dispositions of property; joint venture agreements; incorporation of companies; equipment leases; equipment sales/service, share transfer, franchise, merger and acquisition agreements; securities and mortgages; legal opinions and memoranda.
In connection with multi-million dollar loan syndication agreement for an Export Credit Guarantee Scheme-approved development project: drafted security sharing agreement and loan syndication agreement; revised Bank of Tanzania guarantee; represented interests of the lead bank in negotiations with borrower and its affiliates.

In connection with violations of securities law: conducted document review and legal research; analyzed and evaluated complex financial records and offering materials; drafted orders to show cause, exhibits, cease and desist orders, subpoenas, motions, legal memoranda, pleadings and settlement agreements; conducted sworn statements under oath; cooperated with local, state, federal and international regulatory agencies.
Responsible for multiple matters at different phases ranging from investigations to hearings.
Formulated strategy concerning, conducted settlement negotiations.
Researched and prepared memoranda on federal and state securities laws and regulations.
Managed, analyzed, and evaluated complex financial records and offering materials, prepared legal memoranda in connection with intricate multi-million dollar fraud case.
Researched and revised database of case law annotations to 1972 Pennsylvania Securities Act.