Lozindaba Mbvundula
Associate
Lozindaba joined the firm as an Associate in 2018. She was appointed Director of Corporate Social Responsibility in July 2020 and later took on the additional mantle of Public Relations Director in January 2021. She is a versatile attorney, highly competent to handle all manner of instructions, including competition law, international trade and investment law, environmental law, general commercial law, product liability and consumer protection law, employment law, immigration law, public procurement, and general administrative law. She, however, takes special interest in competition law and international trade and investment law.
Lozindaba was awarded a Bachelor of Laws [Hons] in October 2018 and admitted to the bar in November 2018. She continues to pursue further professional development. In 2018, she was awarded a Certificate in Effective Legal Writing by the University of Cape Town. In 2019, she attended training in “Law for Economic Regulation and Competition”, offered by the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development [CCRED], University of Johannesburg. Further, in 2020, Lozindaba obtained a certificate in European Competition Law awarded by the University of Lund.
In March 2022, Lozindaba obtained her Master of Laws degree in International Trade Law from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She is currently studying with the University of London, pursuing a Master of Laws in Law and Development. Ms. Mbvundula is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Malawi Society’s Constitutional Law, Human Rights and Public Interest Litigation Committee. She is also an alumnus of Bridgewater State University- Centre for Global Engagement. Additionally, she is the President of the Women Lawyers Association of Malawi- Blantyre Chapter.
Lozindaba is an avid scholar. She has written Papers which she presented at Conferences. Her papers are titled “Revitalisation of the SADC Tribunal: A Tool for achievement of an Economically and Politically Integrated Africa”, and “Cartel Regulation in Developing Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Competition Regimes in Malawi and South Africa”. She has also contributed a Chapter on Energy Laws and Regulations 2022 Malawi in the book Global Legal Insights, Energy 2022, and a Chapter titled International Comparative Legal Guide to Lending & Secured Finance Malawi in The International Comparative Legal Guide to Lending & Secured Finance 2022.
Experience
Provision of Legal Opinion to an integrated logistics company working in over 130 countries on Compliance with Data Protection Laws in Malawi.
Provision of Legal Advice to an India-based Company seeking to acquire a parent company based in the United Kingdom with subsidiaries in Rwanda and Malawi on the requirements for notification of mergers to the Competition and Fair-Trading Commission.
Provision of Legal Advice to a tea company on a determination by the Competition and Fair-Trading Commission against the Company regarding alleged anti-competitive practices.
Provision of Legal Advice and Representation to Chibuku Products Limited on securing their interests against anti-competitive behavior by rivals who used tax evasion and trademark infringement to gain unfair competitive advantage.
Provision of Advisory and Representation services to Chibuku Products Limited in product liability claims.
Part of the team of acting for an International Finance Institution in Africa on a USD 10 000 000-00 export finance facility extended to a local agricultural enterprise and on a facilities restatement to a local tobacco export operation which is part of a multinational firm where local facilities are being increased from USD 80 000 000-00 to USD 100 000 000-00. The instructions involve conducting legal due diligence, reviewing and drafting security instruments, facilitating their registration and perfection, and reviewing English law governed instruments and advising on their validity and capacity of parties to enter into the contracts.
Team member acting as local Counsel conducting legal due diligence in USD 12.5 million carbon credits financing scheme by a foreign company to a local entity in the renewable and sustainable energy sector. This involved advising on the corporate standing of a local institution with a product from which carbon credits could be generated, advising on the verifiability and transferability of carbon credits under the gold standard™ and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), and advising on prepayment agreements for the future credits in this scheme where the international client would finance the local target’s activities in exchange for future carbon credits that the client will market.
Part of team acting as local counsel in a cross-currency swap transaction for USD 30,000,000 between the central bank of an African country that was going through a foreign exchange crisis, an international bank based in London and a local commercial bank. Instructions involved drafting the currency swap agreement in line with standard International Swap Dealers Association terms and providing for a local bank to act as an agent to hold and invest the local currency given by the Central Bank.
Representing insurance companies such as Liberty Health Insurance Company Ltd, Britam Insurance Company Limited and formerly General Alliance Company Ltd and Prime Insurance Company Ltd, in civil litigation.
Representing banks such as FDH Bank Limited and MyBucks Banking Corporation in civil litigation on debt collection and banking claims.
Part of team representing a pharmaceutical trading company in a civil claim contesting Malawi’s taxation authority’s classification of a medicinal lozenge that they imported as a sweet rather than a medicine.
Part of team representing client in a claim for unpaid agency fees in the sum of USD 905,598.19 incurred from a multinational company in securing a lucrative energy contract with the state electricity producer. This involved arguing against vacating an interim injunction obtained against the opposing party and preparing documentation for arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules.
Representation of a Korea-based company in recovery of the sum of $ 203, 412.50 sums of money owed to it by a local plastic producing and trading company.
Advising and Representing a multinational energy sector company with offices in various countries including China, South Africa, and Singapore in debt collection.