who we are

The firm was founded with the objective of providing effective, efficient and creative legal services to meet the distinctive legal needs of clients, both corporate and individual clients. Our philosophy is to provide professional advice and representation that allows clients, policy makers and boards to achieve their goals while minimizing legal risk. To do this, we believe that we must focus at all times on the business objectives of our clients and work closely with them to develop and deliver legal solutions that will achieve their objectives. Our attorneys bring to the table knowledge and in-depth experience in each of the firm’s practice areas, and our smaller size enables us to carry out engagements in a responsive and, efficient manner. Our team of attorneys is diverse and we maintain a good balance between young energetic and vision oriented attorneys, with senior experienced counsel who maintain good reputation in the practice. The firm’s managing partner, Mr. Bonginkosi Wilfred Magagula, has approximately twenty years of practice experience under his belt. He has built and maintained a good reputation as one of the renowned corporate attorneys in the Kingdom of Swaziland, and has worked both as attorney and partner at one of the oldest law-firms in the country, Robinson Bertram Attorneys. He also served as a partner at Cloete-Henwood-Dlamini-Magagula Attorneys, between the years 2007 to 2009, before establishing Magagula Attorneys in around 2010.

 

WHY CHOOSE US

Our lawyers are pragmatic business professionals who never lose sight of our clients' business objectives. At a practice level, the firm has specialised units, each consisting of a number of practitioners who dedicate themselves to building their expertise in a specific area of law. Irrespective of how many business areas a transaction spans, work is done at the right level, by the person most qualified to give the client the best advice, resulting in fast turnaround times, and an extremely cost-effective offering.
The firm offers clients high quality know-how that covers the: legal, IP and tax systems that relate to each industry in the Kingdom of Swaziland and regional business investment, risk and economic profiles across the SADC region.

Areas of practice

• Commercial litigation
• Drafting of commercial agreements
• Company law, Competition law, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
• Tax Law- Tax Litigation, advisory, merger & acquisition Tax, Tax planning, VAT, Corporate Tax, International Tax
• Insurance law and Pension Law
• Aviation law, Air-space, Telecommunications law& media law
• Construction law& Environmental law
• Corporate finance, Banking law & Debt collection
• Intellectual Property Law: Trademarks, patents & Copyright law
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Tax

Magagula Attorneys’ tax Practice provides high quality legal advice to corporate and individual clients on the legal and regulatory aspects of tax law. We work in all areas of domestic commercial taxation and advise on transactions spanning a wide range of industries. We assist our clients in the planning and proposal process, with negotiations and implementation, and defend the transaction or arrangement should SRA (Swaziland Revenue Authority) audit, litigation, or controversy arise.We also advise clients on tax implications of cross-border financing, transfer pricing, thin capitalization, structuring of mergers & acquisitions, partnerships and joint ventures. We advise and offer opinions on the VAT consequences of agreements, transactions and the optimisation of VAT recovery.

Our areas of work include:

• Tax Planning
• Tax dispute resolution
• Tax litigation- Objections, Appeals and Review of commissioner’s assessment)
• Transfer pricing guidelines
• Tax policy matters
• Advising on tax implications for mergers & Acquisitions
• International tax (Double taxation agreements, taxability of multinational companies,
• Advisory on double tax agreements
• Tax exempt Finance
• Advance pricing arrangements
• Trusts • General tax advice • Value added tax and Customs & excise

Corporate law

Our approach to corporate law is fresh and creative enough to meet the complex and modern needs of the corporate world. Magagula Attorneys has an enviable reputation as a provider of quality legal services across the full spectrum of corporate law, including; company law, contract law, insurance law, insolvency, business rescue, financial & debt restructuring, international business transactions, trade and investment law. We assist clients in the planning phase of business establishments and agreements. In this regard, we advise clients about the various commercial& legal implications of transactions such as; profit sharing agreements, partnership agreements, joint ventures, lease agreements, loan transactions and equity investments.

Our areas of work include:


• Commercial litigation
• Appropriate dispute resolution and arbitration
• Negotiating& closing business deals
• Banking law
• Insurance law
• Pension & retirement law
• Advising on investment management agreements, sales and distribution arrangements.
• Insolvency law: Sequestrations, liquidations and winding up of companies.

Financial Services & Investment Management practice

Since the establishment of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), investment companies, insurance companies and other businesses trading in the financial services field have been facing various compliance issues. Therefore, at Magagula Attorneys we offer legal advice in relation to all financial services and investment management. In this regard, we advise clients on aspects of Swaziland Regulatory work as it pertains to financial services and investment management, including advising on banking law, providing specialist advice on structured products such as derivatives and equity investments in the Swaziland Stock Exchange (SSX). We also advise clients on the regulatory and legal framework governing the financial services field.
Magagula Attorneys Financial Services & Investments practice offers advice on the establishment of collective investment schemes (both formal &tinhlangano), hedge funds and other structured funds, drafting and negotiating investment management and advisory agreements, and advising on custodial arrangements on the local exchanges. We also provide advice on the regulatory environment affecting private equity funds.Our practice also has a particular competence in dealing with the central bank of Swaziland (the regulator responsible for regulating financial services, including approving the operation of foreign domiciled investment funds in Swaziland).

Our areas of work include:


• Legal advice of the establishment of collective investment schemes and other structured funds
• Legislation and regulations affecting investment funds in the Swaziland Stock Exchange (SSX), asset managers and investors
• Drafting and negotiating investment management agreements, investment advisory agreements and dealing agreements;
• Legal due diligence exercises in relation to investment management and investment funds.
• Drafting legal opinions on Swaziland’s regulatory regime as it relates to financial services and investment management.
• Tax Law in relation to investment funds, structuring of financial products and investors

Competition law

Our competition law practice covers a wide range of services to our corporate clients. These include, merger notifications, cartel investigations, competition litigation, exemptions and compliance and regulatory advice. We assist our clients to comply with the relevant competition legislation, i.e.; Competition Act __of 2011 as well as other regulatory policies put in place by the Swaziland Competition Commission.

Our areas of work include:

• Merger notification
• Mergers & acquisitions
• Advice on tax implications of mergers
• Competition litigation
• Exemptions and compliance
• Regulatory advice

Construction contracts and management

Magagula Attorneys advises on the spectrum of Swaziland and internationally developed standard form construction contracts as well as variety employer specific construction industry contracts and service contracts. Our construction contracts conform to the standards put in place by the Swaziland Construction Industry Council (CIC). At Magagula Attorneys we work closely with our strategic partners who are in the construction industry. These include consultants, quantity surveyors and auditors. Our association with these various partners enables us to efficiently safeguard interests of our clients during the drafting of construction contracts, by allowing industry specific expert to advise on the feasibility and practicality of each and every term or condition of the construction contract. In this way, we ensure that every contract that we draft not only makes legal sense, but also structural and financial sense. In this way unnecessary contractual disputes are averted from the outset.

Our services include:

• Drafting, negotiating and commercial interpretation of standard form construction contracts (FIDIC, GCC, JBCC and NEC 3)
• Managing claims for additional time and cost in connection to construction contracts.
• On-site contract administration, including claims, contract audits and advice. • Resolving construction related disputes.
• Identifying and advising clients on tender requirements, project risks and project appropriate contractual mechanisms to achieve best practice dispute management solutions.

International Airspace and aviation law

Magagula Attorneys Aviation and Telecommunications practice offers in depth knowledge of the aviation and telecommunications sectors. Having served in the board of the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA) for a period of 8 years, 5 of which as the chairman of the board; the firm’s managing partner possess industry specific expertise and experience. Our Managing partner also holds a Master’s degree in International Airspace and Telecommunications law from the University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa. Since Swaziland is a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the country is expected to comply with the international standards set by ICAO. Therefore, at Magagula Attorneys we offer legal advice on aspects of Swaziland Aviation Regulatory work as it pertains to the aviation aspects. We advise on ICAO International Civil Aviation Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), advice on policies in support of safe, efficient, secure, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible aviation sector.

Our aviation practice includes:

• Airline licenses
• Compliance ICAO standards
• Aviation regulatory & compliance framework
• Insurance Aspects of Aviation
• Aircraft financing and leasing transactions
• Aviation Safety , security and air navigation

Telecommunications law

The Telecommunications department also falls under the care of the capable Mr Magagula. It is important to note that our Mr. Magagula has served as the deputy chairman of the Board at the Swaziland Royal Science & Technology Park (RSTP), which harbours the country’s most significant innovation centre. To this end, our Mr. Magagula has an in-depth understanding of telecommunications law as a result of his direct involvement at the innovation park coupled with his master’s degree in telecommunications law. Telecommunications pertains the system of electronic communications and broadcasting the Kingdom of Swaziland. Telecommunications are transfer, emission, transmission or receiving of communications of signs, signals, written texts, images, sound, or communication of any kind through a conductor, radio waves, optic or other electromagnetic medium. Since the establishment of the Swaziland Communications Commission in 2013, regulation in the communications industry has increased significantly. Therefore at Magagula Attorneys we offer legal advice in relation to all compliance with the regulations put in place by the communications commission.

Our practice Include:

• Legal advice on licensing of systems and services in the communications industry (Telecommunications and broadcasting)
• Advising on approval and acceptance of communications equipment for use in the Kingdom.
• Legal advice on the competition (law) aspects of communication
• Offering legal advice on consumer protection in communications industry.

Intellectual Property Law

Our Intellectual property practice provides clients with a full range of legal services relating to acquisition and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Our intellectual property law practice covers copy rights, patents and trademarks. Copy right law protects the form of expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves. Economic rights from copy rights, allow the rights owner to derive financial reward from the use of his works by others; and that is what we seek to protect at Magagula Attorneys. We also provide services such as Trade-Mark registration, trade mark litigation (trade mark infringement & passing off). We advise clients about the suitability and strength of the mark, how to properly use your mark, potential legal refusals to register the mark and any other related issue. One of our leading clients in this field is DM KISCH, an international intellectual property firm.

Our services include:

• Trade Marks: registration, searches, amendments, filing , removal and cancellation, assessment for registrability
• Trade mark Litigation; trade mark infringement, passing off matters and unfair competition emanating trade-mark ownership.
• Copy Rights: registration, licenses, assignment, trade mark litigation (piracy- civil and criminal litigation)

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