Our Senior Associates have a large amount of experience between them, and also manage their own teams of junior lawyers. This allows us to deliver highest quality advice in the most cost-effective way, making sure that they respond quickly to enquiries. They are involved in work ranging from drafting share purchase agreements, to reviewing documents drafted by lawyers on the other side of a transaction. Our senior associates also handle any immediate relevant legal research or technical questions. In addition, they handle both domestic property law and tax law questions. Both our senior associates are fully trained civil lawyers and familiar with the requirements of that system.
Rakoto Manantsoa
Manantsoa is a Malagasy-qualified, corporate lawyer with over 20 years experience of working in the mining, environmental and telecoms sectors in Madagascar. He has a double masters in private law/public law and political science from the University of Antananarivo and is a graduate in Droit et Technique des Affaires from the Institut Supérieur d'Etudes Judiciaires.
Manantsoa has an excellent understanding of all aspects of Malagasy law especially corporate and tax matters. He has been a member of the sub-committee of the Ministry of Justice in Antananarivo for over 10 years and has drafted several acts and codes in relation to corporate and commercial law in Madagascar. Manantsoa is fluent in French and Malagasy and has a good understanding of English.
Languages: French, Malagasy
Richard Glass
Richard is an English-law qualified corporate solicitor with experience of advising and providing professional counsel in relation to mergers and acquisitions, listings, security documentation and liquidity facilities both in London and in Jersey.
Having qualified as a solicitor in 2006 with the London office of Maclay Murray & Spens LLP, Richard remained in London before moving to Jersey in 2007 where he worked in the corporate department of Carey Olsen, the largest law firm in the Channel Islands, until December 2008.
Richard's career highlight so far has been in relation to Barclays Bank Plc’s acquisition of Lehman Brothers’ North American investment banking and capital market operations in September 2008 (transaction value £965m) where he advised Clifford Chance LLP.
Before joining John W Ffooks & Co in May 2010, Richard worked as a legal consultant for Karr Group, a Zanzibar-based investment company specialising in telecommunication, renewable energy, and property development opportunities in eastern and southern Africa.
As a dual English/French national Richard has lived, studied and worked both in England and France from an early age. He has also travelled extensively around eastern and southern Africa and speaks basic German, Afrikaans and Swahili.
Adrien Rangira
Adrien is a Rwandan qualified avocat and former member of the Rwandan Parliament. He is a graduate of the University of Ottawa in Canada (Bachelor in Public Law), of the CEDS in Paris (Masters in Diplomatic and Strategic Studies) and is currently finishing his doctorate in International Relations at the University of the Sorbonne in Paris.
Having run his own practice in Rwanda from 1993 to 1997, Adrien was a partner at Kazeneza & Partners in Kigali from 1997 to 2010. He joined John W Ffooks & Co in May 2010 and divides his time between Madagascar and Kigali.
Adrien has considerable experience in all aspects of commercial and business law across the Francophone world. Since joining the firm he has led teams issuing opinions on banking regulation and practice in five West African countries for a leading international bank. He has also led the research team for the Madagascar chapter of Sweet & Maxwell’s Aircraft Finance.
Prior to joining the firm, Adrien’s clients included investment funds with advice relating to capital market and loan practice; insurance and re-insurance companies; merchant banks in relation to international corporate law & merger and acquisitions practice and major industrials advising all aspects of their business including international trade law, international finance law, international investment protection law (including intellectual property issues), international sale of goods, franchising and product law, real estate and construction law.
Adrien also has experience advising on international arbitration practice and procedure and international corporate governance law.