A US-educated transactional lawyer with experience working for an African development financial institution…
A US-trained transactional lawyer with experience in an African development finance institution left a high-profile Africa-focused law firm to join Akerman’s New York office.
Ackerman has hired Ricardo Bernard As a partner in its New York corporate practice, the firm announced last week on February 5th.
Bernard joined from a renowned international company with a focus on Africa Asafo & Co where he spent three years as a partner, splitting his time between Nairobi and the Washington, DC office of the firm he co-founded.
A seasoned professional in Africa-related transactions, he has acted on a variety of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity and venture capital financings and mandates, and has advised companies at all stages of development, including early stage businesses. He has advised on matters relating to the industrial, sports franchising, financial services and infrastructure industries.
Bernard’s work highlights include acting Unicorn Growth Capital as a lead investor in a fintech start-up based in Kenya Cherpi‘s Series A funding round, and for BNP Paribas on its $200 million facility for Fortuna Silver Mines.
Prior to joining Asafo & Co, Bernard had a brief stint as a sole legal practitioner, having spent a year prior to that as a legal officer at the Abidjan-based development finance institution African Development Bank where he advises on private equity and secured and sovereign debt. His early career included stints in Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Greenberg Traurig.
says Bernard ALB that the African continent will continue to be the focus of his practice: “I will leverage the experience and contacts I have made over the past decade doing work related to Africa to support larger US clients looking to invest in Africa while supporting the my African clients who are looking to invest in the US in their fundraising efforts.”
Last month Asafo & Co hired a pair of international arbitration partners from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Paris, while last October he was acting for an investment bank The Valoris Groupits subsidiary Valoris Capitalto Morocco’s inaugural investment fund dedicated exclusively to the energy transition.
In May last year, its immediate past general manager Competition Authority of Kenya they joined Bowmans in Nairobi.