Abdulateef Afolabi

AFOLABI, ABDULATEEF OLUWAFEMI Versatile Legal Associate and Company Secretary with 5+ years of experience in U.S. and Nigerian law, specializing in litigation, asylum precedent-setting, and corporate advisory. Expert in navigating complex U.S. immigration benefits (VAWA, U-Visas, I-485s) and managing diverse litigation across New York State and Federal courts. Combining a deep background in financial crimes compliance and intellectual property with a tech-forward approach to remote case management, I am dedicated to providing high-level representation and strategic counsel within top-tier organizations. AREAS OF EXPERTISE: Legal Drafting | U.S. Immigrations Law | U.S. Federal Litigation | Compliance | Consulting | Trademarks | Copyrights | IP | Dispute Resolution | Financial Crimes |Tech Startup | Consumer Protection | Corporate Governance | Ops and Processes | Fraud & Risk Mitigation | Diligence EXPERIENCE:​ GEHI & ASSOCIATES PC. NY, USA,​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Legal Associate, Nov 2025 - date ●​ Managed a diverse litigation portfolio of 52 active cases within the first two months, collaborating with US-based counsel on matters in the New York State Supreme Court (Divorce/Tort), the Federal Court (Bankruptcy), and the New York Family Court. ●​ Established firm-wide legal precedent by drafting the first responsive motions to DHS "Motions to Pretermit" regarding Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACA) between the US and Uganda, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. ●​ Expertly prepared high-stakes USCIS filings for immigration benefits, including Family-Based Petitions (I-130), VAWA Petitions (I-360), Asylum (I-589), Adjustment of Status (I-485), Green Card Renewals (I-90), Employment Authorization (I-765), and Removal of Conditions (I-751), amongst others. ●​ Facilitated complex humanitarian and victim-based relief applications, including U-Visas and VAWA self-petitions, ensuring meticulous attention to evidentiary requirements and client confidentiality. ●​ Directed comprehensive case management for EOIR (Immigration Court) proceedings, including removal defense strategies, motions to reopen, and document preparation for master and individual calendar hearings. ●​ Authored persuasive Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) briefs and legal memoranda, leveraging in-depth research of country conditions and protected grounds to secure relief for clients in appellate stages. ●​ Led all client-facing operations in a remote capacity, conducting detailed interviews and factual development to identify eligible pathways for immigration benefits and litigation success. ●​ Optimized case lifecycles via the Immigration Speed CRM, maintaining real-time tracking of 50+ case milestones, automated filing deadlines, and centralized documentation for 100% compliance. ●​ Mastered a specialized remote tech stack including LexisNexis for legal research, Microsoft VDI for secure data access, and collaborative platforms like MS Teams, Slack, Asana, and Trello. ●​ Administered HR and financial compliance requirements through proficient use of Keka for personnel management and Multiplier for professional invoicing and salary processing. B.A LAW LLP, Abuja, Nigeria ​ ​ Associate, IP Practice and Dispute Resolution Team, Jul 2024 - Nov 2025 ●​ Established and now led the firm's pro bono initiatives in its Abuja station, overseeing legal projects that deliver significant community impact and enhance the firm's social responsibility profile. ●​ Shaped the firm's talent acquisition strategy as a core member of the recruitment committee, where I influence hiring decisions and recruitment culture, especially for young legal professionals and paralegals. ●​ Pioneered the firm's new intellectual property practice, leveraging my research and graduate studies to identify a new business opportunity and now play a focal role in its strategic development. ●​ Overseeing regulatory compliance and intellectual property for a portfolio of corporate clients, ensuring timely approvals and alignment with international standards to mitigate legal risk and enable sustainable business operations. Secured a landmark victory at the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, establishing a new legal principle on arbitration clauses and empowering the judiciary to intervene in complex contract disputes. ●​ Won a labor dispute appeal for an individual against a major federal agency, securing a 40 million naira award and a court order for reinstatement and promotion that ensured the client's long-term career progression. Secured a favorable ruling at the Court of Appeal, which reaffirmed key legal principles, held private and public entities jointly liable for rights violations, and awarded 15 million naira in damages to our client. ●​ Providing leadership and mentorship to legal externs, creating a structured training program that significantly improves experiential learning and professional development for young and new wigs. Trainee Associate,​ Mar 2023 - Jun 2024 ●​ Provided legal support in a multi-million-dollar financial restructuring for a major oil and gas importer by proving government-owed debts and drafting a settlement that enabled the Debt Management Office (DMO) to assume the client's liabilities to a commercial bank. ●​ Developed and executed a dispute resolution strategy for a state government to recover illegal deductions from the federation account, co-drafting all necessary legal processes to initiate action. ●​ Oversaw regulatory compliance and intellectual property for a portfolio of corporate clients, ensuring timely approvals and alignment with international standards to mitigate legal risk and enable sustainable business operations. ●​ Earned a promotion to full Associate based on a successful performance evaluation and commendation from the Board of Partners, demonstrating high-level contributions to the Intellectual Property and Dispute Resolution teams. ●​ Provided leadership and mentorship to 20 legal externs, creating a structured training program that included tutoring and task assessments, which significantly improved their experiential learning and professional development. ●​ Enhanced team capabilities and productivity by mentoring and training junior legal professionals in compliance standards, audit techniques, and legal advisory services. ●​ Improved organizational awareness and accountability by conducting workshops and seminars on key compliance topics. ●​ Streamlined case management and practice operations by assisting with key tasks like client depositions, document review, and trial preparation while also supporting the client onboarding and offboarding process. Desk 22 Group Remote, Nigeria ​ 2023 ​ Corporate Advisory & Company Secretary (Remote), Jun 2023 - Dec ●​ Drove governance and compliance improvements by advising the board on ethical best practices and managing regulatory filings, which enhanced corporate governance practices. ●​ Developed and implemented comprehensive compliance frameworks for Desk 22 Group and its subsidiaries, ensuring adherence to regulatory and internal standards across the organization. ●​ Streamlined operational efficiency by creating and implementing easy-to-understand Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for legal and operational compliance. ●​ Mitigated compliance risks by auditing and evaluating internal processes to identify compliance gaps, leading to the implementation of tailored solutions. ●​ Cultivated a culture of integrity by leading targeted training sessions on anti-fraud and anti-corruption policies, which increased awareness and fostered ethical conduct. ●​ Reduced future risk exposure by coordinating investigations into compliance breaches and employing root-cause analysis to implement effective preventive measures. ●​ Enhanced fraud detection capabilities by developing and enforcing new systems that significantly reduced exposure to financial and reputational risks. ●​ Boosted efficiency and improved outcomes by streamlining legal and compliance operations, resulting in a 20% reduction in processing times and a 39% improvement in audit outcomes. ●​ Achieved a 30% increase in team efficiency by implementing a centralized compliance tracking system, which improved workflow and task management Healthtracka (Techstars Toronto ‘22), Remote​ Growth and Community Associate (Contract), Oct 2021 - May 2022 ●​ Drove customer engagement and loyalty by creating and piloting email and WhatsApp community-building strategies, successfully achieving 70% implementation before exiting. ●​ Accelerated social media growth by increasing Instagram followers by 208% (650 to 2,000+), Twitter by 185% (350 to 1,000+), and LinkedIn by over 300% (200 to 800+), resulting from strategic content and enhanced customer relations. ●​ Boosted organic traffic and brand visibility by optimizing and ranking 8 blog posts on Google's top page for high-value keywords in Nigeria, generating an average of 500+ monthly reads. ●​ Led content strategy and execution across all social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn), collaborating with marketing and design teams to develop targeted content that achieved key marketing goals. Improved customer experience and issue resolution by directly managing all social media inquiries and complaints, acting as the primary liaison between customers and operations/engineering teams. ●​ Increased sales and customer retention by actively nurturing customers from initial interest to closing and onboarding, and driving significant sales on the test ordering platform. ●​ Enhanced SEO performance by regularly writing and optimizing blog articles to support content marketing goals and improve search engine ranking. OTHER EXPERIENCES & VOLUNTEER ●​ PR & Media Associate (Consultancy), Kwara State Social Investment Program Mar. 2021 till Sep. 2021 ●​ DUFIL (A Kellogg's and Tolaram Group Company), Indomie Campus Ambassador​ Sep. 2019 till July. 2021 ●​ Head, Event Marketing & PR, TEDx UNILORIN​ ​ ​ ​ Sep. 2019 till July 2021 ●​ Dugun.com, Copywriter​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Feb. 2021 till Mar. 2021 ​ ​ May. 2020 till Jan.2021 ​ ​ ●​ Ecom Capital (Formerly LADD Agency), Copywriter​ PROJECT EXPERIENCE Coalition of Advocates Against Violence ​ Co-Convener & Communications/Advocacy Lead Feb 2021 - Jun 2023 ●​ Orchestrated a comprehensive advocacy campaign that secured the adoption and domestication of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP), which is similar to the U.S. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in North Central Nigeria States, including Kwara and Kogi States, influencing legislative reforms impacting over 7 million residents and strengthening protections against violence and harmful cultural practices. ●​ Mobilized a coalition of 15 stakeholders across civil society, legal institutions, and government agencies to drive awareness, resulting in a 60% increase in stakeholder engagement and policy support for domestic violence legislation within one year. ●​ With laws like VAPP in Kwara and Kogi States coming into force with the aid of stakeholder-directed advocacy, reforms came into the jurisprudence of rape law, established the sexual offenders' registry, criminalized female genital mutilation, and created safer spaces for women and girls to thrive in the communities of these states. EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS: ●​ Nassarawa State University, Keffi​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Master of Laws (LL.M) Intellectual Property Law and Policy (in view) ●​ Nigeria Law School, Abuja Campus Barrister at Law (B.L)- J.D. Equivalent​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ●​ University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria Bachelor of Laws (LL. B) Common and Islamic Law ●​ National Youth Service Corp.​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Certificate of National Service​ ●​ YALi Regional Leadership Centre, West Africa, Accra, Ghana ​ ​ ​ Jun. 2024 - Date ​ ​ ​ Dec. 2021 - Nov. 2022 ​ Sep. 2015 – Aug. 2021 ​ Aug. 2023 - July 2024 ​ Aug. 2021 Fellow, Emerging Leaders Program​ MEMBERSHIPS AND ACCREDITATIONS Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Law Society (NLS), Data and Privacy Club, CybAfriqué (Data Privacy and Cybersecurity in Africa), Medbase Africa (Sustainable Healthcare Policies for Africa), Founders Friday (Abuja), Abuja Startup Community, Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALi), Corporate Affairs Commission (Accredited Agent), Nigeria Copyright Commission (Accredited Agent) SKILLS AND COURSES: ●​ Soft Skills: Excellent Communication and Presentation skills, Leadership and Team management skills, problem-solving and analytical thinking, Project Planning and Management, Strategic Planning, Stakeholder Management, Writing and Documentation, English Language Proficiency, SEO for Beginners, Comprehensive Digital Marketing, Leadership, Career Development, Writing, Creative Writing, Canva Mobile Designing for small businesses. ●​ Interests: Immigration Law, Litigation, Intellectual Property, Internet Safety, Data Protection and Privacy, Corporate Governance and Compliance, Dispute Resolution, ESG, Startup and Venture Capital, Innovation, Policy, Governance, Human Rights, Sustainability AWARDS AND LEADERSHIP ●​ Shortlist, Adamawa Youth Hack Crisis Challenge – North East Innovation Hub + British Council + European Union sponsored Hackathon ●​ Award of Excellence (Social Development category) – Leadership Roundtable Summit ●​ 100 Most Exceptional African Students – Campus Torch Magazine ●​ Shortlist, Prize for Writing (Poetry) – Zango Literary Review ●​ Meritorious Service Award – Law Students’ Society, University of Ilorin ●​ Deputy Speaker – Law Students’ Society, University of Ilorin ●​ Chair, Students Ethics and Privilges Committee – Law Students’ Society, University of Ilorin REFEREES:​ ​ Available on request