Lawyers in Philanthropy

Mr Dawda Jawara III is Deputy General Counsel of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation,  the world’s largest Philanthropy that focuses specifically on improving children’s lives.

Prior to CIFF, Dawda was a Partner at Altica Partners, an impact focused investment and advisory vehicle based in Dubai, and before that was Legal Director and Head of the Africa Practice of Clyde & Co LLP,  where he drove the firm’s expansion strategy into new African jurisdictions.

From 2012 to date, Dawda has completed various consultancies at the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) where he has overseen a deal portfolio exceeding US$ 3 billion, including transactions awarded African trade finance deal of the year and African project finance deal of the year respectively in 2016.

Dawda started his career as a banking and finance lawyer at Hogan Lovells LLP in the City of London, where he was an inaugural member of the firm’s Africa desk.

He is solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia. He holds an LLM from the University of Law in London  and a Ba in Law and Sociology from the University of Warwick.

Adinda Karperien is a Dutch qualified lawyer working at the intersection of corporate governance, cross-border transactions, and business and human rights. She began her career at Baker McKenzie advising multinational clients on M&A and financing matters, and now serves as Senior Legal Counsel and Company Secretary at Constanter, where she oversees legal affairs for Porticus and Laudes Foundation, philanthropic organisations active in over 90 countries. She is passionate about using law as a lever for systemic change and strengthening the integrity and impact of purpose-driven organisations

Meron Makonnen is the General Counsel of The ELMA Philanthropies Services (U.S.) Inc. (“ELMA”), a global philanthropy services organization with offices in New York City, Cape Town and Kampala that develops and sources grants and other social investment opportunities to relieve poverty, advance education, and promote health for African children.  She provides both legal and strategic advice on program and institutional development, including on human resources.  She also advises the board and staff on political and economic risk in countries in which ELMA is active.  She is the corporate secretary and board member of ELMA, The ELMA Music Foundation (U.S.) and The ELMA Foundation (U.S.).

Meron started her legal career as a Corporate Associate at the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (“Cravath”) where for five years she advised major financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies in connection with commercial lending transactions, securities matters and mergers and acquisitions.  After Cravath, Meron joined the International Monetary Fund’s Office of the General Counsel where she covered 21 countries, advising on sovereign debt and matters of international law and arranging and negotiating complex lending transactions.  Before ELMA, Meron was Assistant General Counsel at the Rainforest Alliance, an international environmental organization working to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods.

She serves on the board of trustees of Vital Strategies, an international public health organization that collaborates with governments and leading researchers to achieve sustainable progress in global health. She is also a member of the Dean Advisory Council for the Yale School of Nursing.  She has served on various boards including: the board of directors of African Services Committee, the board of trustees of Kingswood-Oxford School, the board of the Yale Alumni Association of New York and the Pro Bono Advisory Committee of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

Meron received her B.A. from Yale University, a Master’s in Public Administration from New York University and a Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School

Adam leads the philanthropy offering at Mills & Reeve, advising clients on structuring charitable donations which often involves creating new foundations. Adam also advises established charities on a wide range of governance and charity law issues.