Bernice Ofunre Asein, Esq. is a Nigerian fashion lawyer, institution-builder and policy advocate working at the intersection of fashion, law and business. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Fashion Law Institute Africa (FLIAfrica), the first institution on the continent dedicated to fashion law. Through FLIAfrica, she has built a platform focused on fashion-law education, research, access to justice and policy, including its Fashion Legal Clinic, which has supported more than 200 fashion businesses and creatives.
Bernice is also the Managing Partner of Cardinal Counsel, a Lagos-based law firm advising fashion brands, creative businesses, startups and other growing enterprises. Her legal practice spans intellectual property, commercial contracts and licensing, business structuring, regulatory compliance, market entry and expansion, and dispute resolution.
As a Founding Board Member and Legal Counsel to the Nigerian Fashion Council, she contributes to the development of professional standards and policy frameworks for Nigeria’s fashion, textiles, leather and accessories sector. Her work increasingly focuses on the legal and institutional infrastructure required for African fashion businesses to formalise, scale and compete globally.