Who is Who in Africa's Most Powerful Law Firms

Publisher’s Note

Hello and welcome to this October edition of Business Elites Africa! In this issue, “Who is Who in Africa’s Most Powerful Law Firms,” we take a quick dive into the lives, industry genius and entrepreneurial journeys of Africa’s most influential legal minds and advocates.

At Business Elites Africa, we believe that part of what makes a great and prosperous nation is the legal framework, the study and propagation of its legal philosophies, systems and perspectives. Our team believes that the class and quality of legal minds as custodians of a nation’s legal jurisprudence is a good measure of the life and health of its economy, and social and geopolitical fabric, among others.

The legal profession in the continent of Africa has evolved tremendously. From the years of colonial domination, to the postindependence years when the likes of Sir Adeyemo Alakija, Akintola Williams; Hauwa Ibrahim and their contemporaries across Africa, showed the world that Africa was a force to reckon with, not only in sports and wars, but also in building and managing complex legal structures, promoting the rule of law, as well as disseminating specialised legal knowledge and skill sets, exceptional advocacy and arbitrations prowess in the core practice of common law and international law.

The 21st century economy brought with it endless military interventions, unprecedented interruptions in the rule of Law, and in many

cases, outright brutal suspensions of legal precedence across the continent. Unlike their counterparts in developed societies, African lawyers operate in a generally flawed atmosphere of economic backwardness, political instability and grossly underdeveloped legal systems. There is also the lack of Judiciary independence, low financial reward and, a general sense of dishonesty in the citizenry; poor rule of law, among many issues that make the legal profession less attractive to the young generation in Africa.

The mid-80s to late 90’s brought in the likes of the Justices Oputa, Bello; Ajanah and Nnamani on the Nigerian front, and fiery lawyers like Gani Fawemi, Hon. Justice Bello, Chief Ben Nwabueze, Femi Falana and a host of others, who made bold and concerted efforts to bring renewed trust and sustainable growth back into the legal profession, not only in Nigeria but also in the rest of Africa. Africa’s legal minds have never been deterred from taking the fight to the most brutal forces. Many have built enormous wealth and international traction beyond all imagination.

In this edition, we showcase top lawyers in Africa who have defied all odds and broken every ceiling to not only show that the legal profession can be a force to reckon with, not only in nation-building, but also in the overall quest for personal wealth and industry prominence. Their experiences, personal drives and wealth, as well as their legal perspectives and philosophies, build a new army and shape the way the legal profession develops in Africa.

Happy reading!

ETHELBERT NWANEGBO

Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief ethelbert.n@glimpse33.com

Disclaimer: The information on this magazine is for information purposes only. Business Elites Africa Magazine assumes no liability or responsibility for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All information can be withdrawn or changed without notice. Whilst every care has been taken in producing the information on this magazine, this does not guarantee the accuracy of the information. Business Elites Africa is not responsible for any opinion, expressed by its authors. Materials contained on this magazine are subject to copyright and other proprietary rights. No material on this magazine can be reproduced, adapted, distributed or stored in a retrievable system or transmission without a prior written consent from Business Elites Africa Magazine. © 2022 Business Elites Africa Magazine. All rights reserved.

Isioma Idigbe: Nigeria’s Media and Entertainment Law Evangelist 41

The Story of Muhammad Dele Belgore SAN, a Successful Commercial Lawyer Cum Politician 42

Elizabeth Idigbe’s Path to Dominance in Nigeria’s Energy & Property Law Space 43

Chief Afe Babalola: Celebrating the Life of a Legal Luminary 46

Shamila Batohi: A Trailblazing Prosecutor in the Fight Against Crime in South Africa 47

Meet Marietta Brew AppiahOppong, the Second Woman to be Ghana’s Attorney General and Minister for Justice 54

Ayotunde Owoigbe: The Authority on Mergers and Acquisition 55

Femi Falana: Human Rights Activist and Justice Campaigner Extraordinaire 58

Oghogho Akpata: One of Nigeria’s Leading Oil & Gas Lawyers 66

Aleem Tharani: An Advocate Driving Tangible Outcomes in Kenya’s Energy Sector 26

Beverly Agbakoba-Onyejianya: A Lawyer with Many Hats 28

Ibiyemi Ajiboye is a Rising Star in Corporate Law 31

How Raymond Zondo Forged his Path to the Highest Judicial Position in South Africa 36

The Making of Udoma Udo Udoma, the Man who Founded One of Nigeria’s Oldest Law Firms 37

Wole Olanipekun: One of Africa’s Most Demanded Lawyers 38

How Olaniwun Ajayi Built One of Africa’s Biggest Law Firms 40

NIGERIA : 5, Ogusiji Street, off Allen Avenue,Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria Tel: +234909 943 0429 +234916 473 4106

USA: 6620 Southpoint Drive S. Suite 511, Jacksonville, FL 32216 Tel: +904-240-7044

SOUTH AFRICA: 73 Booysens Road Conner Withycombe Street Johannesburg 2091, South Africa. Micheal

Olisa Agbakoba SAN: How He Built a Formidable Public Profile 8

‘Failure is the Fuel You Need to Succeed’ - Prolific Finance Lawyer, Onyinye Okafor 12

How Olumide Aju SAN Became a Firebrand Litigator 14

Meet Dr Ingy Badawy, a Highly Reputable Egyptian Lawyer 17

How Dr. Chukwuechefu Ukattah’s Failure Made Him 18

“My Father Forced me to Study Law” 22

By Dimeji Akinloye

Olisa Agbakoba SAN: How He Built a Formidable Public Profile

Had Olisa Agbakoba’s father not plotted with a late Nigerian Army general to trick him into studying Law at the University, he would have ended up as either a soldier or a footballer, which would not have been a terrible idea on the surface. But, it would seem his immeasurable contribution to nation-building and a just society may not have found expression through the military or sports.

Olisa Agbakoba is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association and a prolific maritime lawyer. He’s the founding Partner Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL).

He was one of the pro-democracy activists who fiercely contested the resilient military misrule until Nigeria transitioned to civilian leadership. Ironically, Agbakoba says the military dispensation was better off than the current state of Nigeria. In this interview, he shares his intriguing journey of courage,

determination and grit with the Business Elites Africa team.

You were a prominent footballer in secondary school with the moniker ‘Abana.’ One would think you’d naturally pursue a football career instead of Law. What’s the backstory?

I was interested in football. That was when the school sports system worked. I was quite good and even got a scholarship to

Government College Ughelli, Delta State, to play football. I was actually going to play for Nigeria. I was shortlisted, but that was the year the University Expo started. I had to leave in August of that year, and by the time I returned, the train had moved. The Academicals had left for the first Sports National Festival. I have always wondered what it would have been – the likes of Kenneth Ilodigwe, Thompson Usiyan, and others were my mates; we were in the same team. That was how my football dream disappeared.

legal aid, and Abdul Oroh, a journalist at the Guardian. It was all of that energy that came together.

This was the same team you went with to the Obasanjo farm settlement at Ita-Oko. Tell us that story.

Before we went to Ita-Oko, I founded the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in 1987. Wole Soyinka was our patron. He got a petition from the wife of a gentleman who was detained in Ita-Oko, which was at the back of the Atlantic Ocean, full of crocodiles and all kinds of reptiles.

polluted the waters. You don’t quite know where to engage.

The cost of living was cheaper during military rule. There was better electricity; diesel was cheaper, and food was cheaper. There were jobs, and people never complained as they complain today, with the pounds sterling almost hitting N1000 and the dollar rising. Under late Gen. Sani Abacha, it was N80 to a dollar.

Where did Nigeria get it wrong?

I am not sure actually. I was a Biafran soldier, and I think at the end of the war, I had more interest in enlisting in the Nigerian Army. I used my father’s connection to get the late Gen. Abdulsallah to put me in the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna. I didn’t know there was a plot between them to abort my ambition to join the army. He said why don’t you just read Law while waiting. I didn’t know these people were deceiving me. So, I went to study Law. But I don’t have any conscious recollection of my dad pressuring me to read Law.

Shortly after you became a lawyer, you started anti-government advocacy against the military leadership at the time. Why were you so committed to that?

That was not precisely the case. The truth was that I was interested in prisoners, and that was because, during the war, I was detained by the Biafran state security service. I was detained in an ordinary prison called Ntueke in Imo state. I came very close to the condition and challenges of being in prison. So when I became a lawyer, I accidentally ran into prison issues.

There was a guy called Joseph Odogwu, who had been in prison for about nine years, and it came to my attention. That was how the idea of a human rights organisation was formed. So the advocacy movement started as a prison rights organisation from my link with Biafra and my association with Clement Nwankwo, who was working in

Olusegun Obasanjo discovered the island when he was the military head of state. He was flying in the air one day and said this was a good place to relocate all the beggars of Lagos because the queen was visiting. So he built a massive fortress in that location, but the queen did not come eventually. The place was later converted into a detention camp by a subsequent administration. The wicked military government began to detain people there. There is no coming back for anyone taken there. So, this lady petitioned Wole Soyinka that her husband had been detained on the island.

Atlantic ocean. Wole Soyinka then called me and said, ‘look, I have this petition, and since I am your patron, can you assist me?’ In the cause of assistance, we discovered the island. It was a massive discovery and big news in the media. It led to the closure of the prison, and it gave us the satisfaction that we were doing something right.

You also had a run-in with the Sani Abacha government, and you were detained. As someone involved in the fight for democracy, would you say Nigeria be better off?

I don’t think so. If you ask the average person, he doesn’t care whether it’s a military or democratic government. What he cares about is food and better living condition. Contradictorily, life was easier in the 90s than today, and it was also more predictable to confront the government of the day because it was the people versus the army. Today, it’s not quite the case. Politicians have

Leadership. The book by Chinua Achebe, ‘The Trouble with Nigeria,’ covers it all. It’s one of the most brilliant books ever written. The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely failure and absence of leadership. Once you don’t have a leader in anything you do, either a business organisation, a football team, a region or whatever, it’s a problem. A leader is crucial. If you have a problem with leadership, clearly, it will affect the process.

What we see in Nigeria today is low-grade civil war - there is violence everywhere, and Nigeria is the second most dangerous country in the world.

Speaking of leadership, the 2023 election is around the corner. Out of the three major presidential candidates vying for the top office, whom do you think has the potential to deliver a new Nigeria?

I won’t answer it that way because Nigeria is a prebendal country where the regular rules don’t apply. The best man may win or may not. You need to look at how to break down the establishment structures because they are powerful. I’m not sure that parties are relevant to this, it’s a political class that is relevant, and the political class will like to hold on to power.

There is going to be a massive control of votes, and it doesn’t mean buying them. It simply means canvassing votes and targeting them. Even in America, part of why Obama won was because of the large canvas network, which means money. Money is an important tool in this political process. What I’m not sure of is whether there is sufficient momentum to pull down the establishment.

So, was your decision to become a lawyer your father’s influence, being a lawyer himself?

Peter Obi seems to be the candidate that has massive public appeal. Do you think he’s a viable third force?

The third force always has its moments. I have no idea whether 2023 is the moment because you first have to whittle down the establishment’s power. So, is it possible in the next 6 – 8 months? That’s a milliondollar question, and that’s the big issue. Nigerians are fed up. They just want change, but the last time they were told about change, they got it, but I’m not sure they have seen the result of that change. So they are going to be a bit sceptical. And what I see playing out would be a war to protect the establishment. Whether the third force movement is enough to pull it down is what we don’t know.

People like you were at the forefront of nation-building agitations and struggles in your youth. You even led a five-million-man match. Do you think the youths of today have that kind of drive, or social media has taken all that away?

Yes, social media has taken all that away. There is a street toughness you had to have then. Though I respect social media, the problem is whether the social media

movement can translate to an on-ground movement.

That’s why I said the establishment. The establishment is on the ground. They understand Nigeria. They know Nigeria has about 120,000 polling stations. They know that these stations need to be manned by about 6000 people, that’s about 1 million people. They know this guy has to be paid between N5000 and N20,000 on election day, and these people are going to pull in about an average of 20 people who have been given bread, plantain, sardine, and everything. You are looking at a massive financial outlay.

So, does this social media movement have that kind of organisation? Can the social media movement say, ‘we have our troops on the ground in Apapa and other places?’

Or are they hanging in the air? That’s the challenge. I can tell you the establishment people are not in the air. They are absolutely on the ground. They know everything. They know how to take care of the voters. Who are the voters? They are the guys who are disposed and hungry, so they are malleable.

You can buy them. They are not interested in ideas. They are only interested in the person that can give them something on the spot.

If you tell them, ‘look, if you vote for me, in

four years, good things will happen,’ they will say no. That’s the big challenge that I see.

Let’s come back to you. What would you say were the factors that helped you build a reputable legal practice?

You have got to be resilient, tough, and determined. And you have to believe in a process and set yourself goals because many people don’t set goals.

There is a certain precise measure that you can take – a path of excellence – where you go from just being a lawyer to becoming an expert, then a master, and then an authority. When you get there, you begin to get accolades. It’s not an easy job. It takes about 20 years to become a master, but you have to keep at it; therefore, you will find out your life is routinised.

You can’t become a master by going to nightclubs. You have to sacrifice a lot, and it becomes sort of a boring life because you are always at work. In fact, I’m now finding it a lot easier. You will see that you can rest a bit when you get to the top. But not when you’re still climbing. You be climbing, with a log of wood over your head and say let me stop and have a beer; you might topple over. You keep going until you get to your destination. That’s the trick.

What lessons have you taken from your journey as a pro-democracy advocate, lawyer, and entrepreneur?

To have a process. Have a dashboard of rules and regulations – processes and procedures - and remove distractions because if your life is full of distractions, you are going nowhere.

I have followed my rules relentlessly. I come punctually to work and generally leave as the last person. I’m slowing down now because of old age. Once you create those rules, you don’t have a problem.

If you look at all successful entrepreneurs, they put in a lot of hard work, but that hard work becomes so internalised that they are now used to it. So when I put in the hard work, it’s not as if I’m putting in any hard work. I’m just doing what I think I should do.

By Dimeji Akinloye

‘Failure is the Fuel You Need to Succeed’

- Prolific Finance Lawyer, Onyinye Okafor

Onyinye shares her story with Business Elites Africa in this interview, and at the centre of it is God and hard work. She believes that the pathway to success in life is anchored on a phrase; ‘pray hard and work hard.’

backstory.

First and foremost, I owe all my achievements to God. One of my favourite mottos is a quote by one of the greatest saints of all time, St. Augustine, and says, “pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on you.” This quote has always been my guiding principle in life.

Law firm of O.C.J. Okocha in Portharcourt. Getting to work at the firm did not just fall on my lap. I worked hard to secure that placement. When I decided I wanted to work in O.C.J. Okocha’s firm, I visited him and discussed that possibility with him. He agreed and said, provided I could get the officials of the N.Y.S.C. to post me to his chambers. I prayed hard for things to go as I desired. Then, I was posted to the ministry of justice, Portharcourt, for my primary assignment, but luckily, they rejected me. That was how it was easy for me to request the N.Y.S.C. officials to post me to O.C.J. Okocha’s Chambers.

After my N.Y.S.C., I heard that Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (UUBO), my current Law firm, was recruiting, so I applied. After applying for the opening, I studied and prayed hard. Fortunately, I was one of the successful candidates.

Onyinye Okafor’s dream was to become an Accountant like her father, but she changed her mind after reading about Jennifer Parker, a successful fictional lawyer in Sidney Sheldon’s 1980 bestseller, Rage of Angels. However, her first exposure to legal practice was in litigation, which she detested. She knew she had to find another path.

She tried other practice areas and settled with Finance Law, which turned her into a rockstar in Nigeria’s legal circle. Today, she’s a Partner at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, and advices international banks including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Bank among others.

I went to a special science school, and at that time, I didn’t even want to be a lawyer. However, after I graduated from secondary school, I decided to read Law due to one or two factors. Once I made up my mind, I had to stay back an extra year to enable me to take the subject that I will require to study Law at the University. I sat for the University entrance examination conducted by the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB). I passed and studied Law at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra state, Nigeria.

Coming from a science background and with siblings that had studied Law, I thought having good grades in Law was only for brilliant people, but my brother (now deceased) encouraged me to work hard. I studied hard and went on to make very good grades at University and the Nigerian Law school.

I proceeded to do my compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corp (N.Y.S.C.) at the

Becoming an Associate at UUBO exposed me to many transactions and helped me to hone and refine my skills as a lawyer. As a hard worker, rising through the ranks was just a matter of time, and I progressed steadily until I became a Partner at the firm.

It’s funny. There was this novel I read when I left secondary school, Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon, and it was the story of a successful lawyer in the storyline that I was endeared to. After reading the novel, I just realised that becoming a lawyer is what I’m called to do. Even before I read it, my dad wanted me to be a lawyer, but I didn’t like it. As a daddy’s girl, I wanted to become a chartered accountant like him. I just wanted to follow in his footstep. Being an Accountant was my dream job at the beginning until I read this book, which refocused me, and I knew I had to be a lawyer and someone that would help people through their challenges and difficulties.

You’re an accomplished lawyer in a male-dominated space. Tell us your

You mentioned you didn’t want to study Law; what changed your mind?

No, not really. Finance Law actually choose me. What happened was that when I started working at UUBO, we were exposed to different transactions. We have various practice areas we get to work in, including Energy, Finance, and so on. I believe that my skills and strength pushed me toward Finance. I think my supervisors at the time felt Finance was my strength. And while it chose me, I went on a dance with Finance, and I fell in love with it, which also prompted me to do my Master’s in Finance Law.

I was young and single and ready to be the best, but when I got married, of course, I had to try to balance the two. Because I always try to achieve what I set out to achieve, quitting was not an option.

What was the most challenging case you have worked on?

Every day is a challenge when you are a lawyer. Some matters come to you, and you just have to put on your work shoe and go to work. I’m in one currently, and it has been very challenging because it’s a first. When you try to do transactions that are first in the market, it can be very tough because there is no precedence for you to look at to guide you. So you have to try and do the required research and all of that.

There are many great female lawyers and many great female business and career people. All you see in all of these people is that they put in a lot of hard work and were able to attain success, so that is what it is for me. Work hard, don’t look at the gender just put in the work and then pray. I assure you that success will come.

You said you had two children while working a case. These are the kind of issues that career women have to deal with. How do you balance work and family duties?

Yes. As a lawyer, challenges come with the job. I mentioned I did my N.Y.S.C. in Portharcourt, but I didn’t say it was a pure litigation Law firm. When I started my working there, I realised early enough that I didn’t want to be a litigator. The reason was because of the protracted process involved, which sort of discouraged young lawyers. Specifically, if you go to court as a young lawyer, it doesn’t matter whether you are the first to get to the court; your case will be pushed to the last. You will have to wait for all your seniors to call their matter, and the judge will hear them.

Sometimes, you will find that you will leave the court that day without even the judge hearing your matter, and then you have to pick another date. So it wasn’t encouraging at all for me. I realised at the time that this was not what I wanted. So I flung my Jennifer Packer inspiration out of the window. I just knew I didn’t want to be a litigator, but I wasn’t also sure what I wanted to be at the time. I toiled with Energy Law and IT Law, but I didn’t explore any of these.

When I started working at UUBO, the long hours were phenomenal. You have to put in the hard work. You work round the clock, and sometimes you work really late. You have to sort of weigh this and ask yourself certain questions, whether it was worth it. Initially, it wasn’t a problem for me because

There was this transaction I worked on right after my Master’s program. It was a very complex transaction. We didn’t know whether the transaction would ever close because it was just difficult. I can’t give specific details because of confidentiality, but I can tell you that I had two children during this transaction. That tells you how long it took for us to complete the transaction. But at the end of the day, we won with hard work and tenacity.

So challenges will always come; it’s just part of life. It is not about whether there are challenges; it’s about what you need to do to conquer those challenges. For me, if you are focused, put in the work, do what needs to be done and pray hard, then that challenge will surely come to an end, and I tell you, it is always well at the end.

Striking a balance is always a constant challenge. I can tell you that it will be easier if you have a supportive partner. My husband is amazing and has supported me throughout my career. Without my husband, I’m not sure I would be where I am today.

When I had to come late, he was always at the home front taking care of the kids. You need a supportive husband and you also need a supportive domestic staff. You also have to learn to work well with people. Working well with your supervisor, peers, and subordinates is also good. I will always say you should pray because God also finds a way to your heart and then channels you towards the right path.

Have you failed at anything, and how did you handle it?

No. And what I will suggest to people is to always not focus on gender issues. I never compared the number of successful female lawyers to successful male lawyers. I don’t do that. I know what I want is to be a lawyer, and I want to be a good lawyer. I work hard to be a good lawyer. I think focusing so much on gender can also bring laziness. I’m not downplaying gender inequality in society, but I think that shouldn’t be the focus.

Failure is a constant in life. I think failure is the fuel you need to get you to where you need to be. It gives you grit, strength and tenacity. When you look around, you see that most of the very successful entrepreneurs and people have failed at something. And it was that failure that made them what they have become. I wouldn’t say I have never failed, I have failed one or two times but it’s not about focusing on the failure. There is a reason why you failed. You need to sit down, look at why you failed, and keep your emotions aside. If it means talking to the people you work with or outside your work area, do that. Be humble ask questions and analyse the problems. That is what I do. I can even talk to people who have been through the same issue before, so I get suggestions and recommendations from them.

Did your dream of becoming an Accountant influence your decision to settle for Finance Law?

Were there experiences along your journey that made you doubt yourself and your decision to become a lawyer?

Did you feel discriminated against as a woman in a male-dominated industry?

By

How Olumide Aju SAN Became a Firebrand Litigator

Olumide Aju (SAN) is a Nigerian thoroughbred litigator and a Partner at F.O. Akinrele & Co. He has an impressive track record as a trial and appellate lawyer. Aju says his career success is a direct result of the kind of training he had at the University of Lagos by sound legal tutors, who espoused the highest standards, something he admits is missing in today’s educational system.

In this interview with Business Elites Africa, he talks about his courtroom stories and how he started handling cases alongside heavyweight lawyers until he became a master litigator.

Most lawyers I’ve spoken to were influenced to study Law by their parents. Was that your experience too?

Interestingly, my parents had different views. My mom wanted me to be a doctor,

and my dad preferred that I should be a lawyer, but he didn’t express it. I was given the option to decide what I wanted to do. First and foremost, my grades in the art were actually much better than in the sciences. I had distinctions in Literature, Government, and other subjects. So, it just made sense that I would end up doing three advanced-level subjects in the arts in my A-levels. So, when I finished A-levels, it was either I studied Law or nothing else. Then after the program, I gained admission into the University of Lagos.

In the course of your studying Law, did you have any reason to think you shouldn’t have chosen Law?

Not at all. Now things have changed. The University of Lagos was the best place to be then. All our professor teachers wrote Law books. Professors taught me in each of my subjects. The faculty was probably the best place you could be. Everything about it was like you’ve made the right choice to read Law.

How did your Law career start?

When I finished Law school, the best place to work, in terms of good income, was in the oil & gas sector or banking sector. They paid almost ten times better than you could earn as a young lawyer. But the training I had at the University already prepared me for a litigation and advocacy career. So those options were not just attractive. I remember I got a job to serve in the bank, but I turned it down. I could easily have applied to the legal department of an oil company; I would get it. But I’ve been trained by exceptional lawyers. We read many judgments and could anticipate being in court and appearing before judges like Kayode Esho (late Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria). Even before then, the names that we heard were those that you just want to be close to based on their work. So, there was no other option than to start to practice.

Turning down a lucrative job offer for something that’s not

financially rewarding, at least in the short run, must be difficult. What gave you that conviction that it was the right move?

There was also a subtle radical aspect of me wanting to help the less privileged. I was involved in student unionism on campus to a large extent. This part of me was inspired by some of the books I read in A-levels and my exposure to firebrand lawyers like Gani Fawehinmi. They defined what Law practice should be, and as a young man with many ideas, you just feel compelled to add your own positive contribution to society, and Law provided that platform for me to do it.

What was your most challenging case?

Interestingly, every case presents an opportunity for me to be my best. No matter how simple the issues are, no matter how small the claim could be, no matter how uninteresting some other people may think the case is, when I take a file, I believe that it is the chance for me to market myself in terms of what I know or what I can do.

Therefore, I would read, write my brief differently and do my pleadings differently. So, by the time I am done with the case, I’m satisfied that I have put in my best. I’m not quite sure that I’ve found any case particularly challenging as such. I could tell you that, without boasting, I’ve got an outstanding record, as per the success rate in the court cases I’ve handled. So I won’t use the word ‘challenge’. It’s always been an exciting thing to do.

What was your breakout case? The case that first put you out there?

It depends on the audience that you are looking at. Moreso, at the trial court, a long time ago, long before I became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, I had the rare privilege of appearing before Senior Advocates who were already practising at the inner bar. I knew I was meeting the heavyweights, so I’d always prepare well. So when you talk about breakout cases, I had been noticed by these older lawyers long before now, by just doing my everyday, ordinary work

and all that. But if you say breakout to the larger public, you have to look at the Law reports, and then you go to the appellate courts to see some of the appeals that I’ve had to argue and that I won. There are quite a number of them.

There was one interesting case that went all the way from the High Court in England to the House of Lords. It was a major dispute case that was said, at that time, to be the biggest case in English history. There was an aspect of the case that had to be litigated in Nigeria for enforcement process. I was involved in the case with one of the top lawyers around, Professor Konyin Ajayi and Dr. Wale Olawoyin (SAN). I was very happy to be part of that case. Many other interesting cases like that have provided a platform for me to grow and present myself to the larger public.

I know it’s almost impossible to win all your cases. How do you feel when you lose?

Let me tell you something about me, I don’t like going for judgments. Even when I am sure I’ve put in my best and have almost 90 or 80% confidence that I’ll win the case, I just don’t like going for judgments. The reason is that the judge can get it wrong. You can think you’ve won the case, and the judge deems otherwise. There can be distortions in the system.

If I get an unfavourable decision, I will obviously not be happy with it. But again, it provides me with an opportunity to launch an appeal. It’s even better for me if I lose a case because the judge has been induced to rule against me. In that case, the judge will surely make mistakes in the judgment. So, I would patiently study the judgment and note all those loopholes. My best moments are when I do notice of appeal. After filing that notice, I’m relieved and excited because I know I’m going through a process that will reverse that error.

What would you say were the factors that contributed to your career success?

I’ve been very lucky. When I joined the

profession, I had many people I could watch from afar and emulate for the right reasons - their work ethics, devotion to the Law, and attitudes. They were not even people that were working with me. They were just people I could sit down in court and watch and you just want to be like them. Some of these people are still relevant today. They defined the standard for me.

When you practice during that generation, you’ll find a lot of outstanding barristers, even judges that you are excited to work with. So those were the key people that actually gave me the motivation to be the best. That’s why I said I’ve been fortunate.

At some point, I used to have a boss whose mother was the chief judge of Lagos State. We dared not walk near her court to prosecute a case. That was the ethics that were taught, because we were technically interested parties in her court. It was wrong for you to even go into a judge’s chambers. You do the work in the court, and you walk out.

Now you find lawyers freely associating with judges. That was not the training or the tradition of the profession in the past. I had the best of everything as a young lawyer, which has defined some of the other things I’m doing now.

Career-wise, did you feel more important or fulfilled when you became a SAN in 2019?

Firstly, the journey was tough. It was a testament to courage and resilience because I applied a couple of times. That process tests something about your resilience.

I’ll give you an example. One of the requirements is that you must have handled several cases personally. But the challenge there is that I can travel from Lagos to maybe Ibadan or Akure to pursue an appeal, and you get there, but the judge doesn’t show up. You may have to go back there over and over again.

I used to have a case in Gombe. There were no flights to Gombe. We had to get to Abuja and travel almost six hours by road. Sometimes we’d get there, the judge would not be available, or the opposite side would

refuse to show up. And you have to meet those criteria for your SAN qualification process.

I wasn’t really interested in the rank because it’s a title or some form of a dignified elevation. I just thought that it would assist the kind of work that I am doing. It’s a privileged rank with its benefits, no doubt about that. So, when I was

the fact that you’re doing very well and you know what you’re doing. So it’s an accomplishment.

How do you deal with failure?

I think in everything, there’s a lesson to be learnt. So, when you say failure, I don’t think so much about failure. I ask myself “what am I supposed to learn from this experience? What am I supposed to do differently? It may be difficult, but there’s a lesson to be learnt from that experience. I eventually realise the message I need to learn; I’m grateful for it at the end of the day.

What’s your advice for young lawyers?

I will say this is the time for you to train yourself very well. Look for role models and mentors in the profession. If you have that opportunity, approach them and let them mentor you. If they don’t have the time, watch them from afar and see what they’re doing.

Don’t get carried away based on the fact that you can make quick money or you can get rich quickly. It’s a journey.

Let me tell you, things are bad at present, but it’s not going to be like this for a long time. Somehow, we will fix the problem, but at that time, the people who will be ready and available to be in different positions, whether as senior advocates or judges or top solicitors, are people who are ready and prepared.

conferred, yes, it felt fulfilling, but it’s also a new experience because the searchlight is on you. There is a lot of scrutiny about the way you do things, your carriage, and all that. Moreover, you just start a new level of Law practice all over, and I must admit, it comes with its own reward and pecks.

I feel fulfilled because if you compare the number of lawyers available; the ones with the SAN title are few. It’s a recognition of

If you’re doing something wrong, people know you. It’s a small industry. We know the lawyers are involved in shady practices and the good ones. You’ll be shocked that I’ve got referrals from judges who say go and approach him to help you with this case.

So, I’ll tell young lawyers to be patient; it’s a beautiful profession because of the opportunities that it gives you to interact with different sectors of the economy. But make sure you learn, make sure you train and make sure you have a good role model and mentor.

Meet Dr Ingy Badawy, a Highly Reputable Egyptian Lawyer

Dr Ingy Badawy kept her job at Shalakany Law Office till she became a co-founder and soon, Head of the practice group of the most distinguished law firm in Egypt. Her practice area in law also made her exceptional when it comes to transactions concerning shareholders, subscription management and escrow agreements, including merger and restructuring agreements.

Badawy also handles cross-border transactions and confidential equity funding transactions in a variety of industries including health care, banking and finance, energy and education, among others. Since her entry into the firm, she has successfully presided over the growth of Zulficar and Partners, making it one of Egypt’s most renowned law firms.

Other Miscellaneous Honourable Mentions

Since Ingy Badawy’s debut in law, she has been recognised for her expertise and quality of service. She is the founding partner of Zulficar and Partners law firm, the Head of Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions Department. She has also made her way into the firm’s Arbitration Department and has been a reputable member of the Egyptian Bar Association.

With specialty in Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, Badawy has practised law for more than twenty years with outstanding records in acquisitions and joint ventures and especially drafting and negotiating important contracts in Mergers and Acquisitions.

The Story Behind the Success

Badawy was born in 1972 in Cairo, Egypt.

As a vibrant kid that knew what she wanted, she opted to study Law at Cairo University in 1992. Soon, she started working at Shalakany Law Office, Egypt and by 1993, Badawy was admitted to the bar. Afterwards, she proceeded to get her first Master’s degree in 1994 from the Institute of International Business Law (Institut De Droits des Affaires Internationales), Cairo University in collaboration with the Sorbonne. By 1996, she bagged her second Master’s degree in Litigation and Arbitration from PantheonAssas University.

Dr Badawy still didn’t stop at that, she went ahead to get her Ph. D in International Arbitration, from the University of Paris I Sorbonne in 1998. Her vast legal learning and training instantly distinguish her among her colleagues, clients and prominent legal directories as a top-tier leading lawyer, problem solver and deal engineer.

Along with successfully representing a long list of top-notch clientele and garnering praise for her extensive knowledge of mergers and joint ventures, Badawy has experienced success in several other facets of life and professional enterprise. She is the Lead Counsel and Egyptian Partner serving on behalf of Coca Cola HBC and Coca Cola HBC Holdings BV in the purchase of roughly 94.7% of Coca Cola Bottling Company of Egypt S.A.E. from its key shareholders, for a combined purchase price of USD 427 million, subject to revisions.

In that same capacity, she also served as an Egyptian legal counsel to Bahrain’s Arab Banking Corporation and EFG Hermes and the Sovereign Funds of Egypt.

Indy Badawy has received numerous accolades worldwide, including being named the leading lawyer in the IFLR 1000 in 2015, one of the Zulficar Partners’ recommended lawyers in the LEGAL 500 and also ranked in the Global Chamber and Partners award in 2016/2019. In addition to that, she is a proficient speaker of Arabic, English and French.

How Dr. Chukwuechefu Ukattah’s Failure Made Him

Two destiny encounters in secondary school changed Chukwuechefu Ukattah’s academic trajectory. He moved from the bottom to dusting every examination and outshining the brightest of his peers until he hit a roadblock down the line. This experience made him question his ace track record and shattered his confidence.

Dr. Chukwuechefu Ukattah is an experienced maritime lawyer and currently a Partner at Olaniwun Ajayi LP, Nigeria’s leading and largest law firm. He shares his fascinating backstory with Business Elites Africa in this interview.

Did you choose this Law path, or your parents made the choice for you?

Technically, I was indirectly influenced to be a lawyer. My father was the last chief judge of the old Imo State and the pioneer chief judge of Abia state. So, growing up in an environment like that and seeing him wearing his ceremonial dress and going to court, you kind of get used to the legal profession and want to be like your father. In the family of six, five of us are lawyers. That’s why I said he indirectly influenced me. But he never for once said we must be lawyers. He always gave us the chance to choose whatever we wanted to become in life. I think I decided that I’d become a lawyer in primary four, and here I’m today.

Beyond your father’s influence, what spurred the decision at primary 4?

I think it was more about using the Law to change society. Growing up, I read a couple of my father’s judgments, and the conversations I had with him made me understand that as a lawyer, and ultimately if you become a jurist, it’s all about making an impact in society.

You are trying to change the life of the common man. You should see from that prism that you are trying to make a positive impact in society that would speak for your generation.

It was always about impacting society and changing people’s lives. He told me always to remember the common man and that if there is anything you can do to make their lives better, you should always try to do those things. So growing up, that was the philosophy, and I still have that philosophy today. Beyond trying to be a successful lawyer and make money, the Law is meant to be used as a tool to change your society and the life of your fellow man.

Where did your career journey begin?

I was called to the Nigerian bar in 2004. So the journey began in 2005 while I was in Sokoto State. I didn’t want to practice. I had left the University as the best graduating student in my class at Abia State University. I told myself to find a job at one of the International Oil Companies or the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (N.N.P.C.). But that year, I had the privilege of working in the chambers of a wonderful man, A. Y. Abubakar, at the Law firm of Al-Mustapha & Co. in Sokoto State.

A.Y Abubakar treated me like a brother and exposed me to the practice of Law. There was a time he wasn’t even going to court anymore. I was the one he would send to court in different states - like Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi states. That spurred my interest in legal practice. Although my father was a chief judge, it was really A. Y Abubakar that spurred my interest in Law.

When I left him, I returned to my state in 2006 and was privileged to work in the Law firm of Dr C.O Chijioke in Aba. That was really where I cut my teeth in legal practice.

Dr. C.O Chijioke, plus what I learnt from A.Y Abubakar, taught me how to use the knowledge of the Law to prepare pleadings very well - how to anticipate the moves of the opponent and move steps ahead of the opposing counsel. One of the things Chijioke taught me was his voracious hunger for knowledge.

That man reads; from Law reports and textbooks to articles. He always made me understand that if you don’t keep abreast of the development in our jurisprudence in

different areas of Law, you will be messed up in court one day. For instance, you might not be aware of the recent decisions of the Supreme Court on a matter, and you are still relying on the old one, and you went for a trial and are messed up there in front of your client.

In the past, most times in the southeast, unlike Lagos, if you are defending a matter or prosecuting somebody in court, your clients would come to court to watch you. And the worst thing that could happen to you as a counsellor is your client watching another counsellor mess you up in court.

Also, I wanted to travel abroad for my Master’s, and the area I was very passionate about was oil & gas Law. I would apply severally to the University of Dundee in Scotland, and they would give me admission, but I wasn’t getting a scholarship, and I didn’t want to ask my father for money.

After I was called to the bar, I told myself never to go back to my father for financial assistance. As a very young boy, I spoke to my father one day, and he said, ‘nobody gave me anything. Whatever you see me have today, I worked hard for it, and God was gracious to me, and that word continues to ring a bell in my ears till today. You don’t rely on what somebody else has, especially your parents. You have to strive to become somebody.

So, when the oil & gas pursuit didn’t work out for me, I settled for Maritime Law for my Master’s. Someone working with C.O Chijioke before I joined but left for the N.N.P.C. before I started working at the firm had called one of our colleagues in the office and asked him about the University of Cape Town and professor John Hare, who was respected in the maritime industry. He asked my friend to apply to the University of Cape Town for Master’s in Maritime Law. I overheard the conversation and went online, got the school’s details, and applied; the rest is history.

Initially, I went there only for Master’s, I didn’t plan to do a PhD, but I ended up doing it because Prof. Hare, who was like a father to me, advised me to enrol for my PhD. When I finished my Master’s with distinction, I

went to his office to say goodbye. Then, he asked me to sit down and asked me my age, I told him, and he said, ‘I know you are still a young man and you want to go back to Nigeria and start making money from maritime practice, but I will advise you to do a PhD in Law’. I didn’t plan that, so I stayed back in Cape Town for three more years to do my PhD. That’s one of the best advice anyone has ever given me.

Yes, I think so. Honestly, I think my tribal link came to the fore there. As an Igbo man, you always think about entrepreneurship and making money. So, I think it was about not just being a lawyer but being a lawyer in a field where you know you will be able to make money for your family.

My idea was that as much as you’re trying to change society, you must also make money because you have bills to pay. You have a family to take care of, and for us, it’s not just the nuclear family; you have the extended family too.

If knew I would settle for Maritime Law if oil and gas didn’t work out because I knew successful Maritime lawyers like Louis Mbanefo, Olisa Agbakoba, Mike Igbokwe and Chidi ilogu. I knew Maritime was lucrative and had it as my second option.

It wasn’t really that I wanted to get into maritime Law to make a difference; it was about getting into an area that I know is lucrative. But it has now gone beyond money: the Master’s and PhD I did, plus being taught by a charismatic lecturer like professor Hare, ignited a passion in me. Nobody who has passed through him will not have a passion for the maritime industry.

He will always say to us, ‘when you go back there (your country), look at your laws and see how you can change them to become better.’ So my life in the past eight years since I came back in 2014 has been to impact that industry.

I have written many articles on maritime topics, and I have tried to change certain

You started your career in litigation. Why the switch to Maritime? Is it because it’s a viable industry?

misconceptions that we have in our maritime jurisprudence. I have been trying to align them with international best practices.

Have you failed at anything before, and how did you handle it?

Of course, I have. As a child, I wasn’t the brightest. I remember in primary school then, in a class of 40 students, I’d be the 25th in the ranking of best students. If they had told my teachers then that I would be a PhD holder, they wouldn’t believe it. But something changed in my Junior Secondary School 1 (J.S.S. 1) after encountering two old women.

I ran into these individual women at different times within the space of two weeks. They were walking on the street and carrying very heavy stuff. In the first week, this old woman was walking on the street (school road, Umuahia, Abia State) with her load, and I saw that three of my classmates had