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Profile
My name is Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe. I am a partner in the Dispute Resolution Group in the law firm of Messrs Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe & Belgore. I have been in active legal practice over the last 16 years and have developed expertise in the field of Commercial Litigation and Arbitration.
I obtained a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B) from the University of Wolverhampton in 1998, a Masters of Law Degree (LL.M) in International Commercial Law from the University of Westminster in 2000 and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of South Wales in 2001. I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) Nigerian Branch (MCI Arb.). I was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 2003.
I am a member of the Continuing Legal Education and Mentorship Committee of the Nigeria Bar Association, Lagos Branch (CLE & Mentorship Committee). I was a member and the Chairman of the Budget and Finance Sub-Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch Law Week Planning Committee for 2018. I was the chairman of the Young Members Group (YMG) of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Nigerian Branch between 2009 and 2014. I was a member of the Executive Committee and the immediate past Treasurer of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Nigerian branch, 2016-2019. I was the Secretary of the Conference Planning Committee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Nigerian Branch in 2016. I am a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). I am a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) and the immediate past Country Representative for the Taxation Committee of the International Bar Association 2016-2018.
I am a contributing author to the International Arbitration Review, 3rd Edition: The Dispute Resolution Review, 4th Edition and Dispute Resolution in 48 Jurisdictions Worldwide, from the 2007 to 2013 editions, Tax Controversy, Getting the Deal Through 2017 till date.
Declaration
I am vying for the position of the Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Lagos Branch.
Our country has found itself consistently moving backwards on a number of fronts partly because a lot of matters have been centralized and governance has been taken far away from the people who need to feel its impact. I am a strong believer in the fact that sustainable development can only be achieved when emphasis is placed on leadership of the NBA. I am a member of the CLE & Mentorship Committee of our Branch and I am proud of the impact that we have had directly on members of the Branch through our training and mentorship initiatives.
My active participation in the Chartered Institute of Arbitration (UK), Nigerian Branch, my role in the IBA and roles in the NBA Lagos Branch, amongst others, have exposed me to how organizations are run, locally and internationally. My training as a new wig in the law Firm of Babalakin & Co, my tutelage under my mentors at the Law Firm of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe and Belgore and my current role as partner in the firm have equipped me with the right values, management and leadership skills required to provide transformational and effective leadership for the branch.
Core Objective
My aim is to help create a bar that focuses on its members through achievable welfare initiatives and human capital development programs whilst also playing an active role in public interest matters. Promoting initiatives that will increase social mobility of members and create prosperity and upliftment will be critical to my period as chairman.
The current ExCo of the branch have initiated some ground breaking programs which I intend to continue with and improve on, as necessary, whilst introducing new initiatives.
Below are the initiatives that I intend to focus on and run with from day one upon election as Chairman of the Branch:
1. Continuing Professional Development
Advances in technology, globalization and attendant emergent trends in many spheres of our lives have necessitated the need for lawyers to remain current in terms of the requisite knowledge, skills and values necessary to fulfill the professional responsibilities and obligations of our respective practices and work, thereby improving the standards of the profession in general.
More than ever before, the lawyer is a knowledge merchant and so must do everything necessary to acquire knowledge. Take, for instance, the laudable initiative of the current/outgoing administration in making the Continuing Legal Education program part of the agenda of monthly meetings of the Branch. This, commendably, has shown that training in relevant, key and emergent areas of practice can be provided to members of the Branch for free. Training has been delivered by members of the branch and through collaboration with third party organizations like PWC and Fintech Association. There are on-going conversations with local and international organizations regarding trainings.
We intend to continue with these initiatives and institutionalize them, retain our knowledge Sharing Sessions, continue with our Firm Led Initiatives and other initiative ( all delivered at no cost to our members) but will improve on these by digitizing content and making event available online so that members can access them for free whenever they are able to or wish to. As part of my work as the lead on new initiatives in the CLE & Mentorship Committee, I have held exploratory conversations with Organizations like the Chartered institute of Arbitrators, the Securities and Exchange Commission and others regarding training collaborations that would lead to career defining certifications for our members and have received positive responses regarding my proposals. I will within 100 days of being elected, launch the NBA Lagos ADR certification initiative.
2. Mentorship
We will continue the group mentorship events which saw notable members of the branch including Mr. Gbenga Oyebode (MFR), Mr. George Etomi, Dr. Wale Babalakin SAN, Chief Anthony Idigbe SAN and the MTN legal team provide free training and mentorship to our members. We will continue with the 1-1 mentorship initiative through which young lawyers were paired with over 120 leading lawyers across 4 (four) continents. We will involve corporate practitioners (the in-house lawyers) and public sector practitioners (government officials) with a view to creating more effective knowledge exchange platforms and to enlighten members on career opportunities in those sectors of legal practice. We will incorporate an effective monitoring and feedback system to ensure that these initiatives deliver the outcomes envisaged at their inception and where necessary, make adjustments so that the initiatives remain fit for the purpose and serve the needs of members.
3. Law Firm Mentorship Initiative
The need to build structured law firms in Lagos has become imperative especially as the Law School now graduates about 5,000 lawyers a year. Understandably, most of these new wigs will end up in cosmopolitan areas like Lagos and, on account of increasingly limited spaces to take on new wigs by the small and midsize law firms, jostle and struggle to find places to train and work. I have spoken to some of the established firms in Lagos and to the leadership of the Section on Business Law of the NBA and have received support for this proposed initiative. The idea to have the more established firms provide law office management and structuring guidance to start-up law firms and others that may need the service. The initiative will involve the established law firm’s representative reviewing the systems and processes of the upcoming firm and providing necessary insights. The upcoming firm will also have an opportunity to shadow the established firm and participate in some of its non-confidential activities. This initiative should create relationships and expand networks and promote collaboration amongst members of the branch.
4. Career Development Center
This center will warehouse all activities related to career development. The center will serve as a data hub and platform for liaison between the unemployed or underemployed and potential employers. The center will also be a repository for employment related information and will provide support for prospective law firm entrepreneurs. Amongst the proposed activities to be hosted by the center will be Job Fairs which will be held at regular intervals and at which Law Firms and other organizations that employ lawyers will be invited to meet and interact with prospective employees who are members of the Association.
5. Young Lawyers
I will organize elections for the Young Lawyers to elect the leadership of the Young Lawyers Forum, YLF. I will initiate development programs with the leadership of the YLF, set timelines and provide the resources for the YLF to achieve set objectives.
6. Remuneration of Young Lawyers
Closely tied to Young Lawyers electing their own leadership is the burning issue of welfare of the young lawyers. The need for a realistic remuneration package readily comes to mind here. The vast majority of the new wigs and young lawyers are not as lucky to work in the ‘magic circle firms’ and earn the top band of the bimodal salary distribution for starting lawyers. Our administration will work at a sustained engagement with all stakeholders in order to achieve a realistic and humane minimal renumeration package. At the very least, we will set up a committee whose terms of reference will include an evaluation of what constitutes a ‘living wage’ for lawyers in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos. The mandate would include proposing alternative business structures and work models that could possibly increase the bottom line of individual lawyers without compromising the work or financial positions of the employer firms.
7. Medical Insurance
As part of my wellness program, I will seek to enter into arrangements with health care providers and/or HMO’s (and should do so within 100 days of being elected) to enable affordable enrollment of our members into a health insurance scheme. The numerical strength of our membership would enable us to negotiate very good rate and bring affordable healthcare closer to our members.
8. Engagement with the Judiciary
As litigants seek alternative ways of resolving their issues, the legal profession faces and existential problem as a result. It has become inevitable that the bar and the bench must now work, creatively, together to save both professions. We will immediately constitute a Judiciary Relations Committee that would be made up of respected senior members of the bar. The focus of the group would be to improve dialogue with the bench with a view to achieving efficient and effective service delivery. The terms of reference of the Committee would include raising constructive dialogue with the judiciary regarding issues around the use of efficient case management tools such as case scheduling and having an effective e-cause list, to achieve better time management for lawyers, increase productivity and aid speedier dispensation of justice. The committee will have the responsibility of taking up issues related to the cleanliness of the courts and its environs, and deal with the auction of movable assets loitering the court premises.
9. Secretariat
We will immediately create an effective and well-resourced secretariat that will engender ease of interaction between members and the organs of the branch and NBA National, as necessary. To aid the work of the EXCO, we will immediately set up statutory and other committees with membership carefully selected and populated by members of the branch with requisite experience and the exposure regarding respective committee scope of influence to deliver value to members.
10. Engagement with Governmental Agencies.
We will establish a structured means of interfacing with governmental agencies such as the Police Force, the EFCC, the Lands Registry, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Corporate Affairs Commission and any other agency with whom members of the branch habitually interact in order to deliver results for clients with ease. Continuous dialogue which such agencies would party focus on the relationship between our members and officers of the agencies.
11. Law Reform
We will set up a standing committee on Law Reform to regularly advise on complex legal and policy issues whilst also engaging relevant stakeholders in the justice delivery sector. One of the key objectives of the committee would be to hold a watching brief on the activities of the state and national assemblies with a view of driving the intervention of the NBA ahead of bills that will impact on the profession being enacted into law.
12. Human Rights Committee
We will structure our Human Rights Committee to be more efficient, productive and self-sustaining. A Pro-bono system would be set up and collaboration established between well resourced law firms and the Committee such that the cases are conducted under this proposed collaboration. The structure would focus on creating opportunities for young lawyers who are seeking to gain trial experience (under supervision) as well as members aspiring for preferment for the rank of Senior Advocate.
13. Bar Journal
We will establish an editorial committee which would be saddled with the responsibility of producing a bar journal to be published twice a year, during the Law Week and the Law Dinner. The cost of publication will be funded from the Dinner and the Law Week accounts respectively, both of which have reported surpluses, a trend that one would expect to continue with the right leadership in place. The journal will encourage scholarship because articles would be published by members and members will be afforded literature on contemporary legal issues.
14. Bar Center
The construction of a bar center would be a priority. The bar center will be equipped with a meeting room that ensures that we secure our independence from the judiciary for the purpose of holding our meetings. Importantly, we shall seek to equip the center with functional operational facilities for members of the branch who need such resource as an operational base for work and/or for meetings with clients from time to time.
15. Promoting Wellness and Recreational Activities– Sports Competition
‘All work and no play…’ is not just the credo here. Our administration shall aim at engendering and sustaining the spirit of healthy rivalry/competition amongst lawyers in proposing and working at instituting an annual sports competition amongst law firms; and the branch against other NBA branches in Lagos, etc.
Conclusion
The prospect of leadership of the Premier Bar presents me with an opportunity to use my God given talents, experience and exposure to work with you, my seniors and colleagues to achieve a truly transformational, dynamic and innovative direction for our branch. My aim is simple and clear: to create platforms that will bring about the upliftment of our members by galvanizing the resources that are readily available to us within the branch.
Together, we will continue to raise the bar of the Premier Bar.
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