UK, Nigeria to boost partnership in legal sector

A new initiative to drive working partnership between legal professionals in the United Kingdom and Nigeria has been announced by the Prime Minister.In a statement by UK based organization, Hogan Lovells, signed by Ekene Nwaokobi, the initiative is the latest stage of the Ministry of Justice’s ambitious ‘Legal Services great campaign’, which aims to promote the strength and breadth of the UK’s legal offer across the globe.

“The announcement was made upon the visit of the Prime Minister to the securities exchange company FMDQ in Lagos, and is part of a wider government drive to deepen its partnerships with African nations.

“It will bring UK and Nigerian legal professionals together to share knowledge, skills and legal expertise and highlight the advantages of UK legal services to wider business growth,” the statement said.

According to the statement, Lord Chancellor, David Gauke said: “Our legal services sector is one of the UK’s greatest exports, and we want it to remain at the very heart of our future as a global, outward-looking, free-trading Britain.

“We launched the Legal Services are GREAT campaign, to showcase the very best of what the UK’s legal services sector has to offer around the globe, and I’m delighted that we are now extending the campaign to Nigeria.“We know that UK law firms and chambers are keen to increase working in this area and are committed to supporting them to take advantage of the many opportunities on offer.”

In 2018, five of the world’s fastest-growing economies are African and the continent’s total GDP could well double between 2015 and 2030. The government, it said, is keen to support UK law firms and chambers to maximise the potential of this emerging market.

Commenting on the initiative, Nathan Searle, partner at Hogan Lovells, said: “While the new initiative to strengthen collaboration between the UK and Nigerian legal communities is to be welcomed, we must not lose sight of the fact that there are already very close ties between the leading firms in London and Nigeria.

“Our firm and other leading UK-based firms who have been successful in doing big-ticket Nigerian related deals or disputes have worked for many years hand-in-hand with leading Nigerian lawyers and law firms.

“These deep and long standing relationships, particularly those that have stood through the recent economic downturn from low oil prices, provide a firm foundation for this new initiative to build on.”