Connecting with great minds (LIDW25 briefs)

Leading figures from across the global dispute resolution community have gathered for London International Disputes Week (LIDW25), themed ‘Innovation in Dispute Resolution: Navigating Global Risks’. Throughout the week of 2-6 June, delegates will connect, learn, and socialise across a huge variety of sessions and events, exploring key issues and topics, helping drive awareness and best practice globally.

Among those delegates are many who work on matters relating to Africa, and several disputes practitioners who have travelled to London from Africa. 

At the opening session of the Main Conference on Tuesday at the QEII Centre in Westminster, Campbell Jackson, Cherie Blair KC, and Dr Nigel Gould-Davies explored how world events and geopolitics are shaping dispute resolution - including populist political shifts, threats to the rule of law, and climate change. 

More positively, they also discussed how the prospects for Africa have changed in recent decades. Blair noted Africa’s abundance of critical minerals for energy transition. “Africa is very under-invested in, internationally, it has enormous potential,” said Gould-Davies, a Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. 

During an intermission, we spoke with one of the African disputes practitioners who journeyed to London, Taiwo Ogbara, to get his perspective on LIDW25. 

Taiwo is Team Lead for the Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice at Jackson, Etti & Edu, a Lagos-headquartered pan-African law firm. He has also served on the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators Planning Committee, and is currently enrolled in the INSOL Future Leaders Programme 2025. 

It’s not a short journey from Lagos to London. What brought you to LIDW25 and why is it important for you and your colleagues to be here? 

At Jackson Etti & Edu, we’re a full service law firm and we pride ourselves on being among the top law firms across the world. So it was very important to mix globally and meet our colleagues in the profession, to exchange ideas, connect, and network. We wanted to grow beyond where we were, and that’s why we’re here. 

We’re quite early in the week, on the morning of the Main Conference. What have you enjoyed so far, and what are you looking forward to the rest of LIDW25?

Yeah, so I attended the International Arbitration Day program yesterday, with events hosted by Simmons & Simmons as well as Squire Patton Boggs. There was a particular session that stood out to me, the one on “An Ideal Seat?”, because I’m also big on arbitration. It was about the habitual seats and emerging seats. One of the very important parts was the emerging seats, and Nigeria was part of that, and was mentioned. So it was quite important for me. 

In terms of looking ahead, I’m also looking forward to some of the more commercial focused events or sessions that have to do with insolvency and debt recovery, and also to continue meeting people and connecting with great minds around the world.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your firm or what’s going on in Nigeria in terms of the evolution of dispute resolution? 

So at Jackson Etti & Edu we’re a cross-border firm. We do not restrict our practice to Nigeria only. So if there is anything you’ve got to do around Africa, just know that you can always reach out to us and trust us to deliver results to you.

This interview is part of Africa Legal's coverage of London International Disputes Week 2025. You can read more about other delegates, speakers, and events: 

• The Power of Pro Bono, for all involved

• Africa is on the agenda as London International Disputes Week begins

Or view our full suite of LIDW25 coverage here