Dual-qualified Nigerian lawyer Opeyemi Longe joins Paul Hastings as US-based international firm further enhances its EMEA arbitration team

From Ibadan and Lagos to international arbitration in London, rising star Opeyemi Longe has built a career with global reach while retaining a strong African thread. Helping African governments, state entities and multinational companies navigate disputes across borders has been a constant along his career path.

This week, the dual-qualified Nigerian lawyer announced another significant step, having joined the London office of US-based international law firm Paul Hastings as an Of Counsel. 

“Paul Hastings’ premier, market-leading practice is the perfect platform to continue helping our clients navigate their most complex and consequential cross-border matters,” Longe shared, saying he was looking forward to a “new and exciting chapter”.

The newly announced addition of Longe forms part of a wider expansion of Paul Hastings’ international arbitration practice. Longe and Paris-based Anaïs Harlé have joined as Of Counsel, alongside several associates, completing the move of a more than ten-strong team, and reuniting with former White & Case colleagues. As reported by Africa Legal earlier this year, Paul Hastings added Nigerian lawyer Tolu Obamuroh and fellow former White & Case arbitration partner Elizabeth Oger-Gross as partners in its Paris office.

Obamuroh was among those welcoming Longe to Paul Hastings this week.

Dual-qualified in Nigeria and England & Wales, Longe focuses on commercial and investment disputes, with particular experience in energy, infrastructure and construction, and financial services. While his career has taken him into one of the world’s major international arbitration centres, Africa has remained prominent in his practice.

Longe’s work has included representing Nigeria in ICSID proceedings concerning investments in its minerals and oil and gas sectors, as well as acting for African states, state-owned entities and private companies. He has also worked on two ICC arbitrations arising from a multibillion-dollar African hydropower project.

Longe began his legal career with Afe Babalola & Co in Ibadan before joining leading Nigerian firm Olaniwun Ajayi in Lagos, where his disputes work included matters for domestic and multinational companies, financial institutions and government agencies.

A law graduate of Adekunle Ajasin University in Nigeria, Longe later went on to complete a BCL at the University of Oxford in 2018, and moving into international arbitration practice in London. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Longe’s arrival at Paul Hastings further strengthens the firm's EMEA international arbitration practice that has been building significant experience across Africa and other international markets in recent years. Originally established in Los Angeles in 1951, the fast-growing firm has expanded considerably from its California roots, across the United States and globally, and today has more than 1,500 lawyers across 24 offices worldwide.

Longe now adds another lawyer whose career bridges African legal practice and major global disputes hubs.