The final between Lagos and Onitsha is scheduled for May 15. The two teams will make an oral presentation before an arbitral panel composed of leading arbitration experts.

Nathan Searle of Hogan Lovells, the partner and major sponsor of the maiden edition of the Challenge, chaired the arbitral panel in the session between Lagos and Port Harcourt on Friday, April 30, 2021.

“The Dispute Scenario was great and it was a privilege for Hogan Lovells to be involved in this excellent event,” he said.

The scoring for the semi-finals was Lagos 91.88% and Onitsha 81.79% who prevailed over Port Harcourt 91.13% and Ibadan 80.66%.

A record 55 teams have participated in the online debate.

Hamid Abdulkareem of Aluko & Oyebode, chair of the arbitral panel for the session between Ibadan and Ilorin on Thursday, April 29, 2021 said, “It is important to start inculcating the right values and skills in the future leaders of the bar. There is no better way to do that than to expose them to advocacy in the arbitration context.”

Adetola Adebesin, chair of the NBA – YLF Steering Committee on Arbitration, said the competition aimed to expose young lawyers in Nigeria to the practice of international arbitration. 

“This event is intended to both challenge and showcase the best of Nigerian legal talent and we are delighted by the level of debate and the effort and preparation from all participants.”

The final debate will be held on Zoom at 11am, Lagos time. To watch click here (please note the link won't be live until the date and time of the final)

The winner will take away N500,000 (£945) with N300,000 (£567) available for first runner up. There will also be N250,000 (£473) available for best oralist and best written submission respectively. 

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