This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you consent to our use of cookies. Close

Africa Legal

Africa Legal

  • NEWS
  • JOBS
  • COURSES
  • CLIENTS
    • Sign in
    • Sign up
  • NEWS
  • COURSES
  • JOBS
    • Sign In
    • Sign Up
  • News
  • Courses
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Business A-Z
  • Post a job
  • Contact Us
  • Clients
CLIENT SIGN IN
Country
  • Uganda
  • South Africa
  • Kenya
  • Nigeria
  • Cameroon
  • United Kingdom
  • Cote d'Ivoire
  • Ghana
  • Tanzania
  • Zambia
  • Botswana
  • Morocco
  • Zimbabwe
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Sudan
  • Rwanda
  • Ethiopia
  • Angola
  • Egypt
  • Togo
  • Mali
  • South Sudan
  • Swaziland
  • Senegal
  • Malawi
  • France
  • Guinea
  • Middle East
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Gambia
  • Sierra Leone
  • Germany
Category
  • Profiles
  • Analysis & Opinion
  • Career advice
  • In-house
  • Latest news
  • Press releases
  • Africa Legal Blog
  • Women in Law
  • Innovation
  • Human Rights
Practice area
  • Agriculture
  • Arbitration
  • Aviation
  • Banking and Finance
  • Capital markets
  • Charties and pro bono
  • Company commercial
  • Competition and antitrust
  • Construction and engineering
  • Consumer products
  • Corporate finance and M&A
  • Criminal
  • Education
  • Employment and benefits
  • Energy and natural resources
  • Environmental
  • Financial services
  • Fraud & white collar crime
  • Funds
  • Governance | risk and compliance
  • Government and public sector
  • Health and safety
  • Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
  • Insurance/Reinsurance
  • Intellectual Property
  • Litigation and dispute resolution
  • Logistics and transportation
  • Manufacturing and Industrial
  • Private client and family
  • Private equity
  • Projects and infrastructure
  • Real estate
  • Regulatory
  • Restructuring | insolvency and debt recovery
  • Shipping and maritime
  • Taxation
  • Technology media and telecoms
  • Travel and tourism
close

Registration

Registered Successfully!!!. We have sent you a confirmation email to your email address.
close


View My Saved News


close You must login to save your news
  • LOGIN
  • NEW USER

Login to your account

Forgotten your password?
or

Create an Account

close


View My Saved News


« Back

Building Capacity

Oyeyemi Aderigbigbe is the Chair of the Young Lawyers Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association – Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) and a Senior Associate at a leading Nigerian law firm, Templars. Ifeoluwa Ogunbufunmi spoke to her about building capacity and accelerating self-awareness in young Nigerian lawyers.

Jan 05, 2021
Ifeoluwa Ogunbufunmi
Share

“Grit and determination will get you far, but self-awareness and intentionality augment the quality of experience you have and help you make better decisions. I sell this template every chance I get to speak to a young lawyer,” says Aderigbigbe. 

Her motivation to influence the next generation of lawyers stems from personal professional experience. 

“From time to time, I take stock of my career, assessing growth, impact, and more importantly, what I call my value quotient – which are the career choices I can make based on the value I perceive in myself or the value I can give someone else. My value quotient must be augmented year-on-year to enable me to stay relevant within my organisation and the legal market.

“Many young lawyers struggle to make this connection between personal and organisational sync and so the tales of woe are many.”  

Aderigbigbe believes that young lawyers are the biggest influences in the legal services industry today. 

“They carry a magic wand and much more value than they realise.”

She believes that many legal service firms would do better, commercially, if their young lawyers realised this and honed the skills to deliver more value. 

On her work as the Chair of the NBA-SBL Young Lawyers Forum, she says, “At the beginning of the year, my team and I had a list of all the international collaborations and physical engagements we would like and the programmes and mentoring sessions we would run. But Covid-19 happened, and we had to make necessary adjustments.” 

“We augmented our online presence immediately. We set up a system where we had career-enhancing conversations on topical themes with sterling professionals and young lawyers. We’ve had about 25 of these sessions with attendance rising as high as 400 people in one session. These numbers would probably not have been achieved within this time, if not for the pandemic. We also started online editorials where young lawyers can write and be published across our social media platforms to give further expression to their skills development.” 

A highlight of her work, Aderigbigbe says, has been the development of her relationship management and organisational skills. Combining her  volunteering roles and work at Templars has pushed her to do more. 

She also sits on the Council of the NBA-SBL and has, since March 2018, written more than 50 articles in the periodic column, The Young Business Lawyer, in the “Financial Times” of Nigeria, BusinessDay NG. 

“I derive a deep fulfillment knowing I am helping professionals solve problems they have, faster than I may have for myself. I get emails from young lawyers and even law students who read my articles or take benefit from some of the work we have done at the NBA-SBL Young Lawyers Forum, stating the impact on their careers or specific professional challenges.” 

She highlights one instance where a stockbroker and banker called to thank her for a tip in her article that triggered a notable career moment. She has also received an HR  job offer following a project taken on by the NBA-SBL for the benefit of young lawyers. “I found this hilarious!”

On her plans for next year, Aderigbigbe says, “Next year’s challenge will be to leverage the work already done to ensure more lawyers are supported. Mentoring has been a big part of our contribution and we will continue this as well”. 

Her mantra is: “Be about the law and about your life,” something she strives towards every day.


To join Africa Legal's mailing list please click here

Copyright : Re-publication of this article is authorised only in the following circumstances; the writer and Africa Legal are both recognised as the author and the website address www.africa-legal.com and original article link are back linked. A bio for the writer can be provided on request.

RELATED CATEGORY NEWS

Finding clarity amidst protectionist t Read more
Legal Tradition Meets Dynamism Read more
Doing things differently Read more

RELATED COUNTRY NEWS

Accelerating into the future Read more
Multi-million naira ruling against tel Read more
Nigeria still waiting for its data pro Read more
Africa Legal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy and cookies policy
Members
  • Find a job
  • Take a course
  • Read news
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cancellations and refunds
Clients
  • Terms and conditions
  • Post a job
  • Host a course
  • Advertise
  • Share news
Connect with us
© Copyright 2023 | Africa Legal. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy