He said: “The Law Digest put together this event to identify law firms that that have excelled in their various areas of specialty, that is what this is all about. “It’s innovative, it’s good; it’s to recognise hard work and diligence in the legal industry, the legal firmament. “It will promote the growth of the legal profession in the sense that it’ll be an ideal to aspire to, other law firms will be inspired to be diligent and hope to win in the future and some other time. This will increase capacity and be something to look forward to.” The Law Digest Africa Awards is organised by Law Digest magazine and it recognises Managing Partners, firms, general counsels and in-house teams of African firms and companies that have made outstanding contributions to the development of the African legal services market and the economy generally. One of the recipients of the award, Gbenga Oyebode (MFR), said it was the first time that a Nigeria-oriented magazine has decided to celebrate African lawyers and this will spur him on. He said: “I feel particularly proud, I’ve been chosen for the law achievement award, it’s a lifetime achievement. What this proves for me is that the last 35 years of practicing law have not been in vain and it also galvanises me to do more in future. “Typically we have all these western publishers celebrating themselves and celebrating primarily Southern African law firms, so, it’s a great opportunity for us to have someone who takes a look at the best law firms on the continent but again focuses on the Nigerian law firms that have done extremely well and chooses to celebrate us. Oyebode, whose firm, Aluko & Oyebode, confirmed its position as the leading law firm in Africa by winning the most contested, Law Firm of the Year award, said the award “is a very great thing.” He added: “It’s all about service, it’s all about developing our profession, it’s all about giving back and I suspect that that’s why I have been awarded the high honour today.” Seyi Clement, the publisher and editor of Law Digest, said the award is designed to reward excellence in the practice of law across Africa. He said: “We gave awards to about 17 law firms and individuals, so it’s not just lawyers alone. Law firms, individuals, in-house practice and also those who provide support services to lawyers, such as IT services providers to lawyers.” He added that both big and small lawyers have equal opportunity to be recognised. “We look at the quality of work they do, not really the size. We’re looking at what they do, what people say about them, what their colleagues, clients say about them,” Clement said. “This is the third year the Law Digest journal has been in existence and the vision is to promote African legal practice through articles. The Law Digest is currently in nine countries across the world: Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Australia, The USA and The UK. We’re going to launch a francophone version in Cameroon very soon, so that both Anglo and Francophone Cameroonians will be able to enjoy and contribute to the journal. Stephen Akinsanya, the Chairman of the British-Nigerian Lawyers’ Forum said the awards will raise the profile of Nigerian and African lawyers “We want to obviously celebrate Nigerian and African lawyers who have achieved a sense of excellence in their professions and their chosen fields and also to highlight the legal fraternity in Africa and Nigeria. “The awards will also let people know that just as Africa is developing, there are law firms with Nigerian lawyers who are more than able to deal with the issues that crop up in the commercial world of developing the economy in Nigeria Bebe Clement, the Business Development Director for Law Digest said it’s a magazine behind African lawyers globally, “so that they can compete on the international stage and to raise the profile of African law firms.” She disclosed that the awards is going to be an annual event and it is prompted by the need to recognise and reward the hard work of those who are making waves in the legal profession in Africa. “Law Digest is distributed in six countries in the world including The UK and America, and then the West is trying to get into Africa, particularly in the area of law. “They have their skills, they have the money and if we’re not careful, they will come in and take the big, lucrative jobs. This is something that we’re already seeing. “So, what we try to do at Law Digest is to make our local firms partner with international firms, they raise them, they share their skills, they share their expertise and they raise the standards within the African legal profession.” For Professor Kanyi Ajayi (SAN), the awards came at the right time. Ajayi, a guest at the event, said: “I think it’s a great initiative by the Law Digest to begin to grant recognition to the role lawyers play in economic development, particularly now that the country is going through challenging times both in terms of security and the economy.” Several Nigerian law firms that emerged victorious when the 2015 Law Digest Africa Awards winners were announced in July, received their awards last Friday. The key awards category include: Life time achievement award, Managing Partner of the Year, Female Managing Partner of the Year, Young Managing Partner of the Year (under 40), Law Firm of the Year, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year, M&A Team of the Year, Banking & Finance Team of the Year, Capital Market Team of the Year, Media and Telecom Legal Department of the Year, Support Services Provider of the Year and General Counsel of the Year]]>