Managing Editor
Abayomi Okubote
Abayomi Okubote is the Managing Partner of Pensbury Attorneys & Solicitors (Nigeria) and Executive Director of the Africa Arbitration Academy. He has garnered over 10 years’ experience in dispute resolution – having represented multinational corporations in high profile commercial disputes and advised government agencies on several cutting-edge projects in Africa. He has been involved (including acted as counsel), in numerous ad hoc and institutional arbitrations under the LCIA, ICC, HKIAC, UNCITRAL, CRCICA, CIArb and ICSID Rules. He has also sat as an arbitrator in several domestic and international arbitrations. He is a Tutor and Faculty member at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators’ Diploma Programme and speaks regularly in international conferences on Arbitration and ADR.
He was described in the Legal 500 Africa Arbitration Powerlist 2021 as “one of the future leaders of arbitration in Africa” and as “innovative and exceptional”. Furthermore, Abayomi led the Draft Team of the widely celebrated Africa Arbitration Academy Protocol on Virtual Hearings in Africa – which has now been adopted by some African Arbitral Institutions and African Governments. He is a member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Center (LACIAC) Court of Arbitration, Panel member of the Nairobi Center for International Arbitration and the Cairo Regional Center for International Commercial Arbitration. He has attended academic institutions in different continents – including Olabisi Onabanjo University, University College London, Harvard Negotiation Institute, ICC Summer School, Paris Arbitration Academy, and Queen’s University, Canada.
Beyond leading big-ticket mandates, the multiple award winner is the prime mover behind several important arbitration initiatives in Africa. One of UK’s top city law firm partners once wrote that, “… this impressive list of achievements shows Abayomi’s foresights, dedication, perseverance and ability to lead others towards a common goal. He is an outstanding leader and one who readily gives back to the community in order to create opportunities for others and equip them to succeed. I am sure that the growth and development of Africa’s next generation of arbitration lawyers will owe a lot to Abayomi’s foresight and leadership and the projects that he has established for the benefit of the African arbitration community”.
Associate Editors
Kabir Duggal, Ph.D
Kabir Duggal, Ph.D is an attorney in the Arnord & Porter’s International arbitration practice in New York, USA where he focuses on international investment arbitration, international commercial arbitration and public international law matters, serving both as counsel and arbitrator. Dr. Duggal’s experience includes complex disputes under numerous bilateral/ multilateral investment treaties and contracts in South Asia, Latin America, Central Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa. His experience flows from his triple training in international law, common law and civil law traditions. The total value of the disputes he has been involved in exceeds 80 billion dollars. He has facilitated the mediation and negotiation of complex disputes.
He also acts as a Consultant for the United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) on the creation of a novel “Investment Support Program” (which was shortlisted by Global Arbitration Review for the category of “Best Developments” for 2018). He also serves on the Steering Committee of the Investment Support Program. He has also conducted training and capacity-building sessions for several Governments including Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, India, Philippines among others on Public International Law and dispute resolution matters. He also serves on the Federal Republic of Somalia’s New York Convention Task Force as well as the WTO Negotiating Team (International Board).
Dr. Duggal is a graduate of the University of Mumbai (University Medal), University of Oxford (DHL-Times of India Scholar) and NYU School of Law (Hauser Global Scholar) and Leiden Law School (2018 Academic Prize by CEPANI). He is currently pursuing an SJD Degree at Harvard Law School.
Ibrahim Shehata
Ibrahim Shehata has accumulated a decade of experience in the Egyptian market. Shehata started his career with Ibrachy & Dermarkar law firm followed by Sharkawy & Sarhan law firm. He then moved to the US to earn his Master of Laws degree in International Arbitration from New York University. Shehata started off his career focusing on Corporate Law where he successfully advised several multinational companies on doing business in Egypt. Being involved in the Egyptian renewable energy market since 2014, he developed a niche experience which makes him one of the leading lawyers in the field.
Capitalising on his immense arbitration knowledge, Shehata has assisted clients in navigating success in various high-profile arbitral disputes, in particular with cases on construction arbitration. Shehata has also contributed immensely to international literature and is author of the first ever English language treatise on Egyptian arbitration with the prestigious publisher, Kluwer Law International. Shehata was chosen in 2020 as one of the 50 Most Promising Young Arbitration Practitioners in the African Continent.
Femi Gbede
Femi Gbede, a Director at the Africa Arbitration Academy, is an Investment Funds Attorney at the New York office of Fried Frank. He advises on the structuring and offering of private investment funds and other alternative investment vehicles. His practice focuses on all aspects of fund formation, as well as continuing funds’ operations, fund investments, secondaries and other highly complex transactions.
Femi had his legal teeth cut at Olaniwun Ajayi LP in Nigeria, where he garnered significant experience in cutting edge corporate transactions and dispute resolution. He previously had a brief stint at a top multinational bank in New York. He is the Secretary General of the Association of Young Arbitrators and the Treasurer of the Nigerian Lawyers Association in New York.
Femi has mentored several young lawyers within the African continent and has sponsored many deserving students to the Nigerian law school through his annual scholarship initiative which he started in 2017.
Femi, who is also a trained journalist, and the recipient of the Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year award at the ESQ Nigerian Legal Awards 2021, was also recently named as part of the National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 in the United States. Femi received his education from the New York University School of Law (where he is also a Weinfeld fellow) and Cambridge University.
Jonathan Lim
Jonathan Lim is a triple-qualified English solicitor, Singapore advocate and New York lawyer with a focus on complex international disputes. He is a Counsel at WilmerHale, London and has particular experience with disputes in the energy, financial services, technology and telecommunications sectors. He has represented clients in commercial and investment treaty arbitrations seated in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. He has also worked on WTO dispute settlement matters involving claims under multiple WTO agreements (including GATT, GATS, TRIPS, TBT and SCM) and is part of the team representing the government of Somalia in its WTO accession process.
Jonathan has a developing practice as arbitrator and has received appointments as sole and party-appointed arbitrator in proceedings seated in Europe and Asia, including bilingual English-Chinese arbitrations and arbitrations governed by the CISG. He has also advised international organizations and governments in Africa and Asia on public international law issues and assisted with the drafting of legislation in Fiji, Iraq, Papua New Guinea, Somalia and Tonga. Jonathan is also a Visiting Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore, where he teaches a course on commercial and investment arbitration each year.
Jonathan is listed for his expertise in Who’s Who Legal and Euromoney’s Rising Stars. In 2021-2022, he was ranked by Who’s Who Legal as one of 13 “most highly regarded” future leaders (non-partners) in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Clients and peers describe him as “a very smart all-round lawyer with a strong work ethic” who “provides top-of-the-class legal and strategic advice,” “highly intelligent, articulate and very professional,” “extremely capable and hardworking,” and “a sure bet as a future global leader.”
Jonathan is an alumnus of the National University of Singapore and the Harvard Law School.
Anand Udayakumar
Anand Udayakumar is a qualified lawyer working in the Infrastructure and Construction Disputes advisory team in the Dubai office of HKA – a leading global consultancy in risk mitigation and dispute resolution catering to the expert, claims, advisory, forensic accounting, commercial damages, cybersecurity and privacy sectors.
Anand has nearly a decade of arbitration experience, in the construction, infrastructure and energy domain. He has provided contentious and non-contentious legal advisory in over 100 projects spanning diverse sectors, spread across Africa, Asia, Europe and Middle East, and has effectively assisted clients on issues of varying complexities, including potential disputes, international arbitration and cross-border litigation.
His previous roles include working in CMS UK and prior to that, as Legal Counsel at Larsen & Toubro Limited (India’s largest multinational construction conglomerate) seated in India and the United Arab Emirates).
Anand’s professional trajectory challenges conventional stereotypes and he adopts a multi-faceted solution-based approach, including in arbitration proceedings in relation to issues/claims surrounding certification and payment, delay and disruption, defects, loss and/or expense claims (including variations) and contract termination for major standard form (including FIDIC) and bespoke contracts (including governmental contracts).
Jokpa Utake
Jokpa Utake is a lawyer with over ten years’ experience in commercial dispute resolution across various jurisdictions including Nigeria, London (UK) and Ontario (Canada). He has practiced at leading law firms in some of these jurisdictions and handled major Africa-focused arbitration disputes. Jokpa was part of the team that acted in IPCO v. NNPC, a landmark case that produced at least six reported decisions of English Courts on various aspects of the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards including a notable decision of the UK Supreme Court on limits to the powers of an enforcing court under the New York Convention.
Jokpa was a pioneer co-chair of the Lagos Court of Arbitration Young Arbitrators Network (LCA-YAN) and has facilitated several arbitration and ADR trainings and mentorship sessions at the LCA and select universities in Nigeria. He and his team of executives at the LCA-YAN conceptualized and inaugurated the first ever international arbitration moot in Nigeria, modeled after the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot and attracting participants and sponsors from across the world.
He recently obtained an LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School and continues to promote initiatives that deepen access to justice in Africa.
Diana Tracy Tusiime
Diana Tracy Tusiime has dual qualification to practice law in Uganda and Kenya. She is currently a Senior Associate at Bowmans (Law Firm) in Uganda. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Edinburgh Business School, United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Laws from Makerere University, Uganda.
Diana Tracy is an experienced legal professional with a demonstrated history of routinely advising and representing both local and multinational corporations in international arbitration disputes, especially in the construction, manufacturing, and insurance sectors. She is passionate about mentorship of young lawyers and has participated in several initiatives focusing on emerging trends in law, youth empowerment, as well as social justice and democracy in Africa.
Assistant Editors
Richard Mlambe
Richard Mlambe is a Malawian attorney and academic. He is a full-time lecturer in law at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS). Since December 2020, he has been the Head of the Management Studies Department in the Faculty of Commerce. He teaches and researches in Banking Law, Commercial Law, Intellectual Property Law and Insolvency Law, among others. He also lectures in alternative dispute resolution including arbitration, to Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) students at MUBAS, as part of the course in ‘The Legal Environment of Business’. His other core areas of research and practical interest are Public International Law, Private International Law and International Commercial and Investment Arbitration.
Richard has been consulted to provide advice on international arbitration matters to various entities. Apart from his Academic activities, Richard is a legal practitioner duly admitted to the Malawian bar and argues cases in all courts of Malawi.
Agnes Teresa Akal
Agnes Teresa Akal, OGW is an Associate in the Dispute Resolution Practice at Bowmans (Law Firm) in Nairobi, Kenya. Agnes completed her Bachelor of Laws degree from Jomo Kenyatta University and thereafter Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. Agnes is a member of the Law Society of Kenya as well as the Association of Young Arbitrators (AYA).
Agnes has been involved in several complex arbitrations including ad hoc arbitrations and arbitrations under the auspices of ICSID and the LCIA. She has also been involved in numerous high-profile litigations before the Kenyan courts.
In recognition of her stellar practice, Agnes has been awarded a State accolade – the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW).
Peace Adeleye
Peace Adeleye is an Associate at Kenna Partners – a leading law firm based in Nigeria where she practices international dispute resolution, taxation, and litigation. She is a First-Class graduate from Babcock University where she obtained her Bachelor of Laws (LL. B) Degree. She has an avid interest in International Investment Law, International Dispute Resolution, Energy, International Arbitration, Taxation, and International Law of the sea.
She was a delegate of the Moot Alumni Association (MAA) to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Working Group II (Dispute Settlement) 72nd Session held from 21 – 25 September 2020. She currently acts as the African Regional representative of the MAA and has acted as arbitrator in several moots including the FDI Skadden Moot and the Vis Moots.
Lauraine Ghartey
Lauraine Ghartey is an Associate at Ghartey and Ghartey (Gyate Chambers) a leading Law firm in Ghana. Her key interests are: Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR), Company and Corporate Law, International Business Law, Intellectual Property Law and Labor Law. She obtained her first degree (LL.B) from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology – Ghana. She recently obtained an LLM in International Business from Osgoode Hall Law School – York University, Canada.
She is a prolific writer, whose interest in Alternative Dispute Resolution has led her to author a number of articles in the subject area.