Practice areas/Institutional and ad hoc proceedings
05 Arbitration & ADR
Institutional and ad hoc arbitration, mediation and expert determination, seated in Nigeria and abroad.
The practice
What instructing us on arbitration & adr looks like.
Construction, energy and joint-venture disputes rarely belong in open court. We draft and stress-test dispute clauses, run arbitrations under ICC, LCIA, LCA and UNCITRAL rules, and handle the enforcement or challenge of awards before the Nigerian courts.
Members of the team are fellows and members of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and sit as arbitrators as well as appearing as counsel.
Scope of work
- Dispute resolution clause drafting and review
- Institutional and ad hoc arbitral proceedings
- Emergency arbitrator and interim relief applications
- Mediation and expert determination
- Recognition, enforcement and set-aside of awards
- Appointments as arbitrator and mediator
Who we act for
How we work
Judgement applied in a particular order.
The discipline changes; the method does not. These are the decisions we take first on every mandate in this practice.
The clause decides the dispute
Seat, rules, language and tribunal composition determine cost and outcome more than most parties expect. We review them before signature.
Proportionate procedure
We resist procedural escalation that adds cost without adding persuasion, and press for document production only where it changes the case.
Enforcement in mind
An award is worth what it can be enforced for. We plan recognition and asset location from the outset.
Selected record
Where this practice has been tested.
Joint venture arbitration in the upstream sector
ICC
Construction claim under LCA rules
Lagos Court of Arbitration
Set-aside application against a domestic award
Federal High Court
Common questions
Asked before most instructions.
Are foreign awards enforceable in Nigeria?
Yes, under the New York Convention and the Arbitration and Mediation Act, subject to limited grounds of challenge that we advise on before enforcement begins.
Do you accept appointments as arbitrator?
Partners accept appointments where no conflict arises with the firm's counsel work.
Consult us
Put the arbitration & adr question to a partner.
Every enquiry is read by a partner, cleared for conflicts and acknowledged within one business day. Urgent injunctive or enforcement matters are triaged the same day by telephone.