Lawyer of the Month - February 2008

Our Lawyer of the Month is Boma Ozobia, the senior partner in the three-partner law firm, Sterling Partnership, in London Bridge, London.

In 2005 Boma made legal history when she became the first person of minority ethnic origin to become the national Chair of the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) since it was established 83 years earlier. As Chair she was the official representative of the group with a responsibility for representing thousands of solicitors (currently around 20,000) who include lawyers in private practice, the Government, the general public and various organisations.

Sterling Partnership which has associated offices in Paris, Accra and Lagos, specialises in international commercial law and arbitration, property law and private client work. Boma is a dual qualified lawyer as she is also an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She is also an accredited mediator with the Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) Group.

Boma was born in Nguru, Eastern Nigeria and she grew up in Port Harcourt, the oil-rich region of Nigeria. She was educated in Nigeria and attended Rivers State University, where she read law, graduating in 1987. Boma attended the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988. In the same year she came to London to do her Masters in Law at King’s College, University of London and obtained her Masters in Law in 1989.

Whilst her fellow at King’s College moved on to lucrative posts, she could not find any work. Writing in a Women in Law newsletter, she recalled this early period stating: “As I review my past experiences in seeking employment within the United Kingdom in those early days, I cannot say that I had the perception that my gender was a major factor in the success or failure of my applications. I believe, however, that the ‘foreign’ name and early education in ‘foreign parts’ definitely played a role.”

Boma went on to set up a consultancy advising on Maritime and International Trade law and in 1999 she finally decided to sit for the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test in England and was admitted as a solicitor in 2000. She was to hold various positions, including being a partner at Lawson Adefope until 2002.

Shortly thereafter she set up the Sterling Partnership with Yaw Eshun, who is now running the practice in Ghana.

In 2005 Boma worked with Save the Children on a campaign launch to hold world leaders to task over a promise made five years earlier to make education available to as many girls as boys. The promise was one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the only pledge leaders had so far failed to meet.

Boma highlighted the fact that 60 million girls in 70 countries, mainly in the continents of Africa and Asia, are suffering because they are denied the right to go to school. Many are forced to become child soldiers or prostitutes as a means of survival. She urged the UK Government to use its influence to ensure that the money and policies were put into place so all children, including girls, were able to go to school.

In 2006 Boma wrote Sisters in Law: Career Choice for Nigerian Women Lawyers with Elizabeth Cruickshank, another former AWS Chair.

In addition to being one of the two founding members of the Sterling Partnership, Boma was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in Southwark Council’s Women’s Awards in 2007.  She was one of seven women, in various categories, who beat tough competition from more than 80 nominations made by the public. Her nominator was reported as saying: “As an ethnic minority and a woman, she faced incredible obstacles compounded by the difficult economic climate. Nonetheless, in conjunction with Yaw Eshun, the other founding partner, she has managed to build a business that in three years now employs 16 people in Southwark."

Boma holds directorships in several offshore companies in the oil and gas sector, telecommunications and the hospitality industry.

Apart from her involvement with Save the Children, Boma also is involved with Support for Africa, which was founded by the actress Patti Boulaye and is the Chair of the Nigerian wing. She is the vice-president of the Eagle Award – a motivational award aimed at providing positive role models for young black people in Nigeria – and her husband is its president and founder. Boma is also trustee of the Royal Commonwealth Society and FREE an  Educational Charity in Nigeria promoting adult literacy for women, as she believes passionately that “if you educate a woman, you educate a nation”.

She is the former vice-chair of the British Nigerian Law Forum and currently serves on its Executive Committee as well as the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and as Council member for Nigeria for the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

Boma is married with a 10-year-old son and lives in London, Lagos and Port Harcourt. She is a princess by birth, being the daughter of a King and great granddaughter of Omu, the Merchant Queen of the Niger Delta who was very influential in the area in the Nigerian history.

Below is our interview with Boma:

BLD: Why did you choose a legal career?
BO:  Law for me has always been an attractive proposition.  My grandfather was a magistrate (Omu’s son) before he became a King. An uncle was the first indigenous Chief Justice of, Rivers State, in Nigeria. Also my favourite uncle, Stanley, is a lawyer. I have always been surrounded, therefore, by wigs and gowns! Yes, I had a sense of justice and I was really dreadful at maths!

BLD: If you were to choose another role/profession other than law, what would it be and why?
BO: Be a teacher.  I like to impart knowledge to the younger generation – I love to see them grow. This really gives me a great sense of satisfaction.

BLD: What was the best career advice you were given?
BO: My Uncle David Garrick, also a lawyer, advised me:”If you stick at it long enough and are consistent in the quality of service you give, you will be successful.” 

BLD: What was the worst career advice you were given?
BO: Luckily, I have never received any.

BLD: What career advice would you give to others?
BO:   It depends on the circumstances; I would have to tailor whatever advice to their needs.

BLD: Who is the person you most admire (dead or alive) and why?
BO:   Nelson Mandela because he had 27 years of his life taken away by a really monstrous system. He did not come out vengeful and he did put aside personal grievances for the good of his country.

BLD: What are you most passionate/happiest about?
BO:  Women in the profession. I love to see a female lawyer doing well.

BLD: What are your dislikes?
BO: I like people to be direct. I have no patience for those who cannot be direct.

BLD: What was your worst moment as a lawyer?
BO:   I took on matter and relied on the barrister’s written opinion which was completely, fundamentally and legally wrong. It really taught me to check everything. Luckily, at the time I realised it was wrong in time to avoid total disaster for my client.
 
BLD: Tell us your professional high point(s).
BO:  Small things, really/ Seeing happy clients for whom you have achieved a desired result. That’s what keeps me going.
 
BLD: What was the most famous/interesting case(s) you have handled to date?
BO:    A money laundering case where my client was being investigated and I had to go through an audit trail going back 10 years.

BLD: What are the career challenges or plans you have made for 2008?
BO:   We are exploring the possibility of opening an office in Kenya and extending the training we currently provide in West Africa to East Africa.

BLD: Entrepreneur, qualified lawyer in two jurisdictions with offices in four jurisdictions. How do you juggle work, family life etc?
BO:    The internet and my BlackBerry!

BLD: Any professional regrets?
BO:  No.

BLD: If you could rule the world for a day what would you change/do?
BO:  Stop all the wars!