Centurion’s Energy Practice Lead Adaku Ufere has been named Attorney of the Year by The African Legal Awards 2017. Ufere received her award at a ceremony on Friday, September 8 at The Wanderers Club in Johannesburg.
Hosted by Legal Week, the awards were created to recognize exceptional achievement in Africa’s legal community in various categories, including International Law Firm of the Year, African Law Firm of the Year, General Counsel of the Year and Legal Department of the Year. Ufere, who was also a winner in 2016 at the Nigerian Rising Stars – 40 Leading Nigerian Lawyers Under 40 awards, was competing for the top spot in the Attorney of the Year Associate category against lawyers from top global law firms, including Kelly Kapianga of Corpus Legal Practitioners; Aalia Manie of Webber Wentzel; and Megan Nicholas of Hogan Lovells.
“Adaku works tirelessly here at Centurion Law Group to ensure that clients’ needs are met and exceeded, and that development in Africa’s energy sector keeps moving forward, even during the tough market conditions we are experiencing,” said NJ Ayuk, CEO of Centurion Law Group. “She was up against very tough competition so this award was well-deserved and we are very proud of her.”
“I know that African attorneys throughout the continent are working for the betterment of the legal industry and the betterment of Africa every day, so it is truly an honor to be recognized in this way for the work we do at Centurion’s energy practice,” said Ufere.
The awards were being judged by an independent panel of some of the most senior professionals in Africa’s law sector.
Ufere has an LLB from the University of Nigeria, a BL from the Nigerian Law School and an LLM in Oil and Gas from the University of Aberdeen. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar and the International Bar Association and is also a certified Chartered Arbitrator and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (United Kingdom). She provides legal advisory services to oil companies and the governments in Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, including drafting and negotiating oil and gas license contracts.
View the full list of awards at The African Legal Awards here.
