Legal practitioners, Senior Advocates of Nigeria and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, have called for a shift from sole proprietorship law practices to stronger partnership based firms that can survive beyond their founders and compete globally.
The call was made at the Convergence Masterclass 2026 which took place on Thursday in Abuja and was themed “Beyond the Founder: Designing Multi Generational Law Firms that Endure and Scale.”
The event focused on the future of legal practice in Nigeria, succession planning, sustainability of law firms, networking, collaboration and strategies for building institutions that can outlive their founders.
Convener of the event and legal practitioner, Patience Olusuyi, said many Nigerian law firms disappear after the death or retirement of their founders because they are built around individuals rather than institutions.
She stressed the need for younger lawyers to combine their strengths, form partnerships and establish firms that can endure for decades, noting that globally, several law firms have existed for over 200 years because they were built on strong institutional structures rather than individual personalities.
Olusuyi explained that the aim of the masterclass was to encourage lawyers to rethink the traditional sole proprietorship structure and embrace partnerships that would create continuity, stability and long term growth within the legal profession.
President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, SAN, said most legal practices in Nigeria are still tied to the health and existence of their founders, making succession difficult whenever the owners retire, become ill or die.
He said the legal profession must begin to adopt new business models that encourage partnerships, shared ownership and institutional growth, adding that law firms should be structured in a way that allows younger lawyers and partners to contribute meaningfully while also having a sense of ownership.
Osigwe further stated that law firms should not only aim to provide quality legal services but should also be able to survive across generations and continue supporting the families of founders and employees long after the original owners are gone.
Keynote speaker, Paul Haris Ogbole, SAN, also identified weak succession frameworks and limited scalability as major challenges facing African law firms.
According to him, many law firms on the continent struggle to grow beyond their founders because of poor institutional planning, weak partnership structures and the absence of long term business models.
One of the speakers, George Etomi, SAN, advised young lawyers to focus on networking, collaboration and professional visibility as ways of attracting quality clients and expanding their careers.
He encouraged lawyers to participate in professional associations, seminars and social activities that would help them build relationships and establish credibility within the profession.
Etomi also urged young practitioners to work closely with established firms in order to gain experience, improve their competence and position themselves for future opportunities through collaboration and mentorship.
In her presentation, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs. Olabisi O. Soyebo, said succession planning remains one of the biggest challenges facing Nigerian law firms, especially because most firms are still first generation practices operated by sole proprietors or small partnerships.
She noted that unlike other jurisdictions where mega law firms with thousands of lawyers have existed for centuries, Nigeria is only beginning to witness the emergence of mid sized firms and institutional legal structures.
Soyebo explained that many Nigerian law firms quietly disappear after the death of their founders because there are often no clear succession arrangements, operational systems or institutional frameworks to sustain them.
She stressed the need for law firms to establish proper partnership agreements, documented policies, operational procedures and transition plans that would ensure continuity regardless of changes in leadership.
According to her, building enduring law firms requires deliberate planning, strong internal systems and a commitment to creating institutions that can continue functioning effectively even in the absence of their founders.
