Legal practitioners have been urged to embrace artificial intelligence, strengthen their negotiation skills and adopt strategic networking practices, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal and business environment.
The call was made on Monday, at the opening of the 20th Annual International Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) in Abuja. The Conference, themed “Beyond Reforms – Measuring Policy Impact”, brought together legal professionals, business leaders and policy experts, to examine emerging trends shaping legal practice and commercial transactions.
Leading the opening session on negotiation, Mr Ayuli Jemide challenged conventional assumptions about deal-making, arguing that human behaviour accounts for nearly 70% of negotiation outcomes, outweighing legal positions, facts and strategy. Drawing from real-life transactions, he highlighted factors such as anchoring, scarcity, reciprocity, venue and time pressure, while urging Lawyers to thoroughly research their counterparts, identify common interests and build trust through authenticity.
A separate session on business development and networking featured Abena Poku of XOI Marketing, Andrew Skipper, former Head of Africa at a leading international law firm, and Toyin Ojo of the African Legal Support Facility. The Speakers agreed that, while technical competence remains important, clients increasingly make decisions based on trust, relationships and a Lawyer’s understanding of their business needs.
Poku noted that artificial intelligence is already influencing how legal professionals are discovered online, explaining that AI-powered search tools increasingly rely on LinkedIn activity and digital footprints when ranking Lawyers and law firms. She therefore, encouraged practitioners to prioritise consistent content creation, while Skipper urged Nigerian Lawyers to leverage opportunities arising from regional integration and growing cross-border commercial activities across Africa, through strategic networking.
Offering a client perspective, Ojo advised Lawyers to focus less on promoting firm credentials, and more on demonstrating a clear understanding of client needs. According to her, the most successful proposals are those that provide value, show partnership and align closely with the objectives of clients.
The spotlight later shifted to artificial intelligence and the future of legal practice during a presentation by Mr Ope Olugbasa, who identified due diligence, document review, contract drafting, legal research, law firm structures and billing models, as areas being transformed by AI. While acknowledging the opportunities created by technology, he warned against over-reliance on AI, stressing that Lawyers who fail to adapt, risk being displaced by those who effectively combine technological tools with critical thinking, professional judgement and institutional knowledge.
