Ngozi Okpalakunne
21 September 2007
Lagos — Mrs Boma Ozobia, a frontline lawyer and legal adviser to the European chapter of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation shared her experiences as top flight working woman with Ngozi Okpalakunne
TO say that Mrs Boma Ozobia is a highly professional woman is not an overstatement. Mrs Ozobia is a dual qualified lawyer with many years experience in international commercial law, arbitration and private client work. Also she is an accredited civil and commercial mediator and a member of the executive committee of commonwealth lawyer's association.
Speaking in an interview with Working Woman in her Lagos office tucked somewhere in Ikoyi, Mrs Ozobia who is the chairwoman of the Association of Women Solicitors of England Wales in 2005 and the founding partner of Sterling Partnership, solicitors LLP, an international law firm, talked about her chosen career, her organisation, sterling partnership solicitors; challenges of working woman, young female lawyers and a host of others.
Speaking on the reason she studied law, the soft spoken woman who has determined to make a mark in the law profession locally and internationally recalled that her uncle who is also a lawyer really motivated her to study law.
Explaining further she said, " when I was a small girl, there is this my uncle who is a lawyer that usually visit my parents, he normally come to our house straight from the court. And if I see him, I always admire his attire and I will say to myself, I will be a lawyer so as to be dressing like my uncle. And that was what really made me to study law.
How has it been practicing for two decade? Responding to this, she quickly explained that it has been quite interesting adding that what law school did was to give her the basic foundation - the tools needed to become a seasoned lawyer.
According to her, the first two years was really a learning process. Said she: "Now, I've found my niche. I'm managing my own practice in conjunction with partners. We all know our areas of expertise. We try to stay within these areas and do our best. We are not doing a jack of all trade practice.
"I am an international lawyer and by virtue of my international work experience, what I do is harness all of these in serving my clients. Sterling partnership is here in Nigeria, London, Accra and Paris. This enables us to deal with multinationals in different countries."
Recalling her first day in court, she noted that she was not impressed as she was not given chance to talk due to the fact that she was far below the line.
Explaining further she said, "you are prepared, happy, you have not slept because you are coming to impress the judge. And you get there, you were not allowed to talk because your seniors are there. Well it is one of the realities of the profession.
According to her, the first Nigerian woman lawyer on record was Stella Jane Thomas who was admitted to practice law on November 16, 1935.
Continuing she said that it look more than thirty years before any woman achieved real prominence in the profession.
Highlighting her challenges as a female lawyer, the international legal practitioner said they are not so much adding that she has built for herself a good reputation.
"But at the early stages, you go to meetings and because you are a young female lawyer, you see so many men announcing interest in you and have to disagree with them very quickly in order to get down to business. In some cases this is a sort of stumbling block because they tie the personal interest to the business interest and you have to let go. It could be frustrating.
Also, achieving balance with your family life could be challenging. You have to plan carefully.
Thank God, I have a supportive husband who makes it possible for me to balance my work and my home without this, it becomes extremely difficult," she noted.
Given a brief history of her organisation, Sterling partnership solicitors, she maintained is a law firm that specialised in the international commercial transactions.
Sterling Partnership, also she explained is involved in setting a standard within the law profession, adding, "having practiced law in other jurisdiction and also with 20 years experience in the profession, I feel I own a duty to the younger ones to share the information that I have gather over the years, to teach them to lift up the standard so that we maintain and even excel in the way we practice our profession."
Mrs. Ozobia is one woman who does not believe that one has to be in the office from 9 am to 5pm before such an individual becomes successful.
She described the system as a historic thing which the country inherited from the colonial masters.
"What we do is with our computers. We do not really need to come into the office to work neither do we have to work 9am to 5pm. We can be flexible because we have the tools to achieve that flexibility. As I'm sitting here, my computer is logged up to my London office, so I can work in London from Lagos and vice versa. The only thing missing is my physical presence. I come to work at 7am, and by 2 0'clock in the afternoon I will go and pick my son from school, help him in his school work, spend some quality time with him at 5 0'clock, I return to work till 9.pm".
She opined that it is about time women recognise the need for them to ask for credit when they add value in their organisations.
"We have to speak for ourselves when we do something to add value in an organisation we are, we must make sure that they give us the credit, instead of waiting to be recognised, after all men are fond of blowing trumpet each time they do any work," she said.
It is interesting to note that Mrs. Boma Ozobia is also a director of several offshore companies involved in the oil & gas sector, telecommunication and the hospitality industry. Currently the legal adviser, Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (Europe).
She received the Art For Behavioural Change Foundation Award as an agent for positive change in Nigerian society in 2006, and was also given the Nigerian Community Newspaper Award in London for "outstanding professional services."
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