ILFA Flagship Secondment Programme
ABOUT
IFSP
This is an annual international secondment programme where lawyers practising in various African jurisdictions are selected and sponsored on a 3-month secondment (September to December) at highly reputed international law firms and corporations based in London, Paris, Hong Kong and Dubai. ILFA set up national committees in many African countries (comprising senior lawyers, judges and members of law societies), and has been supported by these national committees in the advertisement of the secondment programme and the initial review of applications. The ILFA board selects the successful secondees from a shortlist of applications drawn up by each national committee.
Additionally, the programme provides an academic enrichment series that incorporates training modules on various topics relevant to the African legal sector. A wide variety of practice areas and sectors are covered as part of the training modules which take place in London in the first 2 weeks of the programme before the lawyers then go to the various host cities. Finally, the ILFA lawyers undergo seminars at the prestigious Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The overall objective is to ‘educate, equip and empower’ African lawyers.
Successful secondees receive a fully-funded 3-month placement (between September and December) – the majority of secondees spend their time in London, but in more recent years some also complete their placements in Paris, Dubai and Hong Kong. In the first few weeks of the programme, secondees receive intensive training in many areas including corporate, finance, litigation, and public international law. The remainder of the programme is spent gaining work experience in law firms, chambers, and corporations. Secondees also have the benefit of various networking evenings so they can get to know each other, as well as pre-eminent lawyers, barristers, academics and businessmen and women.
This is all with the aim of equipping the secondees with as much relevant experience as possible such that the secondees can take this experience back to their home jurisdictions. As highlighted above, it is hoped that these highly trained African lawyers will have the skills and experience to deal with complex transaction work within their own countries, therefore retaining the legal fees within their own countries, rather than the work needing to be sent abroad to other lawyers. In 2013 Merger Market recorded around 250 deals with a value of $3B or more where the legal work was led by law firms outside of Africa. This means that legal fees for these deals, which could have been earned within an African jurisdiction and so adding to such jurisdiction’s economy, instead were lost to an overseas firm. Africa is losing out on “indirect compensation” from such deals given that no benefit of the hefty legal fees is felt by the African jurisdiction.
ABOUT
IFSP
Advanced Training
Legal skills and professional development training are an essential part of the secondment programme. Ahead of candidates being placed with host firms, they are invited to attend a 2-week induction/ advanced skills training which takes place in London. The training is delivered by ILFA in partnership with participating firms and corporations and several other ILFA advisors. Sessions are a mix of soft skills and technical training which cover a wide range of topics and practice areas relevant to the African legal sector.
Topics vary from year to year but usually include hot topics like:
• Introduction to project finance
• Improving the investment climate in Africa
• The role of Public-Private Partnerships in African infrastructure development
• Best practice guidance on Oil & Gas projects
• Navigating dispute resolution and regulatory issues in Africa
• Sources of Public International Law
• International Commercial Arbitration
Oxbridge Seminars
ILFA lawyers attend a two-day academic seminar organised by Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The seminars are coordinated and led by selected members of the ILFA Advisory Board who have affiliations with the universities in conjunction with the law faculties of the two universities.
Pupillage Experience
COMBAR (The Commercial Bar Association) is a long-time supporter of ILFA and offers a series of lectures and “mini-pupillages” to ILFA secondees. COMBAR usually offers pupillage experiences for up to 10 ILFA secondees. This means that secondees will spend 2-3 days (at the end of November) undertaking work experience at various chambers. This opportunity is open to all the ILFA secondees.
Professional Development and Networking
Core of the ILFA programme is the development of intra Africa networks. The programme provides secondees with valuable opportunities to meet, exchange information, and share experiences with lawyers from various African countries. Through conferences, shared accommodation, networking receptions, meetings, and seminars; secondees expand their perspectives on their work, the legal industry and on global issues facing the African continent. The ability to engage with one another as well as with colleagues at work placements and during legal professional events are all key components of these condees enrichment experience thereby ensuring that ILFA delivers both technical and professional development training to its lawyers.
ILFA 2025 Flagship Programme Cohort
Fatma Haruna Songoro
Hosted by Latham & Watkins LLP
Fatma Haruna Songoro is the head of technology and fintech department at Victory Attorneys & Consultants. She is a technology lawyer with extensive experience across fintech, data protection and privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property, digital regulation, regulatory compliance and emerging technology. She advises a diverse client base that includes financial institutions, telecoms, fintechs, insurance entities, ICT based companies, e-commerce platforms, gaming businesses and start-ups. She is a qualified lawyer in Tanzania and a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals
Alongside her practice, Fatma is a dedicated researcher whose work focuses on the policies and governance structures shaping technology. Her research concentrates on digital rights, child online protection, the ethical use of artificial intelligence, data protection, internet governance, consumer protection, digital assets and the regulatory frameworks underpinning cyber-related laws. She is passionate about shaping legal and regulatory frameworks that foster innovation while protecting fundamental rights and promoting inclusive digital development.
Fatma also serve on various board whereby she is the Vice Chairperson of the Board of the Tanzania International Arbitration Centre (TIAC), a Board Member of the Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA) and the Tanzania Privacy Professionals Association (TPPA). In 2025, she was named among the 25 Women Who Inspire by the Institute for African Women in Law (IAWL) for her outstanding contribution to technology law.
Henok Kiros
Hosted by Clifford Chance LLP
Henok Kiros is a Senior Associate at Aman & Partners Legal Service LLP in Ethiopia, where he specializes in corporate and commercial law. He regularly advises multinational companies on foreign investment, M&A, banking and finance, regulatory compliance, employment, and technology-related matters. Prior to joining private practice, Henok was a law lecturer at Dire Dawa University. He holds an LL.M. in Public International Law from Addis Ababa University and an LL.B. from the University of Gondar. Henok is passionate about cross-border legal practice and looks forward to deepening his international experience through the ILFA secondment at Clifford Chance.
Nabila Hamada
Hosted by Hunton Andrews Kurth (UK) LLP
Nabila Hamada is a Kenyan-qualified Advocate currently working as an Associate in the Corporate and Commercial team at Walker Kontos, one of Kenya's leading law firms. She has over four years of experience in corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, data protection, real estate and cross-border legal transactions.
Nabila advises clients on a broad range of domestic and cross-border commercial matters, assisting clients through complex transactions and regulatory compliance. She adopts a practical, solutions-oriented approach, providing clear and commercially astute legal advice tailored to her clients' objectives.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Kent and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Commercial Law from the University of Birmingham. She is committed to continuous professional development, delivering high-quality legal services and contributing to the evolving legal landscape."
Oluwatobi Akintayo
Hosted by Mayer Brown LLP
Oluwatobi is an Associate in the finance, fintech, tax and mining teams at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (UUBO), one of Nigeria's most respected full-service corporate and commercial law firms.
He is qualified to practice law in both Nigeria and New York has over five years of experience advising a very diverse range of clients, including financial institutions, fintechs, private equity firms, government entities as well as local and international corporates on some of the most complex debt and equity investments across different sectors of the global economy. His work typically covers foreign exchange control regulations, fintech, debt restructuring, project financing, and secured and unsecured lending. Tobi has been recognized as a "Key Lawyer" by The Legal 500 EMEA. He holds an LLM from Harvard Law School where he focused his studies on international financial regulation and corporate finance.
Beyond transactional work, Oluwatobi is passionate about helping small businesses grow and he spends most of his spare time advising startups and other growth businesses on their legal and business needs. He has also contributed to leading international legal publications, including the Nigerian chapter of the Global Legal Group's Lending & Secured Finance guide as well as the Tax Controversy chapter of Chambers' 2026 Nigeria guide.
Temple Ezebuike
Hosted by Trinity International LLP
Temple Ezebuike is a Senior Associate in the Finance, Energy & Projects Practice at TEMPLARS, advising project developers, sponsors, lenders, investors, government entities, development finance institutions and contractors on complex energy and infrastructure projects across Nigeria and other African markets.
His practice covers project development, project finance, regulatory and commercial matters, and investment structuring across the power, renewable energy, oil and gas, and broader infrastructure sectors. His experience includes advising on Nigeria’s first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project, its first floating solar power plant, the Lagos Blue Rail independent power project, and dedicated power infrastructure for hyperscale data centres and other energy-intensive digital infrastructure, including bitcoin-mining operations.
Temple holds an LL.B from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and is admitted to practise as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He has been recognised as a Rising Star for Project Development: Energy by IFLR1000 and as a Recognised Lawyer in The Legal 500 EMEA 2026 Guide.
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