George Etomi

Mr George Etomi is the Principal Partner of the law firm George Etomi and Partners and a distinguished transaction lawyer with over 41 years of experience in the legal profession. He has garnered a wealth of experience in diverse areas of commercial law, cutting across various commercial transactions in Energy and Natural Resources Law, Aviation Law, Building and Construction Law, Banking and Finance Law, Arbitration, Telecommunications, Legislative Drafting and Competition Law Policy. However, he has narrowed his focus to energy law.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the great University of Ife (Now Obafemi Awolowo University – OAU) and a Master of Laws Degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1977. He completed the Chief Executive Programme at the Lagos Business School in 1998.

Throughout his career, George has been and continues to be an active member and leader of the Nigeria Bar Association. He has served in numerous leadership capacities, with the most notable being;

• Member, Body of Benchers – Nigeria’s highest regulatory body of the Legal Profession.
• Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (FNIALS) – 2013. The Institute named a Centre after him: “The George Etomi Centre for Strategic Investment and Corporate Governance”, and an academic chair is also endowed in his name at the institute.
• Director, Eko Electricity Distribution PLC in Lagos, Nigeria.
• Pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Section on Business Law.
• Special Adviser to the International Trade in Legal Services Committee of the Bar Issues Commission of the IBA is the Body tasked with reviewing the rules for cross-border legal services under the WTO directive.
• Honorary Membership in the Association of Fellows and Legal Scholars of the Centre for International Legal Studies in Austria and a member of the Congress of Fellows of the same institution.
• Chairman, Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) – Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference 2018.

 In 2014, George was conferred the National Productivity Order of Merit Award by the Federal Republic of Nigeria for his contribution to the development of law. 

George is a published author of several articles and newspaper publications, including his book, ‘An Introduction to Commercial Law in Nigeria’, where he brings his many decades of experience in commercial law practice in Nigeria.

Despite his illustrious professional career, George is actively engaged in philanthropic causes. Together with his identical twin brother, Michael, he co-founded the M&G Etomi Foundation, which is dedicated to providing opportunities and resources to empower the Niger Delta community, especially the youth, to build better lives, in a region where the environment has deteriorated owing to oil and gas activities. George enjoys travelling with his family and public speaking in his leisure time. He similarly enjoys golfing, tennis, football and squash.

George is happily married to his beautiful wife, Efe, a legal practitioner and partner in a leading litigation firm in Nigeria, and their union is blessed with five children.