​Name: 
Azubike Okoye FPD
Location:  
Nigeria 
Contact details: 
+2348037987039
Detailed CV available on request from Prime Dispute. 
Azubike Okoye FPD - CV 2023
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Qualifications: 
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)​, LL.M. (Master of Laws) in International Arbitration, University of Miami School of Law, Barrister-at-Law (B.L.), Barrister and Solicitor - Supreme Court of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Lawyer, FCIArb, FPD

Specialisation: 
Legal, International Arbitration; Arbitration; Mediation

Languages:
English and Igbo

Regions served: 
United Kingdom, US, Nigeria and further international regions as requested
Industry Sectors:*​​​​​
  • Aviation
  • Banking law and practice
  • Construction
  • Insurance
  • Intellectual property
  • Labour and employment
  • Real Estates and
  • Telecommunication

Practice Areas: *​​​
  • Arbitration​​ 
  • Arb-Med
  • Expert Witness
  • Med-Arb
  • Mediation​

Publications: Lecturer Engagements:
  • Legal Facilitator; Centre for Management and Development, Lagos State, Nigeria.
  • Speaker; Centre for Management and Development, Lagos State, Nigeria.
  • Speaker; Federal Road Safety, Special Marshals for Unit 102, Lagos State, Nigeria.
  • Peer Educator Instructor; United Nations International Children Emergency Fund under the auspices of National Youth Service Corps, Niger State, Nigeria
Professional Experience ((illustrative and not exhaustive):

(a) Arbitration: 
  • Acted for a leading Nigerian based construction company in a construction liability claim involving commercial terms and financial disputes relating to multiple engineering construction contract which amounts to approx. 
  • Acted for a foreign insurance company with a Nigerian presence in an insurance claim relating to Air Crash and passenger claims settlement connected with affected victims worth approx.
(b) Mediation: 
  • Acted as a Mediator in successful resolution of a dispute of over 7 years between an Employer and a Contractor pertaining to assignment of construction contractual obligations in a claim.
  • Acted as a Mediator in facilitating resolution of dispute involving restructuring of an estate of a deceased prominent Nigerian involving his real properties.
  • Acted as a Mediator involving a Nigerian financial institution with strong international presence in a hotly contested mortgage dispute.
  • Acted for a United States of America Bank in defending a claim relating to Oil Exploration and Trustee Obligation arising from a third-party liability claim. 
  • Acted for an international Bank in defending banking related claims arising from a mortgage transaction involving a Customer contesting debit transactions and excess charges claim approx.
  • Acted for a European established telecommunication entity with a branch in Nigeria in a commercial dispute involving claims bordering on Wireline Network Services and outside Plan Civil Works Services approx. 
  • Acted for an international financial institution in defending claims  in a consolidated multiple proceeding arising from a complex construction contract executed in Ghana. ​
(c) Expert Witness:
  • Acted as an Expert witness in a maritime contractual claim arising from the interpretation of terms of Advance Payment Guarantee and Performance Bond.
Background information: 
Azubike obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria in 2006. He attended Nigerian Law School, Lagos campus and was admitted into the Nigerian Bar in 2007. He earned his Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Miami, School of Law, Florida, United States of America in International Law and Legal Studies with specialty in International Arbitration in 2022.

He worked with F.O. Akinrele & Co., a top tier full-service dispute resolution firm in Nigeria, where he rose from an Associate to a Senior Associate and team lead in the dispute resolution department of the firm for over a decade. During his master’s program, Azubike was a practicum student with an International Arbitration law firm, GST LLP in Miami, Florida, U.S. He has substantial dispute resolution experience in a wide spectrum of complex commercial disputes relating to Litigation, Mediation, and Arbitration.

He successfully represented both foreign and local clientele as a lead counsel in all Courts in Nigeria, and before Mediation and Arbitration proceedings. He was commended “very highly for his skill, industry, erudition, and depth of knowledge” by a Senior Judge of the High Court of Lagos State in a litigation proceeding he conducted. He routinely sat as a Mediator where wide spectrum of commercial disputes were substantially resolved amicably. He has rendered advisory services relating to banking, aviation, construction liability, oil spill, insurance claims, shareholder disputes, formation of corporate entities and restructuring of personal estates. He has acted as a key witness and an expert witness respectively in hotly contested proceedings in both Nigeria and the U.S.

Azubike was appointed a Notary Public of Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2016. He has full rights of audience before the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) court. He is a certified Foreign Legal Consultant by the Florida Bar, a licensed Attorney and Counselor at Law with the State of Missouri, U.S., and was admitted in New York pro hac vice.

He was a recipient of the Federal Government of Nigeria Scholarship and the prestigious Young ICCA (International Council for Commercial Arbitration) full tuition scholarship for his outstanding academic and professional credential in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). He has published several scholarly articles in the International Arbitration and was a recipient of African Arbitration Association award for publication of the year in 2022.

He is an accredited Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K; Prime Dispute, U.K; Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators; Arbitration and Mediation Institute of New Zealand. He is also a registered Arbitrator with the FINRA (Financial Regulatory Authority) U.S. He is a member of several international arbitral bodies.

Mr. Okoye has acted as a panelist, foreign professor, and a discussant in ADR topics at several events and classes organized by renowned institutions including the Centre for Management and Development in Nigeria; the Pontifical Catholic University of Parana Law School Brazil; and American Bar Association International Law Section.
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​​ Detailed CV available on request from Prime Dispute. 
*Prime Dispute also provides a 'Formal Appointment Service', All our senior neutrals who are officially appointed will need to comply with our ' Formal Criteria' before nomination.
*Conflict checks would need to be undertaken prior to the neutral being formally appointed.