NBA‑SBL Conference Encourages Lawyers to Adopt AI and Build Strategic Networks

Legal professionals have been encouraged to adopt artificial intelligence, sharpen their negotiation abilities, and pursue strategic networking to stay competitive amid a rapidly changing legal and commercial landscape.

At the opening of the 20th Annual International Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA‑SBL) in Abuja on Monday, the conference—titled “Beyond Reforms – Measuring Policy Impact”—assembled lawyers, business leaders, and policy experts to discuss emerging trends that are reshaping legal practice and commercial transactions.

In the opening session on negotiation, Mr. Ayuli Jemide challenged conventional wisdom about deal‑making. He argued that human behavior accounts for nearly 70 % of negotiation outcomes, eclipsing legal positions, facts, and strategy. Using real‑world transactions, he highlighted factors such as anchoring, scarcity, reciprocity, venue, and time pressure, and urged lawyers to research their counterparts thoroughly, identify shared 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 essential, clients increasingly base decisions on trust, relationships, and a lawyer’s grasp of their business needs.

Poku explained that artificial intelligence is already shaping how legal professionals are discovered online, noting that AI‑powered search tools increasingly rely on LinkedIn activity and digital footprints when ranking lawyers and law firms. She encouraged practitioners to prioritize consistent content creation, while Skipper urged Nigerian lawyers to seize opportunities arising from regional integration and expanding cross‑border commercial activity 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. She said the most successful proposals are those that provide value, show partnership, and align closely with clients’ objectives.

Later, the conference spotlight turned to artificial intelligence and the future of legal practice during a presentation by Mr. Ope Olugbasa. He 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 cautioned against over‑reliance on AI, stressing that lawyers who fail to adapt risk being displaced by those who combine technological tools with critical thinking, professional judgment, and institutional knowledge.