NLI Associate, Stella Duru, was admitted into the top-notch Commercial law firm, Banwo and Ighodalo on the 1st of March 2012 as the 6th Partner of the firm.
Stella, who joined the firm in 2001, has distinguished herself as a diligent, conscientious and dedicated individual; thus rising in the professional ranks within the firm, from a youthful and exuberant, albeit nervous, Junior Associate to a more mature, assertive and widely knowledgeable Senior Counsel and now partner of the distinguished firm.
Ms. Duru has enjoyed a great many successes and achievements, ranging from winning the award for ‘Best Team Leader’ for year 2007 (in the firm’s Partners & Associates Annual Retreat Awards) to closing challenging transactions. One of such achievements include being selected in 2005, following a very competitive selection process on merit as the only Lawyer qualified to Intern with the prestigious law firm of Edward Nathan (now known as Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs) situate in Sandton Johannesburg, under their African Visiting Lawyer Programme.
Whilst in South Africa, Stella authored an article titled “Conquering Nigeria’s Darkness”, (published in a leading South African publication) focused on the on-going reform of the Nigerian Power Sector. Stella also delivered a presentation titled “Corporate Governance- the Nigerian Case Study” to the Partners and Associates of Edward Nathan aimed at showing the strides achieved by Nigeria in tackling corporate governance.
Stella has an LLB from the renowned University of Lagos and holds several professional memberships, including the Nigerian Bar Association and the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN).
