Etigwe Uwa, SAN

Etigwe Uwa, SAN is a Partner at the Firm and oversees the Firm's Dispute Resolution Practice. His primary practice area is Arbitration and Mediation, with litigation and arbitration experience spanning a wide range of areas including commercial disputes, international trade, oil and gas, telecommunications, company law, maritime and aviation, intellectual property, employment, personal injury, construction, trade disputes, insurance, taxation, banks and other financial institutions.

He has an established reputation as an authority in Nigerian aviation law and was lead counsel responsible for drafting the Civil Aviation Act and the subsequent declarations made by Nigeria in pursuance of the Cape Town Convention.

His notable representations include a contractor cross-border dispute between an indigenous offshore support services and EPIC contractor in respect of a convertible bond under a nominee agreement; an arbitration proceeding at the London Court of International Arbitration regarding a dispute over shareholding and funding arrangements with a joint venture partner for the acquisition of a stake in an Electricity Distribution Company; a Federal High Court and Court of Appeal suit leading to the setting aside of a multibillion-dollar arbitral award, following a novel argument that Petroleum Profits Tax disputes are not arbitrable in Nigeria; and an action against the Federal Inland Revenue Service for a group company in respect of an income tax liability imposed by the FIRS.

He holds a GMBA from Tufts Fletcher School, a BL from the Nigerian Law School, and an LLB from the University of Lagos. He is a member of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), and a member of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN). He is also a co-author of the Nigerian chapter of Getting the Deal Through publications on Enforcement of Foreign Judgements, Tax Disputes and Litigation Review, Aviation Liability, Arbitration, and Air Transport.