Chima Uzochukwu-Obi is an LLM candidate at the NYU School of Law, Class of 2026 and a Hauser Global Scholar. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria where he graduated with first class honors. He went on to the Nigerian Law School where he also graduated with first class honors and was subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar. In this interview with Stephen Onyekwelu, he tells the behind-the-scene story of his professional trajectory. Excerpts
You’ve built an early record of excellence – first class at Nnamdi Azikiwe University and the Nigerian Law School, followed by work at one of Lagos’s top commercial firms. When you look back now, what early experiences or mentors most shaped the way you think about law, discipline, and ambition?
I will say that I felt a need to pursue excellence from a very young age. It certainly helped that my parents modeled discipline and integrity perfectly. I was fortunate to win merit scholarships both in secondary school and at university, and that gave me a sense that hard work could genuinely determine my trajectory.
It also instilled discipline in me. I understood that the only sustainable way to level the playing field was through consistent merit. Later on, I had mentors at different stages of my life who reinforced that idea. I learned that ambition really is empty without discipline and responsibility. I have come a long way since my secondary school and university days, but these life lessons still guide me.
G. Elias is known for its high-stakes, high-standard corporate work. What did work on complex transactions teach you about how business and law interact – and how did that experience shape your decision to pursue corporate law more deeply at NYU?
Working at G. Elias was the perfect training ground for the kind of lawyer I wanted to become. The firm handles some of Nigeria’s most sophisticated corporate and finance work, and that environment forced me to think critically about how business and law interact. The firm’s immersive approach meant that even as a young lawyer, I was trusted with real responsibility on complex transactions.
I came to see that every contractual provision represents an allocation of power and trust, and that lawyers sit right at the junction where those decisions are made. That realisationsparked my deeper interest in corporate law and eventually led me to NYU, where I could study how law can be used to broaden access to capital and strengthen the financial systems that underpin growth.
You’re currently pursuing an LL.M. in Corporation Law at NYU as a Hauser Global Scholar – one of the world’s most competitive academic awards in law. How does that experience fit into your broader professional journey?
Being selected as a Hauser Global Scholar has been one of the defining moments of my career so far. The Hauser programmeis one of NYU Law’s most prestigious scholarships, awarded to a handful of exceptional candidates from around the world each year. For its part, the LLM in Corporation Law is an exceptionally well-tailored programme for my interests. Having spent years at G. Elias working on corporate and finance transactions, I wanted to step back and study those same issues – capital structure, regulation, market behavior – at a deeper and more comparative level. This programmeprovides exactly that: a chance to engage with the intellectual foundations of the work I’ve been doing in practice. And truly, there’s no better place to learn finance than New York, the world’s financial capital. I am gaining deeper knowledge on how to use law to structure transactions and create wider socio-economic impact.
You’re now immersed in the intellectual and cultural diversity of NYU’s global legal community as a Hauser Scholar. What has surprised you most about how corporate law is thought about in New York compared to Lagos?
The most striking difference I’ve seen is in how each system conceptualises risk. In New York, as far as I can tell, there’s a strong emphasis on systemic risk and the stability of the entire financial ecosystem which is largely driven by regulation and experience. In Lagos, while there is certainly some awareness of the bigger picture, the focus tends to be more transaction-specific, centered on execution and compliance.
Both approaches have value, but seeing them side by side has been invaluable. It has helped me understand that lawyers who grasp both perspectives can act as bridges, connecting capital from advanced markets to opportunities in developing ones. That intersection, to me, is where Africa’s legal and financial future will be shaped.
Serving as Graduate Editor of the Journal of Law and Business places you at the intersection of scholarship and practice. What kinds of emerging issues or debates in corporate law currently excite you the most – and why?
I find that I am increasingly interested in questions of resilience, how law can make markets stronger. Topics like business continuity, bail-in regimes, and new financial instruments fascinate me because they’re about designing systems that endure shocks. The real challenge of modern corporate law is striking that balance between innovation and stability. I’m interested in how we can craft legal frameworks that allow business to thrive while protecting the broader economy from systemic risk. That’s where my academic and professional interests converge.
Every generation of lawyers tends to redefine what corporate practice means in its time. From where you stand, how do you see African lawyers, particularly Nigerians, influencing the next phase of global corporate law?
African lawyers are beginning to play a far more assertive role in shaping global corporate practice. We are moving from just implementing frameworks drafted elsewhere to originating ideas, contributing to reforms, and structuring cross-border deals that attract global investment. Nigerian lawyers, in particular, bring a pragmatic creativity to the table: we are used to navigating imperfect systems and still producing excellent outcomes. That adaptability is a kind of intellectual capital on its own. As Africa continues to integrate into the global financial system, I expect that our perspective will become increasingly important.
If you could redesign one aspect of how cross-border transactions are currently structured between Africa and the rest of the world – legal, regulatory, or even ethical – what would you change, and how would you go about it?
Africa isn’t yet where it should be in terms of how it participates in global transactions, but we’re certainly moving in the right direction. There’s tremendous potential, a young population, growing capital markets, and improving governance. Still, I think too many cross-border transactions are structured from a place of excessive caution toward African risk.
If I could redesign one aspect, it would be the balance of risk allocation. I’d like to see transaction frameworks that reflect genuine partnership and recognise Africa’s potential rather than just its perceived volatility. Standardising fairer, context-sensitive deal structures would not only attract investment but also make that investment more sustainable. That’s part of what motivates my work: finding ways for law to help improve capital access.
Looking ahead to the next decade, what would you want your professional journey to represent – not just in terms of deals closed or positions held, but in the kind of impact you leave on the evolution of corporate law and governance?
In the next decade, I want my work to represent the idea that excellence has no geography. I see my journey as proof that an African lawyer can operate at the highest levels of global finance while helping shape systems that strengthen markets and institutions at home. Ultimately, I hope to be part of a generation that helps design legal, financial, and institutional systems capable of creating lasting, structural impact. If I can look back and see that my work has contributed to building more resilient and effective systems that translate into improved living standards for people, that would be the most fulfilling measure of success.
