Shaun Johnson graciously provided additional context regarding how he first began operating in the Middle East, which illustrates one paradigmatic example of how international GCs and in-house counsel have made a shift towards working in the region, as well as what it was like to witness numerous social and legal changes take place. He explains: ‘The jurisdictions I have previously worked in have all been common law jurisdictions whereas the Middle East is mostly based on the principles of civil law. I have spent over six years in Saudi Arabia, where I have seen reform on a massive scale – not just social and economic, but also from a legal perspective. For example, we now see the Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) being mandated for use within dispute resolution clauses. Whilst it is relatively young in comparison to other arbitration centers globally, its use is becoming more and more widespread.

He continued, saying: ‘Another example in Saudi is the development of centers of excellence within the public sector, which preside over the procurement and the use of standard forms for two reasons: one to ensure a level playing field for all parties when competing for business and two, so as not to recreate the wheel when it comes to contracting. Certainly, towards the end of my tenure in Saudi Arabia, I did in fact see commoditisation of certain sectors and the prolific use of standard form contracts. Having now moved to the UAE in 2022, I can say that there are some areas of legal reform which led the way globally with other areas still needing improvement. However, I believe the legal system in the UAE is as robust as any other more “mature” (ie older) legal system globally and for a country so young (ie it became a federation of emirates in 1972), this is an achievement in and of itself.’

Johnson then provided some insight into the technological experiences of an entire generation of GCs, saying, ‘there have been a number of changes in the legal environment in the past two decades. I don’t think I can list them all, but in terms of my own experience, there is the obvious migration of technology: when I started my legal career in private practice in Australia, we were using dictaphones to dictate our legal memos. A few years later into my legal career I moved firms (and country) to work at Freshfields in London and I brought my trusty dictaphone with me and some tapes, only to leave my tapes in the typing pool one day to be told there are no transcription machines at all in the firm! Clearly, I was a little late in becoming self-sufficient myself. Other changes I have aseen as a profession are law firms taking diversity and inclusion seriously with a greater proportion of female partners being made up and as well as mentoring (formally and informally) playing a prominent role in the development of all junior lawyers. I also think Covid heightened everyone’s awareness of the need to strike an appropriate balance between the work/life balance – that is one good thing because if left to our devices, the legal profession would have been slow to acknowledge this. Covid forced, out of necessity, the need for everyone (including law firms!) to realise that a balance needs to be struck and as a consequence, institutional changes being implemented.

The Nigerian legal system is generally derived from the English common law. There are therefore similarities across various principles. From equity to contract law to land law, the similarities are very apparent. From a commercial point of view, the English law has however undergone some notable changes which would also be beneficial to the Nigerian commercial law. Eg the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act, a UK legislation that reformed the common law principle of privity of contract and permitted third parties who would ordinarily be caught up by the strict application of privity of contract principles to benefit from a contract between other parties.

Notwithstanding, the Nigerian jurisprudence has reacted positively to imminent technological changes. The Companies & Allied Matters Act 2020 now permits private companies to hold general meetings electronically, another example is the Evidence Act 2011 which introduced detailed provisions on the admissibility of computer-generated evidence. With contracts being digitised, rise in electronic payments, the Evidence Act 2011 was a step in the right direction.

The Fintech space is regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. There remains a constant debate as to whether or not very close monitoring of the fintech space is beneficial for innovation. It is easy to see the arguments for the two sides. Fintechs are typically interconnected to banking systems and banks generally are highly regulated entities. Fintechs are also susceptible to financial compliance related issues eg money laundering, terrorist financing etc. It is therefore arguable that central banks should typically monitor and regulate fintech activities. On the other hand, fintechs introduce solutions which make banking activities easier and simpler. Their products are able to reach unbanked persons and bring such persons into the banking systems. To do this, fintech desire flexibility in creating innovative products.

The central bank in Nigeria has over the last three years released a series of guidelines and regulations that touch on licensing categorisations of fintechs, holding company structures for holding specific multiple licenses etc. These regulations seem targeted at streamlining operations of fintechs. The regulations provide clarity to the GCs in the fintech space as to how the regulators group fintechs. For legal and compliance related personnel, these regulations serve as a guide in determining permissible activities for fintechs. Understanding these regulations enable the GC or compliance chief to advice fintechs on appropriate corporate structures that ensure fintechs operate within the regulatory guidelines.

The Nigerian Constitution contains some broad principles around equality but there is no specific targeted diversity and inclusion regulation yet like the UK Equalities Act. There have been attempts to pass a Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities Bill however this bill has suffered some setback at the Senate. It may be argued that the uniqueness of the country’s socio-cultural composition can be a factor fueling concerns about passing this bill.

Notwithstanding, some existing regulations touch on diversity and inclusion, for example, various applicable corporate governance regulations require Boards to consider diversity in its membership including gender diversity. In practice, companies typically would have their internal diversity practices however, corporate governance regulations do not apply to every type of company, for much smaller companies, it may be challenging to track if they abide by any diversity and inclusion principle.

Work life balance on the other hand seemed to take on a life of its own following the global pandemic. Employees generally resumed from the pandemic realising that they could achieve a decent work/life balance while getting their work done. Currently, the organisation implements flexible structure that allows employees work remotely some days of the week. A number of law firms we interact with also allow for remote work hours. It can therefore be said that there has been improvement in work life balance following the global pandemic.

I’d like to see some improvement in our justice administration system with regards to shortening the timeline from filing court processes to obtaining judgement. It is common to have cases in courts spanning years. A system in which cases can be decided within months would be preferable.

‘The justice system can be improved through increased tech adoption. Electronic filing, service and search of court processes, increased adoption of video conferencing, digital transcribing of court proceedings, and so on.