Nigeria participates in the global value chain for legal services in various ways: - Forward participation when Nigerian law firms export legal services like due diligence reports. - Backward participation when Nigerian law firms import parts of legal work from other countries to provide services to clients. - Both forward and backward participation for complex matters that require work from multiple countries. Key drivers of Nigeria's participation include its large economy and skilled labor pool. Participation has benefited the country through legal sector growth, more jobs, knowledge transfer, and improved quality of services.

1. Nigeria’s Participation in the Global
Value Chain for Legal Services
Stephen Ọkẹ

2. Outline
Key Concepts
Context
Forms of Nigeria’s Participation in the Legal Services GVC
Drivers of Nigeria’s Participation in the Legal Services GVC
Policies Enhancing Nigeria’s Participation
Benefits

3. Key Concepts
A Global Value Chain (GVC) breaks up the production process
across countries such that firms (in different countries) specialize
in a specific task, and no single firm or country produces the
whole product.
A GVC can be described as an international division of labour.
WBGx
GVCs

4. Key Concepts
Two features distinguish a GVC from traditional international
trade (i.e. international trade in finished products):
Hyper-specialization: each firm is a specialist in a
fragment of the production chain.
Continuing Firm-to-firm relationships: there is a
continuity of firm-to-firm relationships. This is unlike
traditional international trade where firms deal with other
firms typically on a one-off basis. GVCs are organized by
lead firms which work with qualified local firms around the
world to organize and divide up all these tasks
Hyper-specialization
Firm-to-firm relationships

5. Key Concepts
Countries participate in GVCs in different ways:
• Some participate by exporting raw materials or very basic inputs – this is known as
forward participation
• Others import parts or materials which they use in their own exports – this is known as
backward participation
• Some countries do both – this is known as forward and backward participation
forward backwardforward and backward
Forward participation
Backward participation
Forward and backward
participation
WBGx

6. Key Concepts
A GVC for services operates on the same principle, but
replacing products or goods with “services”.
A GVC for services breaks up the service delivery process
across countries such that each firm (in different countries)
specializes in a specific stage or aspect of the service.
Legal services refer to the provision of legal advice,
assistance or representation, by a lawyer.
Services GVC
Legal services

7. Context
Most of the demand for legal services in the fields of business law and
international law comes from businesses and organizations involved in
international transactions.
Business law and international law are therefore the sectors most
affected by international trade in legal services.
Lawyers doing business at the international level are often structured in
networks of firms. Networks range:
• from loose associations of independent local practices,
• to fully integrated multinational companies, which control local
practices, but maintain the decentralised structure of the network.
See WTO, “Legal Services: Background Note by the Secretariat,” Council
for Trade in Services, 1998.
International trade
in legal services

8. Context
Like with most countries, the provision of legal services in Nigeria
is regulated. By virtue of certain provisions of the Legal
Practitioners Act 1975 and the Rules of Professional Conduct for
Legal Practitioners 2007, as a general rule, only a person qualified
to practice as a barrister and solicitor in Nigeria can provide legal
services in Nigeria.
For this reason, clients and foreign law firms requiring legal
services in Nigeria must “import” such legal services from law
firms in Nigeria or lawyers qualified to practice in Nigeria.
Legal services in, or originating from, Nigeria are typically
provided by law firms structured as partnerships or sole
proprietorships.
Legal services in
Nigeria

9. Forms of Nigeria’s Participation in the
Legal Services GVC
Forward participation
Scenario 1: A Chinese client of a UK law firm requires legal due diligence
(DD) done in connection with a proposed equity investment in Nigeria.
Nigerian law legal
opinion and DD
report
export export
Nigerian law firm
Final DD Report
UK office of
International law
firm Client in China
forward participation

10. Backward participation
Report and
Certificate of TM
Registration in
Uganda
export export
Ugandan law
firm
Final Report and Compiled
TM Registration Certificates
(for Nigeria and Uganda)
Nigerian law firm
Client in Switzerland
Scenario 2: A Swiss client of a Nigerian law firm is desirous of
registering and enforcing it’s trademark in Nigeria and Uganda.
Backward participation
Forms of Nigeria’s Participation in the
Legal Services GVC

11. Forward and backward
participation
Scenario 3: A French client of a UK law firm requires legal advice
regarding an offer of partnership received from a company registered in
Ghana to invest in the client’s business in Nigeria.
forward and backward participation
Nigerian law legal
opinion + compiled
DD report
export export
Nigerian law
firm
Comprehensive
Legal Opinion and
Final DD report
UK office of
International
law firm Client in France
export
DD report
Ghanaian law
firm
Forms of Nigeria’s Participation in the
Legal Services GVC

12. Drivers of Nigeria’s Participation
in the Legal Services GVC
Market
size
Labour
Geography
Nigeria’s geographical location
in West Africa is partly
responsible for most of her
backward participation
Nigeria’s is
Africa’s largest
economy.
See WBG,
World Bank
Development
Indicators 2020
The legal
services industry
is heavily reliant
on skilled labour.
Nigeria’s legal
services industry
has an ample
supply of highly-
skilled and low-
cost labour

13. Policies Enhancing Nigeria’s
Participation
Openness
• A largely
liberalized
economy
Connectivity
•A liberalized
telecommunications policy
has driven improvements
in communications
infrastructure over the
years – which has in turn
enhanced cross-border
trade in legal services

14. Benefits
Sector growth
Improved Quality
More jobs
Knowledge-Transfer
The following benefits accrue from Nigeria’s participation in
the legal services GVC:

15. Key Takeaways
• A GVC for services breaks up the service delivery process across
countries such that each firm (in different countries) specializes
in a specific stage or aspect of the service.
• Nigeria’s participation in the GVC for legal services takes the
forms of forward participation, backward participation, and
forward and backward participation.
• Key drivers of Nigeria’s participation include market size, labour
and geography.
• Nigeria’s participation in the legal services GVC has led to
growth of the legal services sector, more jobs, knowledge
transfer and improved quality of services.

16. Thank you