Lawyer of the Month (Jan 2023) – Mitchell Aghatise

In this edition of our Lawyer of the Month series, we chat with Mitchell, a young legal practitioner who has found his passion in policy and legislative development. He tells us about his journey so far as a lawyer, shares tips on specialisation for young lawyers and discusses the impact of the forthcoming general elections in Nigeria, among other things. The full interview transcript is set out below, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.



  • Pleasure meeting you, Mitchell. Kindly introduce yourself, for the benefit of our readers.

My name is Mitchell Aghatise. I am a Senior Associate with Olaniwun Ajayi LP and I have spent all of my legal career at the firm. I currently work in the Government Business practice unit of the firm as well as Dispute Resolution. I am passionate about policy, nation development, faith and writing.



Mitchell speaking as the Co-director of the LSE Africa Summit in 2015


  • Let’s reflect a bit on your educational background. You obtained your LL.B. from the University of Leicester and got your LL.M. in International Business Law from the prestigious The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). How do you think these academic experiences abroad have shaped your personal and career development?

I have been privileged to have gotten exposure from foreign institutions and it is something I continue to be grateful for. No doubt, these experiences have played a key role in my practice, particularly the way of learning in the United Kingdom. I was not made to think that the lecturers knew it all but was taught very quickly to challenge and critique things with depth, find resources, and push the envelope. This is useful for practice as one is often faced with real-life problems that require original and inventive solutions. That said, having worked with colleagues who either studied primarily or partly in Nigeria, I see that no matter the institution one attends, the practice of law is about comprehending material, critiquing material, and finding material. It is usually those who are willing to do the hard work and utilise all available resources, that eventually excel as lawyers.



Mitchell speaking during a session at the university


  • What influenced your choice of an area of specialisation and at what stage of your career did you make the decision? What advice do you have for law students and young wigs in this regard?

I believe everyone, deep down, knows what they would like to do. To use a biblical passage, God has placed eternity in the heart of the human mind (Ecclesiastes 3:11). When you know what your passions are, the next step is to push your skills in those areas.

Right from childhood, I was always concerned for beggars and the indigent, and it made me inclined towards finding myself in areas where I could push for development. I found that in law, there is such a vast array of things that could advance the cause of the nation – from drafting legislation to policy and institutional reforms, and so on. Ergo, my entry into Government Business practice.

Regarding Dispute Resolution, as with many lawyers, we ended up in law from reading texts like John Grisham novels or watching Boston Legal (laughs) – and there is sometimes that part of us (including transaction lawyers) that wants to do disputes and win arguments. It is that element of me that still drives me to do dispute resolution – the thrill of pushing an argument to the end and winning. I believe it helps to continually shape one’s legal skills. The skills and expertise are things that can also be transferred to transactions, policy, development, or even day-to-day life and living.

For law students and young lawyers looking to eventually specialise, it is my advice that at the beginning, they should be open to ‘everything’. They should not pursue specialisation, but pursue opportunity. As a young lawyer, the opportunities that you push for would eventually become useful when you specialise. In my case, while I can now say that I do Government Business-related work, as a young lawyer, I also did finance and capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, dispute resolution, and project financing. All of these things are useful for me today. Several times, that is what helps me to stand out; the fact that I have a multiplicity of experience. If it were the case that I started out only focusing on one area, I probably would have been a less effective lawyer today. However, young lawyers must also keep an eye out for their passions, which would eventually suggest to them their areas of interest from the pool for opportunities they’ve got.

In addition, I personally believe that people should be very prayerful, as I believe that God orchestrates things and allows certain opportunities to fall into people’s laps. If we are not attuned to that, we may end up with the wrong opportunities, and it may take a long time before retracing one’s step back.



  • Could you paint for us an image of your typical workday? How do you try to attain work-life balance, in your case?

I tend to wake early, starting my day with a daily bible devotional. While getting ready for work, I’m usually playing some gospel music in the background as it gets me in a calm headspace ahead of work. As soon as I get ready but before setting out, I do some preliminary planning for my day, including making a to-do list of outstanding tasks.

Upon getting to the office, I try my best to do just work and minimise distractions. However, I still exchange pleasantries and hold small talk a few times. While working, I look at my list of outstanding items and prioritise items from the ‘easiest’ work I can finish in good time. This helps because the more you check off items from your to-do, the more it gives you momentum to complete the rest.

In between finishing tasks, I try to do something else, such as taking a walk, essentially giving myself a short interlude to enable my mind to recalibrate for a new thing. This helps against having what I would call “work hangover”, where you are still stuck in your old work mentally and are unable to do new tasks. Another thing that has helped me stay effective at work is deleting all my social media apps, which I only ever re-download during the holidays or some weekends.

Now, I try my very best not to take work home with me and sometimes have to stay a little longer at the office; this is because I’m married, and I think it’s very important to create quality time for my family. I usually get to be present for my wife and my son because I had “paid it forward’ by not being distracted during the day.

In all of this, a key element for striking a balance in my work and personal life is being deliberate about my decisions.



Listed in the Rising Star Award Category 2022 at the ESQ Legal Awards


  • You were listed in the Rising Star Award Category 2022 (40 Under 40) at the ESQ Legal Awards – a testament to your excellence. What golden tips do you have for young lawyers to always stand out wherever they find themselves?

Truly, the only tips I have had are tips of relying on the Holy Spirit – and while this may come off as impractical, let me put it in better context. When I was starting my career, I didn’t have any plans of being the best lawyer or anything of that nature. My only plan, which is inspired by the bible (Proverbs chapter 22 verse 24), was to be diligent in my work as the promise was that I would stand before kings and not ordinary men. At least, every single day for the past four years, I have consistently prayed to be diligent. This is because I still haven’t attained the level of diligence I have always yearned for. However, I believe God has been helping me as people have come to perceive that I am diligent.

Another thing that drives me is my “why”. Our “why” is that thing that spurs us to be diligent. I believe everybody should introspect and ask themselves why they want to be diligent or successful. Your “why” also determines how far you go in diligence. For some, it may be family. For me, my “why” is found in a bible passage that urges us to do all our work as though it is worship unto the Lord. I have been able to elevate my work to worship and this pushes me daily. Inherent in this is that I never feel satisfied, and it pushes me to seek out more diligence. Hence, it is important to find your “why” and make it something that transcends materialism because materialism is fleeting and will not push you as far.



  • The general elections in Nigeria are only a few weeks from now. In your view, how well have we prepared for the elections, from a legal and regulatory perspective? What implications do you think the conduct and eventual results of the elections may portend for our laws, policies and democracy?

Firstly, no country can ever be 100% prepared for any project, which is why there’s always constant room for improvement. Based on my assessment, compared to where we are coming from (not where we should be), I can say that we have made significant strides, even though much more could be done. One of the strides we have made so far is the passage of the Electoral Act 2022. While it has certain flaws, it’s a welcome development, particularly the provisions enabling technology in elections and electioneering in Nigeria. Also, from a funding perspective, I understand that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been granted the amount of money it had requested for the conduct of the forthcoming election. This, at least, demonstrates that the agency is not underfunded.

That said, in terms of bureaucracy, as with the Nigerian experience, there has a lot of issues with processes, just as was observed with obtaining the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) – of which I also had a personal experience. These are basic things we just must get right and do better at.

Regarding our democracy, I believe that it is getting stronger as people have become more aware of their rights and the obligations of the government – which is a good thing. On potential implications, while we can only make predictions, I would think that if a party different from the incumbent wins the presidential election, it is likely that there will be more changes in the regulatory landscape because any such opposition coming in may have a different approach to regulations. But hey, this is Nigeria, and we can’t say for sure what will eventually happen in the future. However, as keen watchers of the regulatory space, we will remain committed to following events as they unfold, making sense of it all to clients through advisory (which is my job), and continue to advocate for the kinds of policies we want to see.



  • If not law, what would have been your alternative career choice?

I would have been a development economist. Back in high school, I did very well in economics and even intended to study economics at some point. In my practice of law, I’m still required to have a general appreciation of the economic impact of my work.





  • Any final words for law students and young lawyers?

In the words of Christopher Alexander Sapara-Williams, the first lawyer Nigeria ever produced and which is a quote that has continued to live with me since I was called to the Nigerian Bar, “the legal practitioner lives for the direction of his people and the advancement of the cause of his country.