Founding Partner
Adefoworola “Tope” Tokan-Lawal (BBA (Management), JD, LL.M., FCIArb) is a dual-qualified lawyer admitted to practice in Nigeria (2014) and Texas, USA (2012). She has over a decade of experience advising and representing clients across arbitration, litigation, intellectual property, construction, corporate and commercial law, and international trade. Her practice is distinguished by a strong commercial orientation, informed by a business background and cross-border legal training.
Tope is a Founding Partner of Osuntuyi & Tokan-Lawal Law (OTL Law), a Lagos-based boutique firm advising individuals, entrepreneurs, and corporate clients on complex contentious and non-contentious matters. She regularly acts in high-value disputes before Nigerian courts and arbitral tribunals, and advises on strategy, risk management, and dispute avoidance. She also act as counsel in US-seated commercial arbitration proceedings.
Prior to founding OTL Law, Tope practised at both partner and associate levels in Lagos, where she was involved in a range of high-profile matters, including intellectual property litigation involving globally recognised musicians and producers, large-scale real estate development projects involving dredging and land reclamation, telecommunications litigation nationwide, and arbitration proceedings arising from oil and gas operations. She has also advised on regulatory and trade issues connected to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Tope holds a BBA (Hons.) in Management, Cum Laude, from the University of Texas at Arlington, a Juris Doctor from Baylor University School of Law, an LL.M. in Human Rights and Law & Economic Development from Northeastern University, Boston, and a B.L. from the Nigerian Law School, where she graduated with Second Class Upper Honours and was recognised as the 3rd Best Student in Civil Litigation.
She is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, International Bar Association, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK).
Alongside her commercial practice, Tope is deeply committed to pro bono and public interest work. She serves as Chair of the TOKAN Foundation for Children and Young People and the Child Rights & Juvenile Justice Center (CRJJC), organisations dedicated to educational access, legal aid, and systemic reform in child justice administration. She regularly speaks and writes on intellectual property, dispute resolution, and access to justice, and chaired the Legal Aid session for creatives at the 2024 Global Creative Legal Summit.