Sam N. Okagbue is the Managing Partner of the firm and leads the firm’s Intellectual Property & Technology practice. He holds an LLB from the University of Ife, Nigeria and an LLM from the London School of Economics. His career spans over four decades beginning at the National Assembly of Nigeria where he served as the Secretary to the Senate Committee on Defence from 1981 – 1982.
Sam works primarily in advising clients on brand protection, data protection, digital technology, fintech, intellectual property and entertainment matters. He has strong expertise in intellectual property rights particularly trademark, including its ownership, protection, enforcement, management, exploitation, valuation, and monetization. With data protection legislation rapidly evolving and the emergence and growth of technology driven areas such as fintech, Sam is actively involved in helping businesses, from start-ups to global enterprises navigate the associated regulatory and compliance issues.
Sam is committed to the creation of structures within Nigeria’s innovation-driven sectors which includes strengthening of Nigeria’s antipiracy and intellectual property laws and policies.
He has served in various legal capacities some of which include Associate and Partner at different times in the Law Firm of Bentley Edu & Co., Company Secretary and Legal Adviser, Fidelity Union Merchant Bank Limited. He was also the Legal advisor, African Institute of Petroleum and sat on the boards of Vitafoam Nig Plc, Vitafoam Sierra-Leone Ltd, and currently remains a Director in Unity Bank Plc.
He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); International Trademarks Association (INTA), Intellectual Property Lawyers Association of Nigeria (IPLAN), International Lawyers Network (ILN), International Bar Association (IBA) and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG. He has been a Notary Public (Federal Republic of Nigeria) since 1992.
Year Joined Firm: 1996
Education/Alumni: London School of Economics and Political Science; University of Ife
Network Memberships: INTA; NBA; IPLAN; ILN; IBA; NESG