For Women in Law

Tebello Kutoane is an attorney and founder of Collective Intelligence (Pty) Ltd, a legal consulting firm which provides affordable and practical legal solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. “I want to create a platform where a black, female attorney can be judged on merit and not what she can do for a company’s BEE rating. Young women need to be fierce in pursuing their dreams, they must be bold and take giant leaps of faith. There is more pain in regret than trying and failing.” Tebello is also a volunteer for an NGO called Lady Liberty. The organization provides free legal advice to marginalized women and children who are victims of domestic violence with the aim of giving these groups access to the justice system. I met Tebello about a year ago during an interview at Lady Liberty, I was extremely moved by her warmth and kindness. During the interview , Tebello took some time to give me legal and career advice, which I continue to apply to this very day. Th

Rising to the top in the legal field can be a difficult task. The significance of any lawyer being awarded “Attorney of the Year” by the African Legal Awards would mean that you are the best in Africa. The ultimate recognition for your work. This is a dream for any lawyer or aspiring lawyer, including myself, but for Adaku Ufere this has been a reality. Adaku was named Attorney of the Year by The African Legal Awards 2017, literally making her the best attorney on the continent. She is the youngest person to ever win this award, as well as the first Nigerian. A few months ago I came across Adaku Ufere’s interview as Energy Practice Leader for Centurion Law Group. In the interview, Adaku spoke about her fascination with the oil and gas industry.  An international oil & gas lawyer, Adaku holds an LLB from the University of Nigeria, a BL from the Nigerian Law School and an LLM in Oil and Gas from the University of Aberdeen. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar and the International