Tribute to Funke Agbor

Dan Agbor

 I think at least two people will be surprised to see this tribute.  Michael, Funke’s colleague, who asked if I would write a tribute and Funke, who knows that I do not typically share my thoughts on such matters.  But here we are.  Funke will be 65 on 3rd of November and, on that day, will formally retire from her law firm (Dentons-ACAS Law). 

The firm is planning to celebrate her by, among other things, presenting her with a book of tributes, and my instinctive response to Michael was that I was the wrong person to write a tribute, since my relationship with Funke is personal and not professional.

Upon reflection, however, I concluded that since I had the privilege of a ringside seat while her history was being ‘written’, I should share some of that history with her partners, colleagues and friends.

Funke’s history as a lawyer would not be complete without honouring the professional ‘shoulders’ on which she stood to learn her trade.  When I met Funke, she was working with the late Mr. Fola Sasegbon, who was one of Nigeria’s foremost shipping lawyers and a most honourable gentleman.  Funke joined Mr. Sasegbon’s firm in 1984, after completing an LLM in Commercial and Shipping Law at University College London, and that decision shaped both her career and her life.

Let me explain.  She was the only lawyer in the firm apart from Sasegbon, and if someone had to clamber into a speedboat and accompany the Admiralty Marshal to serve an order of arrest on a vessel, who else would do that?  And who else would get into a helicopter to visit an offshore drilling rig where there was a problem?  And so very early on in her career, Funke learnt the value of hard work and learnt not to take shelter behind her gender – or the presumed ‘frailties’ related to such gender.  She was and will always be a lawyer, and not a “female lawyer”.

In 1993, Funke joined her friends Sola Adepetun and Afolabi Caxton-Martins as a partner in the new and exciting firm then known as Adepetun, Caxton-Martins & Agbor; later known as Adepetun, Caxton-Martins, Agbor & Segun; and now known as Dentons-ACAS Law, following the firm’s combination with Dentons, the world’s largest global law firm.  From being the only other lawyer in Fola Sasegbon & Co. to being one of the 15 partners in a 50+lawyer international law firm, is a professional achievement that Funke can rightly be proud of.  And so, when I think of Funke, the first adjective that comes to mind is “hard-working”.  She is unquestionably that.

The second adjective is “determined”.  Once Funke starts something, she will finish it.  It doesn’t matter how long it will take, how much work it will take, how many sleepless nights it will take, or what her personal circumstances are (two children, soccer and swimming practice, etc., etc.). SHE WILL FINISH IT.  And finish it well.

The third adjective is “professional” – by which I mean calm, skillful, and morally upright.  She is all these things and more.  The fourth and fifth adjectives that come to mind when I think of Funke’s career as a lawyer are “fairness” and “compassion”.  I have never heard her say a bad word about anyone – an invaluable attribute in a lawyer, and particularly in a lawyer who is a partner in a law firm.

These and other attributes were recognised by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee when they awarded Funke the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2016.  Funke received further recognition in April 2021, when she was elected as President of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association – an association that she has now been an (over!)active member of for over 40 years.

I understand from Funke that she will continue to handle all significant cases for the firm, notwithstanding her formal retirement from the firm, and I suspect she is looking forward to continuing her hard work!  I conclude with this.  Funke, at (only!) 65, I am confident that even greater achievements lie ahead for you, and I join your partners, colleagues and friends in wishing you a very happy birthday and many professionally fulfilling years ahead.

 Dan Agbor is a Senior Partner at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie