Esosa Omo-Usoh, FCIArb is a dispute resolution practitioner and the Managing Partner of Solola & Akpana, a leading Nigerian civil and commercial law firm with offices in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Called to the Nigerian Bar in 1999, he has built over 27 years of distinguished post-call practice spanning commercial litigation and arbitration, co-leading a practice that manages approximately 500 active matters across oil spill compensation litigation, construction, banking, civil tort, and commercial contract disputes.
His arbitration practice spans both sides of the tribunal. As counsel, he has appeared in complex domestic arbitrations representing clients in high-stakes disputes. As arbitrator, he has served as sole arbitrator and panel member across commercial and property disputes, with appointments by courts, institutions, and parties.
Under his leadership as Managing Partner, Solola & Akpana has earned back-to-back recognition as Dispute Resolution Team of the Year at the ESQ Nigerian Legal Awards in 2018 and 2024, and as Regional Law Firm of the Year in 2022 — distinctions that reflect both the breadth and the quality of the practice he leads.
At both the local and national levels of the Nigerian Bar Association, Esosa has held leadership positions, notably as Secretary of the Continuing Legal Education/Seminar Committee of the NBA Port Harcourt Branch, and as Chairman of the NBA-SLP Law Firm Management Committee, under which he developed the Law Office Management Academy Series — a flagship training initiative designed to equip lawyers with the skills to build and operate professionally efficient and profitable law practices.
Within the arbitration community, he currently serves as 1st Vice Chairman of the CIArb Port Harcourt Chapter and has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the CIArb Nigeria Branch, having previously chaired the Chapter's Education and Training Committee and served on its Continuing Legal Education Committee. He has been a consistent contributor to CIArb Nigeria Branch annual conferences.
A Notary Public of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he holds membership in the International Bar Association, the African Bar Association, the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, and several other leading professional organisations. He has spoken at conferences of the African Bar Association, the NBA Section on Legal Practice, the NBA Young Lawyers Forum and CIArb Young Members Group, and has coordinated sessions at the NBA Section on Business Law, NBA Section Legal Practice and the NBA Annual General Conference.
