Wole Olanipekun SAN

Practice Areas

Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, FCIArb is the Founder and Principal Partner at Wole Olanipekun & Co’s. He represents multinational corporations, financial institutions, private equity firms, and public and private companies in complex litigation and arbitration matters. His work covers high-value commercial disputes, shareholder and corporate governance conflicts, regulatory investigations, and cross-border enforcement proceedings. He also advises clients on crisis management, liability exposures, and restructuring-related disputes, including insolvency litigation and contentious workouts. Over the years, he has led some of the most challenging and high-profile dispute resolution mandates, earning recognition for his strategic insight, rigorous advocacy, and ability to deliver favourable outcomes in complex and sensitive matters.

Career

Chief Olanipekun established Wole Olanipekun & Co., a leading Nigerian law firm in 1980. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria since 1991, he is recognised as one of the foremost legal minds in the country, with over four decades of distinguished practice.

He has served as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Ondo State (1991–1992) and as President of the Nigerian Bar Association (2002–2004), where he championed reforms to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of the legal profession.

Chief Olanipekun has acted as counsel in numerous landmark cases before the Supreme Court and other superior courts, covering constitutional law, election petitions, commercial disputes, and complex corporate litigation. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), reflecting his dual expertise in litigation and arbitration.

Renowned for his strategic insight, rigorous advocacy, and ethical leadership, he continues to shape Nigerian jurisprudence while mentoring generations of lawyers, many of whom have gone on to hold senior positions in the judiciary, government, and academia.

Professional Memberships

Chief Wole Olanipekun is a distinguished Fellow of several professional and academic bodies. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb.); a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (FICMC); a Distinguished Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (FNIALS); and a Distinguished Fellow of the College of Education, Ikere (FCEI).

His academic accomplishments include honorary doctorate degrees conferred upon him by prestigious institutions: Doctor of Laws (LL.D, Honoris Causa) from the University of Ibadan in 2014; Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) from Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, in 2021; and Doctor of Constitutional Law (Honoris Causa) from the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, in 2023.

Chief Olanipekun has received multiple honours in recognition of his outstanding contributions to law, education, and national development. He was recognised by the Ondo State Government as a Leader in Achievement and by the Ekiti State Government with the ANCOPPS Medallion Award.

On 17 September 2012, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan conferred upon him the National Honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR). A decade later, on 11 October 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, further elevated him with the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), the third-highest rank in the hierarchy of national honours.

On 19 July 2024, he was named by the Nigeria Global List in London, United Kingdom, as one of the 50 Most Influential Nigerians Globally, an accolade recognising his substantial contributions to Nigeria’s development and international influence.

Chief Olanipekun’s alma maters and academic institutions have consistently celebrated his legacy and achievements. He has twice received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, in 1999 and 2008. He was also honoured in 1999 with the Merit Alumnus Award by Amoye Grammar School, Ikere, and Ilesa Grammar School, Ilesa, both of which have included his name on their Honours Lists of Outstanding Alumni.

On 17 February 2024, he was inaugurated into the Hall of Fame of Amoye Grammar School Old Students’ Association. Most recently, on 11 June 2024, Immanuel College Academy of Theology and Christian Education honoured him as a Distinguished Fellow of the highly respected institution.

On 15 June 2024, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, appointed Chief Olanipekun as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Lagos. He was formally inaugurated alongside the governing councils of other federal universities and tertiary institutions on 4 July 2024.

His appointment has been widely applauded across Nigeria, reflecting his exemplary leadership, commitment to education, and selfless contributions to the development of higher institutions where he has served in similar or other capacities. Today, he proudly serves as the Pro-Chancellor of Nigeria’s most cosmopolitan university, the very institution where he once studied.

Languages Spoken

English and Yoruba