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Three-day virtual event from 1 December to 3 December will bring together the very best in UK and African legal expertise.

• more than 200 delegates will hear from over 30 leading sector and government figures
• part of drive to promote the UK’s outstanding legal services worldwide

Legal services experts from the UK and Africa will be brought together for a landmark virtual trade mission, hosted by the Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland QC.

Part of the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Services are GREAT (LSAG) campaign, it will promote the UK’s prestigious legal sector to some of the fastest growing economies in the world.

The mission, a first for the department of this scale, will celebrate international collaboration in the sector which generated £66 million worth in exports for the UK in 2018 alone.

The 3 day event will include speeches from a range of industry leaders, showcasing the mutual benefits for the UK and Africa from sharing legal expertise and nurturing lasting relationships.

Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland QC MP said:

I am thrilled to be hosting the first UK-Africa legal services trade mission.

As we collectively rebuild from the global pandemic, it is through vital collaboration such as this that we will help to secure a brighter future.

Legal services are among the UK’s greatest exports, so it is important that we showcase this unique expertise while we reassert ourselves as an outward-looking, free-trading nation on the world stage.

In 2018 the UK exported £36,526,000 in legal services to South Africa, £17,110,000 to Nigeria, £8,060,000 to Ghana, and £5,446,000 to Kenya.

The trade mission seeks to build on this success and follows the Africa Investment Summit earlier this year, the Legal Services are GREAT Nigeria trade mission last April, and the Africa Business Connexion Series launched this August.

HM Trade Commissioner for Africa, Emma Wade-Smith OBE, said:

I am delighted to be working with the MOJ on this innovative event, which has been designed to build momentum in the legal services business between Africa and the UK.

We start from a solid base and will use this trade mission to demonstrate the opportunities for UK companies to expand their business activity in and with Africa.

Our world class experience and expertise in legal services can play an essential role in Africa’s economic diversification and response to the global pandemic.

The LSAG campaign delivers on the MOJ’s International and Legal Services Strategies and is a key lever to build on the Government’s priority to support UK economic recovery, boost growth and level up opportunity across the country.

It also provides the opportunity to deliver on the shared Global Britain Agenda by bringing together colleagues from across the UK government, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for International Trade.

Notes to Editors

• Legal Services are GREAT (LSAG) is the UK Ministry of Justice’s most ambitious international campaign, promoting the strength of English Law; our world-renowned independent judiciary; and UK legal expertise to an overseas market.
• The aim of the campaign is to facilitate growth for UK legal services in the world’s fastest growing markets, expand business networks and generate export wins for our law firms and chambers.
• LSAG is part of the GREAT campaign and uses the strength of a globally recognised, credible and respected brand to communicate the UK is a safe and trusted place to conduct business.
• With a presence in 32 countries worldwide, Legal Services are GREAT is an internationally recognised brand and has completed successful trade missions to Nigeria, Kazakhstan, China and Chile.
• The legal sector brings significant economic benefit to the UK, contributing more than £25 billion a year to the British economy – representing 1.5% of the total UK GDP.
• It also provides employment for more than 330,000 people.

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