THE LAUNCH OF THE PRACTICAL TRAINING ACADEMY AS A PLATFORM FOR FREE AND HIGH-QUALITY CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES FOR NIGERIAN LAWYERS
Over the course of my two decades of legal practice across various jurisdictions, I have had the privilege of coordinating and leading continuing professional development initiatives for my colleagues. My journey began as a Learning and Development Lead early in my career, and I have since had the honour of serving as a Law Society of England and Wales accredited facilitator. My commitment to professional development continued as I became the Chairman of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Committee of the NBA Lagos Branch for four years, and later, the Chairman of the Board of the NBA Institute of Continuing Legal Education (NBA-ICLE) for nearly another four years.
During my tenure as Chairman of the CPD Committee of the Lagos Branch, I was fortunate to lead an extraordinary team that achieved significant milestones such as hosting over 48 Knowledge Sharing Sessions and establishing a 220-person mentorship program, among other training and development initiatives. Similarly, while leading the NBA-ICLE, I worked with incredibly talented and dedicated colleagues to transform the institute from a cost center into a self-sustaining institution capable of financing its operations and functioning independently. We played a pivotal role in capacity building, mentorship, and expanding lawyers’ practice areas by facilitating over 200 training sessions across 40 areas of law and 127 thematic topics, with an unmatched record of over 60,000 participants attending our sessions for free.
Our efforts in the training and development space stemmed from recognising a significant knowledge gap within the legal profession in Nigeria which hindered the delivery of quality services across various segments of the economy. Despite our progress, these knowledge gaps persist, and the desire for growth and development among legal professionals remains strong.
Driven by my passion and commitment to continuing professional development, I believe it is crucial to have a platform focused on democratising learning, deepening knowledge, and enabling lawyers to expand their practices by exploring new areas. This belief has now led me, with the kind support of some friends and colleagues, to establish The Practical Training Academy (TPTA), an institution dedicated to providing high-quality training and courses to Nigerian legal professionals free of charge.
I am pleased to announce that TPTA has recently been accredited as an NBA-ICLE Service Provider, making the platform eligible to offer professional development training and award the credit points required of lawyers. We have meticulously prepared a comprehensive and data-driven syllabus covering various subjects and practice areas. We have also engaged and are in discussions with esteemed and prominent lawyers, including in-house counsel, private practitioners, law officers, and foreign law firms who will be part of our faculty to deliver these trainings on a continuous basis.
I would like to extend our gratitude to the institutions and organisations that have agreed to collaborate and partner with us in pursuing this noble and altruistic objective. I am confident that through these trainings, TPTA will add significant value to the practices of all our colleagues who participate while earning CPD points at no cost. Our course outline and training schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
I thank you for your attention.
TOBENNA EROJIKWE
Senior Partner, The Law Crest
14th September, 2025
