A commercial law firm, Advocaat Law Practice (ALP), has given scholarship support to pupils of Whanyinna School in the floating community of Makoko, Lagos.
The talented school children participated in the “Chess in Communities Mini Tournament” hosted by the law firm.
The winners are Kisegbeji Benjamin (overall winner), Avlessi Thank God (best junior player) and Kpago Mary (best female player).
The event, held on the sand-filled ground of the school, saw no fewer than 48 players from primary and junior secondary classes competing for a trophy and scholarship prizes.
The mini-tournament, facilitated by Strictly Law Business (SLB), in partnership with a non-profit organisation, Chess in Slums Africa, was part of activities to mark ALP’s 15th anniversary on September 3.
Advocaat Law Practice Founding Partner, Ola Alokolaro, said the mini-tournament was a way of identifying talent.
He said: “We’re looking for talent. Majority of these children are gifted, so it’s important to harness these gifts for the benefit of the community and our country.
“The intent is to collaborate and help with the development of some of these communities and uplift some of the underprivileged.
“Chess is a very strategic game and it helps to build the mind and it’s important that the minds of these kids are engaged from an early age.
“It is our intention to sponsor the children from first to third place and ensure that their education for the year is taken care of.
“We’re definitely going to continue to partner with Chess in Slums, with some of their initiatives, both in the near and the future terms.”
He urged other law firms to consider similar charitable causes to lift the society.
“It’s very important to uplift each other and that’s the only way we can build the nation. It’s our way of giving back to our community. We started off the practice in Yaba, very close to this place, which is why we chose this particular community to give back to,” he said.
SLB Founder, Olubusola Ajala, whose firm empowers lawyers and law firms on growing profitable practices, said: “Being one of our clients, we had to work together with Advocaat Law Practice on its 15th anniversary, to conceptualise the idea of giving back to society.
“We worked with them to organise this chess tournament. It’s their way of giving back.
“As a service provider to them, we had to ensure that everything that had to do with the success of the chess tournament was well-executed.”
Advocaat Law Practice, a full service commercial law firm, has been recognised both locally and internationally.
In 2019, it was awarded Law Firm of the Year (mid-size practice) in Nigeria by ESQ.
In 2017, the firm was voted the Law Firm of the Year (small practice) in Nigeria by ESQ.
In 2016, it was recognised as the Emerging Law firm in Africa by the Law Digest Awards.
