Dr. Aboubacar Fall

Dr. Aboubacar Fall is the firm’s Senior Partner and an experienced international lawyer who has spent more than 30 years advising clients on complex legal and commercial matters in Africa and internationally. He is a member of the Senegal Bar and a former member of the Paris Bar (France), and his work has focused on supporting institutions, governments, and private sector actors in navigating legal, regulatory, and transactional challenges.

His practice covers a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, energy, mining, infrastructure and public-private partnerships (PPP), banking and finance, trade and project finance, private equity and M&A, maritime and aviation, international business, fraud and white-collar crime, as well as international commercial and investment arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.

Dr. Fall’s academic background reflects a long-standing interest in international business and energy law. He holds a PhD in International Business Law from the University of Rouen–Haute Normandy (France), an LL.M. from the University of Washington in Seattle (USA), and a Master’s degree in International Transportation from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (France). He also completed two certificates in Petroleum Policy and Management at the PETRAD Foundation in Stavanger, Norway. He works fluently in Wolof, French, and English, and has a working knowledge of Spanish.

Before returning to private practice, Dr. Fall spent over ten years with the African Development Bank Group, where he served as Principal Legal Counsel. During this period, he also served for three years as Chairman of the Management Board of the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), contributing to legal capacity building across the continent. From January 2015 to October 2018, he was a partner at Geni & Kebe Law Firm in Dakar.

Dr. Fall’s work has been acknowledged by peers and professional publications over the years. He was named by Financial Afrik among the 100 most influential people in Africa in 2015 and 2016, and in 2018 was listed among the 18 most active law firm leaders in Africa. He was also recognized in Who’s Who Legal in 2017 and 2018 as an Asset Recovery Expert.

He remains actively involved in the international legal community and is a member of several professional organizations, including the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), the International Energy Law Advisory Group (IELAG), the International Bar Association (IBA), the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA), ICC FraudNet, the African Arbitration Association (AfAA), the Comité Maritime International (CMI), and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).

Alongside his practice, Dr. Fall is committed to teaching and mentoring. He holds teaching positions in Senegal and abroad, including with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Geneva, the Institut Supérieur de Droit de Dakar (ISDD), and the Institut des Métiers du Droit (IMD). He currently serves as Program Director of the African Center for International Law Practice (ACILP) and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the International Lawyers for Africa (ILFA) Program since 2019.