Spotlight on: François Adao

Tell us about your career highlights to date?

Generally speaking, the best moments of my (relatively short) career have been the negotiations conducted directly with African Governments.

I am fortunate to work in highly political sectors, since the projects we work on involve either natural resources or a country's essential infrastructure (roads, airports, ports, etc.), the development of which has a major impact on the country's growth, employment and, more generally, the resources available to ensure the well-being of its population. I am also fortunate to focus on projects on the African continent, which is dear to me as it is where my parents come from. And being able to work on important projects for African countries is a source of immense personal satisfaction for me.

The two most memorable moments of my career occurred last year.

In first, I was involved in the acquisition of a foreign listed company with assets in the extractive sector in an African country. The completion of the transaction required us to ascertain the position of the Government regarding the deal and to ensure that it was favourably viewed by the Government. In addition, the hostility of certain stakeholders to the completion of the transaction was a factor adding to the complexity of the situation. I was therefore asked to travel to the country to hold direct talks with the authorities of the relevant Ministry to ensure that they were in favour of the completion of our deal.

The second instance involved a very large and complex project where the relationship between the parties was very tense. One part of our team conducted the negotiations on-site in person, while the other part, which I was part of, conducted the negotiations online. I was responsible for the negotiations on the corporate workstream. The negotiations were very demanding (more than 10 hours of calls a day), but they allowed me to appreciate the role that lawyers can play in smoothing relations and negotiations between their respective clients in such difficult circumstances, where to a certain extent lawyers become sorts of diplomats.

What are you most excited about in 2025 / what are your goals in the coming months?

Last October, the Africa Global Practice co-heads (Jean Meijer and Paul Morton) and Chair (Martin Kavanagh) of the firm updated the composition of the Africa Steering Committee, which builds on the existing Africa practice group structure. They had the excellent idea of including senior associates and of counsel from different offices to provide them with new perspectives and I was very pleased to be invited to join them.

I am very much looking forward to continuing to explore and delve further into my new role in the firm's Africa leadership. This gives me a more in-depth understanding and allows me to contribute to the definition of the firm's African strategy. It also enables me to participate in firm-wide initiatives, such as the African Non-Partner Network, which we set up earlier this year as a forum for all associates (including directors / of counsels) interested in our Africa practice.

Talk to us about projects/ the landscape for Francophone Africa. Is there anything people should be aware of, recent market developments etc?

I will limit myself to two observations that I consider essential.

The first is that for many players, the African continent remains a promising destination for business and therefore for the legal market. For some African markets, the perceived risk is very high, but so can be the returns, provided that you have the right advisors. Perhaps more than in other parts of the world, lawyers play an essential role in securing transactions.

This leads me to my second remark, which is that the legal market in Francophone Africa has changed enormously recently, with the arrival on the market of new players that combine local knowledge and an understanding of the demands of international clients. Our success on the continent will depend in part on our understanding of this trend and our ability to collaborate with these new players in a mutually beneficial way. This was one of the main lessons of our recent Africa 54PLUS event, held in Cape Town last February, which brought together more than 200 African legal counsels from our network.

What is the best and most honest advice ever given to you?

Always double check everything.

Who are your dream dinner guests?

• Jacques Vergès.
• Jacques Attali.
• Plato.
• Amadou Hampâté Ba.
• Guiseppe Garibaldi.
• Emir Abdelkader.
• Henry Kissinger.
• François-René de Chateaubriand.
• Lee Kuan Yew.