Dr. Tolu Taiwo holds a PhD in International Oil and Gas Agreements with distinction from the University of Birmingham, an LLM General with distinction from the same University, and a First Class LLB from the University of Coventry.

Dr. Taiwo worked in the Energy Practice of Aina Blankson, LP for a number of years. Her strong work ethic, solution-orientated approach and astute understanding of the energy sector was quickly recognised, leading to her promotion to Partner within less than three years at the firm.
As an avid business developer, Dr. Taiwo played a pivotal role in the establishment and operation of the ICE Energy Learning School; a capacity development institution in Africa and Latin America.

Passionate about development in the energy sector, Dr. Tolu Taiwo founded July Manhattan to provide to local and international businesses an expert legal partner with a focus on steering businesses to maximise opportunities in the entire service sector.

Dr. Taiwo regularly advises on the negotiation and drafting of joint venture agreements in the energy sector. She particularly provides her expertise in upstream oil and gas agreements, assisting clients on contractual, fiscal and regulatory issues in licences, PSCs, joint ventures, decommissioning, long term gas contracts and sales & distribution agreements.
Also, Dr. Taiwo has a strong background in the procurement and logistics sector, working for over five years as a business consultant for international logistics companies. She provides legal and business advisory on a daily basis, working directly with all stakeholders. Her role extends to the recommendation and implementation of strategies that drive performance and enhance productivity in keys areas of commercial operations. Additionally, she is the B2B partner for operations in Africa and the Middle East, focusing on building relations with commercial partners, business growth and managing commercial projects from inception to phase out. She exercises control over the end to end logistics process for 100+ commercial clients and businesses across Africa, Japan, China, Europe, USA, and the Middle East. 

Her key strengths are in the area of contractual compliance, risk mitigation, project management, logistics management, business development, training and service delivery. Dr. Taiwo has been described by clients as having “exceptional attention to detail with a results-orientated approach”.

Dr. Taiwo is one of the contributors of the African Legal Support Facility’s (in connection with the African Development Bank) Academy Level 2 Oil & Gas Course Handbook. She recently published an online paper on decommissioning and residual liabilities, looking at the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on oil and gas companies.