Practice Profile

Abimbola was called to the Bar in England and Wales on 25th November 1993. He is called to the Nigerian Bar where he was admitted as a Solicitor and Barrister of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on 26th November 2014.

Abimbola returned to independent practice at the Bar in July 2009 having worked in local government and for leading firms of solicitors. His expertise is in the following areas of work:

Abimbola is specialist in housing and landlord and tenant law. He was formerly the head of housing litigation at London Borough of Camden. Before he joined that Council he was the in-house advocate at the London Borough of Islington. In both positions he gained considerable experience in all aspects of housing litigation including housing disrepair claims, homelessness reviews and homelessness appeals rent arrears possession actions, nuisance claims, unlawful occupancy, licence/lease disputes and leaseholder service charge disputes.

In his time working for leading firms of solicitors with a strong presence in social housing, Abimbola was exposed to the transactional side of social housing where he advised on and drafted tenancy agreements, negotiated and completed several high value housing transfer agreements as well as setting up and advising boards of various Arms Length Management Organisations on matters of corporate governance.

Abimbola has considerable experience of professional regulation work and has seen the work from the perspective of the regulator and the professional.  Between 1st January 2003 and 31st December 2012, Abimbola was member of the Disciplinary and Regulatory Committees of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He was appointed Deputy Chairman in 2007 and served in that capacity until December 2012.

Abimbola has a growing family law practice with an emphasis on private and public law Children Act proceedings, International Child Abduction (Hague and Non-Hague Convention cases). He has also acted for applicants and respondents in proceedings for injunctive relief and transfer of property under the Family Law Act 1996.

Abimbola has experience of employment law and has also advised on complex contractual disputes. He has a growing consumer credit practice acting mainly for lenders.

Following his call to the Nigerian Bar on 26th November 2014, Abimbola has appeared in the Federal High Court of Nigeria on a matter involving the interpretation of material parts of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Abimbola aims to grow this practice with an emphasis on Constitutional Law, Commercial Disputes and Arbitration, Corporate Law and Property Law. To read more about Abimbola's international and Nigerian practice click on Nigerian Lawyer.

Hounslow LBC v Cumar [2012] EWCA Civ 1426
Recent authority on the interpretation and scope of CPR 19.2

Camden LBC v Stafford [2012] EWCA Civ 839; [2012] 4 All E.R. 180; [2012] H.L.R. 39; [2012] 26 E.G. 97 (C.S.); [2012] 2 P. & C.R. DG13; Times, September 6, 2012;
Important case on the powers of local authorities on review of a decision to recover possession of property let on an introductory tenancy.

R. (on the application of Gebremarium) v Westminster City Council [2009] EWHC 2254 (Admin)
Accommodation pending review under section 202 of the Housing Act 1996.

Islington LBC v Reeves [1997] C.L.Y. 2715
Important first instance decision on the extent of the courts discretion on an application to suspend a warrant. The decision was upheld in a subsequent but different Court of Appeal decision see [2002] H.L.R. 12

Languages

Yoruba

Appointments, Memberships and Affiliations

Deputy Chairman of the Disciplinary and Regulatory Committees of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants  (2007-2012)

Member of the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers

Membership Secretary British Nigeria Law Forum

Abimbola is qualified to accept cases under the  Direct Public Access to Barristers scheme.