In the latest instalment of Metro Eireann’s Meet The Boss, SANDY HAZEL speaks to Celia Otubu, solicitor and partner in the Ceemex & Co practice in Dublin
Celia Otubu – from Nigeria, by way of Britain – has been in Ireland for five years. “My degrees in law are from the UK, and I did some of my training there,” she explains. “While I was employed as a solicitor I came to Ireland on a trip. I saw that there was no ethnic minority law firm operating here and knew that it would be a good move to make.
“I studied the possibilities of setting up here. I knew that there were growing communities of other nationalities, which would provide opportunities for business. People were beginning to converge and settle in Ireland – and they were staying. Before, immigrants would work, study, train, save and maybe move on or return to their home. But these new communities were staying, buying homes, opening up businesses, running companies. These people saw prospects here.”
All of these transactions require legal assistance, and seeing the gap in the market, Otubu started making plans immediately: “When I came for the first trip, I actually started looking for a property.”
She found the right setting at 37 Lower Gardiner Street in Dublin’s city centre, and set up Ceemex & Co Solicitors. The location, while not in the most fashionable part of the city, is a prime position according to Otubu.
“When a person arrives in Dublin initially,” she says, “they will know O’Connell Street first. They will also be familiar with Busaras station. We are close to each site. We are easy for people to find and that is important.”
Otubu did not have to take the Irish re-qualifier exams as her law qualifications are recognised here. “Both Irish law and English law are based on common law. However I know many colleagues who are qualified from India or Nigeria, and they work in other careers here while they study for the Irish bar,” she says.
Otubu’s office is lined with neatly stacked files and folders full of case details and paperwork. Some of the stacks are five feet tall. It looks, literally, like a ton of work.
“Of course it is hard work,” she explains, “it’s all about detail. I have some help from law students who intern here. And my partner in the company is Matthew Emeka Ezeani.”
Otubu is clear about the highs and lows of being your own boss: “When I was a solicitor for another company there was the occasional late night. But when you are a self-employed person you not only carry out the case preparation and going to court, but everything else as well. It all falls on your shoulders – administration, accounts, all the integral bits of running a business. It is hard.”
So how does Ceemex get its name known? “A lot of our advertisements are publication and newspaper-based. We also use the Yellow Pages and The Independent Directory. Also, when we set up first we did get a lot of media attention, as we are the first ethnic legal company in Ireland. I used that attention to get the message out that we were open for business. I appeared on some TV and radio programmes.
“It was interesting participating in discussion shows, but while this advertising of our company is good, really the most important type of referral that I appreciate is the one where a client will pass on our details and recommend us based on our good work. It is one of the highlights of running this type of business, when someone calls you up after a case and thanks you personally for your help. I derive a lot of satisfaction from that.”
Otubu continues: “Business is a venture. If you decide to take it on you realise that of course it will be hard, but it is important to choose something that you are passionate about. Do not go into business just to make money. When the going gets rough then the strength of your determination will carry you through. If you are determined and passionate then the profit will follow.
“Ireland is a land of opportunity. An individual will make it. Once you establish yourself then you will get plenty of business, people will come to you. Indians, Irish, Africans – they will come as clients once they hear that what you do is good.”
