From classroom to boardroom: CEPMLP students experience in-house legal practice at Baker Hughes

On Friday, 6 November 2026, students from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) at the University of Dundee joined peers from the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University for A Day in the Life of a Baker Hughes Legal Counsel at the company's Stoneywood office in Aberdeen. Organised by the Baker Hughes Legal & Compliance Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Council and facilitated by Senior Legal Contracts Counsel and University of Dundee alumnus Olabanji Oni, the day gave students a practical look at legal, compliance and commercial careers in a global energy technology company.

The day began with a simulation exercise. Students were split into two teams, Team A and Team B, each mixing students from all three universities. Acting as junior legal advisers, they worked through a fictional North Sea contract dispute, presented their recommendations to senior members of the legal team and received feedback.

In the afternoon, students moved into four groups for a mock negotiation, each guided by a Baker Hughes Legal staff. Two groups represented a technology company negotiating with a customer, and two negotiated with a supplier, putting contract theory into live practice.

During the Meet the Counsel fireside chat, moderated by Assistant General Counsel Sally Okolo, lawyers from litigation, intellectual property, compliance, employment and trade compliance shared career journeys that rarely followed a straight line. Ben Liebman, General Counsel for Oilfield Services & Equipment, summed up good in-house lawyering: don't just flag the risk, but set out the options and give a clear recommendation. Many of the team also spoke about raising their hands for opportunities before they felt ready. Students also heard from Olubukola Sanni, People and Culture Leader UK, about early career routes into Baker Hughes, including its ASPIRE graduate programme.

For many students, working alongside peers from other universities and negotiating in front of practising lawyers showed how the energy law and policy principles studied in class play out in practice. It was a day that taught lessons no textbook could.

Sincere thanks go to Olabanji Oni, Cindy Liu and the entire Baker Hughes Legal & Compliance team for a generous, insightful and well-organised day.

(Written by Pere-Ere Victor Okubonanabo, LLM candidate in International Oil and Gas Law and Policy.)