Beatrice A. Hamza Bassey

Areas of Concentration

Beatrice Hamza Bassey is a litigation partner in the New York office of Hughes Hubbard where her practice focuses on complex litigation and Ethics and Compliance counseling.  She has litigated many newsworthy and notable cases on behalf of clients in state and federal courts.  Her expertise also includes counseling clients on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), conducting training programs, internal investigations and due diligence, as well as assisting clients with development of compliance programs in connection with their businesses in the US and in countries all over the world.

Ms. Hamza Bassey is a graduate of the prestigious David Rockefeller Fellow Program of the Partnership for the City of New York.  She served as President of the Nigerian Lawyers Association and chaired the Board of Directors of the organization for three years.  She serves on the Judiciary Committee, and is a past Secretary of the Litigation Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and also previously served on the New York City Bar's Committee to Enhance Diversity in the Profession.  She was an active participant in the development of the City Bar's Statement of Diversity Principles adopted by law firms and corporations in the U.S.  She is a member of the invitation-only International Association of Defense Lawyers.  She is a member of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution Arbitration Committee and serves on the Anticorruption Committee of the International Bar Association and the Ethics Committee of the Defense Research Institute.  She is a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Nigerian Higher Education Foundation, a not-for-profit established by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to promote excellence in higher education in Nigeria.  She also serves on the Editorial Board of The Nigerian Business Journal.  She also mentors law students and aspiring lawyers. 

Ms. Hamza Bassey was profiled in the cover page story of The Network Journal magazine as one of the black “Attorneys at the Top,” in the November 2011 issue.  Ms. Hamza Bassey received the Legal Aid Society’s 2010 Pro bono Publico award for providing exceptional legal services to low-income New Yorkers.  She was honored with the Nigeria Diaspora Prize for the Most Outstanding Nigerian lawyer in the Diaspora at Empowered Newswire’s 2010 commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Nigeria’s independence.  In 2003, Ms. Hamza Bassey was selected by The Network Journal to receive its " 40 under Forty" Award.  The Network Journal recognition event profiles 40 individuals, all under the age of 40, who have achieved significant levels of success in their careers and made substantial contributions to their communities.  In addition, Ms. Hamza Bassey has received recognition for her work as chair of Hughes Hubbard's Associate Task Force on Diversity. Under her leadership, the firm was ranked #1 in diversity among the nation's top 100 law firms by Multicultural Law magazine in 2006 and rated higher than any other New York law firm in providing opportunities to women, in a Harvard Law study.

Areas of Concentration

• Ethics and Compliance with emphasis on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) counseling
• Complex Litigation with emphasis on class actions, product liability, and multidistrict securities litigation
• International Litigation

Court Admissions

• U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Professional Activities

• Member, International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC).
• Member, Defense Research Institute (Ethics Committee).
• Member, International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution Arbitration Committee.
• Director, McArthur Foundation’s Nigeria Higher Education Foundation.
• Member, American Bar Association.
• Member, International Bar Association (Anti-corruption Committee, Litigation Committee).
• President, Nigerian Lawyers Association (2001-2002); Chair of the Board of Directors (2005-2008).
• Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Judiciary Committee 2009—to present; Secretary, Litigation Committee, 2004–2007; Committee to Enhance Diversity in the Profession, 2001—2006.  
• Member, Nigerian Bar Association.
• Member, Harvard Alumni Association

Recognitions/News & Print

• “Attorneys at the Top,” The Network Journal Magazine, November 2011.
• The Legal Aid Society 2010 Pro bono Publico Award, November 2010.
• Empowered Newswire's Nigeria Top 50 Award for the Most Outstanding Nigerian Lawyer in the Diaspora, October 2010.
• New York Daily News, “Building Violations Keep Slumlord Sam Suzuki Locked in Manhattan Detention Complex, or the Tombs,” July 7, 2010.
• NPR, "Bronx Landlord Jailed for Continued Housing Violations,” July 2, 2010.
• The Legal Aid Society Online, “Victory for Low Income Tenants: Defiant Landlord Ordered to Jail by Bronx Housing Court Judge Jerald R. Klein,” June 20, 2010.
• The Village Voice, “Worst Landlord' Sam Suzuki Slapped With Arrest Warrant by Housing Court Judge,” May 21, 2010.
• The New York Times, “Judge Loses Patience With a Bronx Landlord,” May 20, 2010.
• New York Law Journal, January 28, 2009.
• The Wall Street Journal, Who's News, Wednesday, February 6, 2008
• Virtue Magazine, Cover story profile, 2008.
• The Guardian, profiled in news story, June 14, 2008.
• The Punch newspaper, June 3, 2008.
• Diversity & The Bar, Movers & Shakers, May/June 2008.
• Multicultural Law magazine, “Keeping Diversity a Real World Issue,” 2007.
• Multicultural Law magazine, “Diversity is in our DNA” Fall 2006
• This Day newspaper, Law Personality of the Week, August 23, 2004.
• The Network Journal, “40 Under Forty” achievement award presented at Columbia University, June 19, 2003
• Guardian News, January 8, 2002