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. Her extensive experience in state and federal litigation includes defending clients in class actions and high profile, multidistrict claims involving drugs, and other consumer and industrial products, as well as toxic tort claims involving alleged exposure to chemicals and other substances. 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 U.S. and in countries all over the world.

Ms. Hamza Bassey served as President of the Nigerian Lawyers Association and chaired the Board of Directors of the organization for three years. She is the immediate 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 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.

In 2003, Ms. Hamza Bassey was selected by The Network Journal to receive its "Top 40 under 40" Award. The Network Journal recognition event profiles 40 individuals, all under the age of 40, who have achieved significant levels of success and made substantial contributions in their careers and to their communities. In addition, 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 in a Harvard Law study than any other New York law firm in providing opportunities to women.

• Complex Litigation with emphasis on class actions, product liability, and multidistrict securities litigation
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) counseling
• Intellectual property litigation with emphasis on copyright and rate setting litigation

Court Admissions

• Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Southern District of New York
• Eastern District of New York

Professional Activities

• President, Nigerian Lawyers Association in the U.S. (2001-2002); Chair of the Board of Directors (2005-2008)
• 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 (Anticorruption Committee, Litigation Committee)
• Member, Nigerian Bar Association
• Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Secretary, Litigation Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York 2004-2007); (Member, Committee to Enhance Diversity in the Profession, 2001-2006); (Member, Judicial Review Committee (Present).
• Member, Harvard Alumni Association

Recognitions/News & Print

• The Network Journal's 2003 “40-Under-Forty” achievement award presented at Columbia University, June 19, 2003
• Guardian News, January 8, 2002
• Law Personality of the Week, This Day newspaper, August 23, 2004
• “Diversity is in our DNA,” Multicultural Law Magazine, Fall 2006
• “Keeping Diversity a Real World Issue,” Multicultural Law Magazine, 2007
• Who's News, Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, February 6, 2008
• The Punch newspaper, June 3, 2008
• Profiled in news story, The Guardian, June 14, 2008
• Movers & Shakers, Diversity & The Bar, May/June 2008
• Cover Story Profile, Virtue Magazine, 2008
• New York Law Journal, January 28, 2009