A lawyer that is a labourer

“If it were based on mere HARDWORK alone in its literal sense, then a labourer (bricklayer) would be richer than a banker” The travails of a legal professional on being called to the Nigerian Bar has not really changed much for over a decade, and counting. They include amongst others, poor salary structure; late payment […]

“If it were based on mere HARDWORK alone in its literal sense, then a labourer (bricklayer) would be richer than a banker”

The travails of a legal professional on being called to the Nigerian Bar has not really changed much for over a decade, and counting. They include amongst others, poor salary structure; late payment of wages; neglected welfare package; labour exploitation from employers of legal service; financial instability; unemployment; non-availability of grant to would be entrepreneurs, just to name a few.

Some months from now, new legal professionals would be introduced into the industry; more recently, National Youth Service Corp members serving their fatherland have passed out from national service and are no longer entitled to the monthly allowance from government, leaving thousands of lawyers in a legal atmosphere not favorable for one to afford his/her basic amenities in life without a pay-cheque.

The focal point of this discussion is not the problems bedeviling the legal industry, but rather to highlight some of the reasons why nothing has changed much in respect to appropriate compensation for work done by a lawyer in a firm, and to proffer solutions to better the legal environment for lawyers called to the Nigerian Bar, and law students yet to be called.

To my mind, the genesis of our predicament is predicated on lack of self-discovery by lawyers upon being called to Bar. Some studied law because of family pressure, some also studied law because it has prestige like medical doctors, while others became lawyers to bring about change in the society. To make matters worse, the legal profession offers an ocean of opportunities to lawyers, yet these crops of lawyers, unaware of how to use their skill to earn money, come into the profession to meet an overcrowded shore with confusing and difficult figures that deprive the lawyer from viewing the ocean of opportunities behind all the commotion at shore.

A legal professional comes into the industry unaware of the capabilities and opportunities available to being a lawyer. The Nigerian lawyer comes into the profession and eagerly joins the bandwagon of a stereotyped litigation packed area of law, where income is restricted to appearance fee, and monthly salary. Not many come into the profession with independence of mind to practice a different aspect from law, and earn alternative source of income apart from the meager monthly wages.

This creates a situation where a lawyer becomes a labourer, daily laying bricks for the future of another’s law business ignoring theirs, yet these lawyers complain about the hardship of being a Nigerian lawyer, forgetting that all they need to succeed as legal professionals is right in their hands. Why spend much of the youthful energy, intelligence, effort building another legal professional’s law castle, and pay less attention to how they can grow themselves in the profession to be able to use their legal skills to earn income for themselves, and build a personal profile in the legal industry.

Time waits for no one, in a few years from now a legal professional would look back and realize it is already 10 years post call with nothing to show for the number of years spent in the industry. Truth be told, a lawyer is a labourer when you spend more time building another’s dream and ignoring yours.

This is not to mean that a lawyer ought not to work for another, on the contrary, even when employed by another legal professional, give your best to the improvement of the law firm, and at the same time, pay attention to the area of law that excites your passion as a legal professional, grow in it and perfect your practice as the post call years increase.

If you ask me, practice of law is using legal knowledge, ability and legal skills of a legal professional to bring about meaningful change in the society. Contemporary practice of law is not restricted to going to court, even a legal blogger is a practicing lawyer in media and journalism, thus, every legal professional ought to begin to harness and develop skills related to any area that interests your passion of law, so one does not end up being a lawyer that is a labourer.

Godspeed!

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