Encourage, don’t discourage

The medical doctor on the other hand who scales through a similar difficult educational hurdle in terms of time, resources and reading, just like the Law course starts smiling to the bank even duringhousemanship; likewise the accountant who studied a four-year course in the university and works with a financial institution can afford a place […]

The medical doctor on the other hand who scales through a similar difficult educational hurdle in terms of time, resources and reading, just like the Law course starts smiling to the bank even during
housemanship; likewise the accountant who studied a four-year course in the university and works with a financial institution can afford a place to live in within one year of employment, and a car within three – four years of employment. Not sure if I can say the same for most young lawyers.
Sadly in the legal profession, with all the big grammar, always in suit despite the weather, and being a gentleman at all times, most young lawyers still find it demanding to attend to their paramount needs.
This naturally does not apply to all young lawyers; there still exist some who have been blessed a little more than others, through their background and the reputable law firms they happen to work for. Unfortunately these lucky set of young lawyers are few.
Majority of young lawyers are not finding the legal profession as rewarding as they would expect it to be, not because they are not intellectually up to the task; just that the profession is not all that encouraging to the young lawyer. We have law firms that pay young lawyers N10,000 (ten thousand Naira monthly). They close very late at night without consideration to the young lawyer’s welfare and to make matters worse, there’s no viable mechanism in place to prevent or discourage this slave labour.
Most young lawyers, due to desperation of getting a job, have landed in law firms with very poor working conditions but cannot leave as there’s nowhere else to go to.  As a matter of fact, another desperate young lawyer without a job is hanging on the sideline patiently waiting to replace that young lawyer if he leaves the office, irrespective of the poor working condition.
This young lawyer is of the opinion that there should be a practicable mechanism or committee in the Nigerian Bar Association that would look into the deplorable working conditions of some law firms and also, how the welfare of the young lawyer is been catered for by the firm. The young lawyer’s plight is not to buy a mansion or a Jeep as erroneously conceived by many, his major predicament is the fact that he doesn’t have the means to afford basic amenities which ordinarily should be affordable.
Not everything about young lawyers’ welfare has to do with cash; emotional boost from senior lawyers can also go a long way in helping a young lawyer; paying for young lawyer’s mandatory legal fees could also help boost morale. The Nigerian Bar Association should encourage a more vibrant and inclusive Young Lawyers Forum in her over 100 branches in the country to provide a platform to discuss prevalent issues affecting young lawyers and how they could be resolved.
Young lawyers don’t get the motivational encouragement they expect when they venture into active practice, and it differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions one finds hostile feelings between the young lawyer and senior lawyers, in other jurisdictions, one finds many ill kept and tattered looking young lawyers, which begs the question, are young lawyers’ welfare really part of NBA programmes?
Truth be told, many young lawyers are in distress and agony in the name of practising the legal profession, some brilliant advocates and solicitors have left the practice for salaried employment from multi-national and financial institutions, and the body saddled with the responsibility of attending to the young wigs’ welfare is not truly (emphasis on truly) aware of the deplorable state of things.
My prayer and best wishes are with a young wig (gentleman in skirt) who sustained serious fractures and injuries from a motorcycle accident on her way to file court process in the Kaduna Jurisdiction and has been hospitalised for over a month now. May the Almighty heal and strengthen you.

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