Investing in the future of the legal profession

Law   is   as   old   as   the   existence   of   mankind   and   this   makes   the   legal   profession important to the peaceful co-existence of men between each other. The current legal environment as it  stands   today  in   the   Nigerian   legal […]

Law   is   as   old   as   the   existence   of   mankind   and   this   makes   the   legal   profession important to the peaceful co-existence of men between each other. The current legal environment as it  stands   today  in   the   Nigerian   legal  system   is   somewhat   out   of balance for many legal practitioners, particularly the young ones who are constantly on the increase year in, year out. And these young ones happen to be the future of the legal profession. 

If I were to write a list of the reputable lawyers in the Nigerian legal environment who have laid a landmark in the profession for the young ones to follow, this page will not be sufficient, and for this reason no names shall be mentioned.

 It is indeed a privilege to have learnt from the great legal minds of the Nigerian legal profession. The world is fast becoming a global village. Information Communication Technology (ICT) is taking over the dissemination of  information by the day, thus,   certain structures and facilities that were servicing the legal industry then, might not be able to take the influx of digital young lawyers coming into profession today, and so it is pertinent that the future be invested in to yield a better legal environment.

 So says a wise saying: ‘What an elder will see sitting down, a child cannot see, even at the top of an iroko tree’. It is our elders in the legal profession that ordinarily guide the growth of the young legal practitioner when he/she steps into the environment, and guidance needs not be restricted to tutelage but extended to investing in the legal environment to ease the plight of the young wig. 

For the young wig, there is enough of  the complaint about what our seniors in the legal profession are doing or not doing. It is time to re-dedicate such energy to personal growth. We are personally responsible for our failure or success in the legal profession, and young wigs should stop expecting someone else to take that responsibility for them. 

Having said the  above, our  elders have a role to play in making the atmosphere conducive for the young legal practitioner. This role would make  it easy for legal practitioners to sail smooth in achieving growth, there ought to be a Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) in the legal industry whereby funds can be collectively provided by contribution of members who are well to do, and harness contributed funds towards providing soft loans for low income members to afford basic life amenities.

 Take for instance, the NBA Kaduna branch in order to alleviate difficulties of payment of conference fees due to the hike, for legal practitioners between 1 – 5 years post call, set aside a special fund for this category of lawyers to access as loan and repay in installments for six months.

A cooperative society can be likened to ‘asusu’, but instead of having an individual purse, there would be a public purse, in the form of the popular contribution ‘adashe’. The welfare department of the NBA, could create an open purse, where members make contributions within certain time-frame, for members to afford entrepreneurial expenses, like car loan, loan to buy a parcel of land which can be resold at higher price after a number of years, loan that can assist a legal practitioner establish him/herself – like setting up a law firm, business – or better still make investment, etcetera,etcetera, etcetera, and the monies collected by the benefactor paid back to the public purse within a specific time-frame with low interest rate.  

This would assist a legal practitioner take care of imminent needs, and still attain professional growth in the legal environment. If the NBA can afford such a scheme, its members would have equal opportunities for all willing to pay the price to attain excellence in the legal industry, apart from the collective investment scheme. There could also be investment in gray areas of law outside litigation, to encourage the incoming digital age crop of lawyers. 

There already exists schemes in the NBA that benefit her members, but those are mostly done after the death of a legal practitioner, like the cheque made to the family of the deceased. It would not be a bad idea, if members actually benefit financially from the NBA while still alive.

Godspeed!

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