Make your own path!

If everything happens as expected, a legal practitioner would graduate law school with a first class, work in a reputable limited liability partnership in the legal profession, own a flashy expensive car, live in an exotic mansion, afford the good things of life at every beck and call, etcetera etcetera etcetera. Unfortunately, things are not […]

If everything happens as expected, a legal practitioner would graduate law school with a first class, work in a reputable limited liability partnership in the legal profession, own a flashy expensive car, live in an exotic mansion, afford the good things of life at every beck and call, etcetera etcetera etcetera.

Unfortunately, things are not always equal and not everything happens as expected. Not all lawyers are employed in good law firms that pay one hundred thousand naira monthly, not all lawyers can afford a good suit of fifty thousand naira, or live in comfortable furnished apartments, nor afford financial stability.

Life is what life is, which begs the question, what is expected of a lawyer in the legal profession when things are not always equal? Some have reached out to me, that not all is black and white as we paint it to be in our column, or clear and simple enough to adhere to, some have tried to package but it does not get appreciated, some have decided to go the extra mile in their effort in the profession and are still not noticed, others say ‘but am a good lawyer, why am I not getting the clients I want’.

As a result of these uncertainties in the way life plays out in Nigeria, some give up on their dreams and personal goals, and settle with the less that life has presented them with. Those who are even lucky to get employed in good law firms that pay well, most times get satisfied with the pay and do not bother anymore to pursue personal goals.

What happened to the dreams and expectations of becoming a lawyer, ‘when I become a lawyer, I want to fight injustice’, ‘when I become a lawyer, I would delve into human rights to ensure that Nigerians are not cheated of their fundamental human right by the government of the day’, beautiful as the dreams were, because things are not always equal, they fizzle out, the hard ship and reality of the legal profession choke on them, that they do not see the light of day in practice.

Year in year out, the country produces five thousand and above lawyers into the system with dreams of changing the legal profession or making an impact, and as the call years increase, these dreams die. Some have blamed the principals and senior colleagues of law firms for demanding too much and paying little for work done, some have argued that majority of the seniors do not encourage the younger ones in their personal pursuit, others would say that the legal profession does not provide a platform for the young wig to succeed.

Letting go and giving up on personal pursuit in the long run affects the legal profession as a whole, when every lawyer folds their arms and are okay with the present situation of things as they are, no significant change would happen in the profession. We must begin to ask the question that matters, and find answers to them, the seniors say the young ones are not productive enough and only after wealth, the young ones complain of exploitation and neglect by the seniors, yet no one is doing much to bring a solution to these conundrum.

There are quite a handful of game changers, trying to make an impact in the profession or bring about the desired change in the profession, but because they are a handful, the profession does not feel the effect of their effort. Truth be told, things are not always equal, if a lawyer expects the legal profession to be rosy and cool, before embarking on that personal pursuit that might lead to change in the profession, then am sorry the change we all crave might never come to pass.

Lawyers of the technology generation ought to step into the profession expecting the worst, and still fight for what is right, be the voice of the voiceless, be interested in the journey of becoming. Truth be told, money, fame and affluence are good things of life cherished by all, but things are not always as expected. Look beyond what life has offered, and go after the things that would bring inner peace at the end of the day, we can complain all we like, if we do nothing, things would remain the same.

Godspeed!

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