The 21st century lawyer

Once upon a time ‘Palito’, ‘Discman’, ‘Movieman’ and ‘Cassette player’ were the order of the day with ‘Ipad’, ‘Ipod’ and ‘Iphone’ being luxuries only afforded by the rich, but times have changed. Today smartphones capable of doing almost everything from social media to music, videos and application downloads are just a walking distance from the […]

Once upon a time ‘Palito’, ‘Discman’, ‘Movieman’ and ‘Cassette player’ were the order of the day with ‘Ipad’, ‘Ipod’ and ‘Iphone’ being luxuries only afforded by the rich, but times have changed. Today smartphones capable of doing almost everything from social media to music, videos and application downloads are just a walking distance from the reach of the Nigerian youth. Little wonder Americans are fond of making sci-fi movies depicting the fight for dominance between man and machine.
A young lawyer lucky to start his legal voyage in this 21st century must be ready to follow the trend. If any young lawyer at this time and age doesn’t have an email address then he is far behind in technological advancement than I thought. As Wikipedia puts it “the information age (also known as the computer age, digital age or media age) is a period in human history characterized by the shift from traditional industry… to an economy based on information computerization”.
 A young wig, in order to compete with his learned friends in the developed countries must cease to do things like we are still in1960 or 1970 and make use of the Information Communication Technology that this century has provided. The time of going to cyber café to check email is far gone except maybe for scanning and printing of documents which of course can be done in a law firm that has the facilities.
A young lawyer need not have a truck-load of money to afford a smartphone that provides ‘stress less’ and easy ways of doing things which in turn improve his practice. For instance letters seeking employment which ordinarily had to be taken physically to a law firm {wherever it is} can now be sent electronically from the comfort of homes and offices. Letters can be sent to clients irrespective of their location and vice versa, reminders can be set for meetings 24 hours before the time to avoid placing unnecessary burden on the brain; even ‘True Caller’ is an application that can be useful to a young wig.
 We now have electronic law reports, e-statutes and e-books that can be accessed anytime to provide solutions even during court sittings. I can say without mincing words that ICT plays a significant role in our economy and is highly beneficial to both the practice and pocket of a young wig.
Some readers belong to the school of thought that this is only theoretical and  cannot be applied in our Nigerian system, but Dan Brown rightly said in his novel ‘Inferno’ that “the decisions of our past are the architects of our present,” meaning what we do today will play a great role in determining how tomorrow would look like. Imagine if all court processes had the email addresses of lawyers in a suit and a day before court sitting a lawyer is copied an adjournment letter that would be taken to court, to prevent the stress of rushing to court (sometimes from outside jurisdiction) just to find out the matter is not going on subject however to the convenience of the court.
Though technology is not without its disadvantage, I believe the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. All a young lawyer need do is find a way to tap into the computerized world and make his practice easier, though the task is difficult knowing full well that our courtrooms and most law firms are also lacking in technology advancement.
 That being said, the time for young lawyers to upgrade their working practice and skill to fit into the 21st century is now, there is no harm in finding easier ways of doing things in a law firm. The managing partner of Ever sheds LLP, a multinational corporate law firm once said “this generation has the potential to transform the way in which the legal profession works…”
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