Trial preparation

 The courtroom is an important avenue in the implementation and dispensation of justice both to the high and mighty of the society and to the common man on the street.  It is a place where certain silly mistakes can be detrimental to the course or direction of a case, take for instance, coming to court […]

 The courtroom is an important avenue in the implementation and dispensation of justice both to the high and mighty of the society and to the common man on the street.  It is a place where certain silly mistakes can be detrimental to the course or direction of a case, take for instance, coming to court after His Lordship has already struck out the case for want of due prosecution or failure to serve where one is ordered leading to unnecessary delay and adjournment i.e if the court is magnanimous enough to grant an adjournment, the consequence of which is time.
Being human means one is not perfect, however the fact that all men make errors does not in any way imply that such errors should be committed continually and unchecked. In the same vein, a young lawyer should not allow ill preparation to be his doom in the courtroom, a young lawyer may not be practically ready to handle delicate stages of proceedings like hearing of a case that includes examination and cross- examination of witnesses but he is duty bound by tradition to be abreast with any case file he takes to court.
A young lawyer who has chosen to stick to practise irrespective of the rigours and challenges of the legal profession must understand that the pace at which he advances in the profession rests squarely on his shoulders. The law office and concerned senior learned friends can only help by proffering advice and guidance but the whole buck rests on the young lawyer, it now depends on whether the young lawyer wants to go forward or remain in the comfort zone.
What then does trial preparation entail? To this young lawyer, it involves mentally providing answers for possible questions that may arise when the matter comes up before their Lordships for trial. In order to be adequately prepared, a young lawyer must have a diary to serve the primary purpose of informing him of his forth coming cases, therefore giving him ample opportunity to adequately meet up to appointments, make service when ordered or necessary to the course of the case, file the required court process be it motion, counter- affidavit et al to avoid being in default or pay penal fees.
The law office is the appropriate location for any productive trial preparation since the courtroom is only available when trial takes place, thus, one cannot effectively prepare for a trial in court.  However the rules of court which application is directed towards the achievement of a just, efficient and speedy dispensation of justice must be the companion of every young lawyer going to court. Unfortunately, some young lawyers {this writer inclusive} find it hard to study a case file from its commencement to the current stage of the case.  As long as a young lawyer knows what the matter is adjourned or slated for, he feels safe, some don’t even see the need in taking the rules of court and other statutes books along with them to court, this is not good practise.
A young lawyer was recently awarded cost of N3000  in court because he was more prepared than the senior counsel on the other hand, he was familiar with the provision of the rules of court that supports his cause better. A lawyer who fails to adequately prepare would not have anticipated such a scenario until when he is on his feet addressing the court, most often than not, the lawyer may not have a convincing answer to get him what he truly deserves from the court.
To improve, one must strive and growth comes from hard work. As it has been rightly said “no knowledge is wasted”, the fact that a young lawyer is not the lead counsel in a case does not preclude him from preparing for trial.
Issues may come up during the course of trial that the lead counsel did not anticipate and the young lawyer’s contribution may just be the saviour of the day.
It costs nothing to adequately prepare for trial, rather it improves the young lawyer’s practise!

Daniel Bulusson practices law in Kaduna