Where is the brief?

suddenly realised his presence and approached him to be an umpire in the matter and help decide who amongst them was right or wrong. This is a common phenomenon in our society today; a lawyer is looked upon as a better judge in any argument irrespective of whether the lawyer is abreast with the facts […]

suddenly realised his presence and approached him to be an umpire in the matter and help decide who amongst them was right or wrong. This is a common phenomenon in our society today; a lawyer is looked upon as a better judge in any argument irrespective of whether the lawyer is abreast with the facts or not.
In the same vein, there are certain acts of misconduct which if a lawyer commits them, they would be frowned against more by the society than if the same acts were committed by an individual who is not learned. Take for instance, fighting or constant quarrels with neighbours , these acts are looked at as normal when they involve laymen in our communities but they are loathed when engaged in by a lawyer. You hear statements like: ‘See wetin lawyer dey do sef’.
The society has placed a standard on legal practitioners being gentlemen of noble profession. It views a lawyer as one who upholds the law at all times, without doubt, this is what is expected of every lawyer.  A young lawyer who finds himself in this position due to his calling ought to use this as an opportunity to grow his client base. How successful one becomes as a lawyer depends on the clientele one has. Most young lawyers complain of lack of briefs because we tend to have this erroneous perspective that the senior lawyers have cornered the best clients in the business and have left nothing for the young ones. I beg to disagree. By the last census there are over 150 million
Nigerians and less than a million lawyers, meaning there are enough clients to go round even to the next generation of lawyers.
In my humble opinion, a young lawyer ought to capitalise on the perspective of the society about lawyers to build his client base (not the perspective that all lawyers are liars). A young wig should understand that the legal profession is not just a job but a way of life.  In other words, he must conduct himself at all times in a manner above that of a layman, not only when in the office but at all times.
A young wig must also understand that the society has more trust in old lawyers as experience is the best teacher, however, that does not in any way mean that the immediate society does not pay close attention to how the young wig grows. The mistake most young wigs make is underrating the value of the advice they render. A neighbour walks up to a young wig and asks him how he can effectively evict a tenant from his property and he rushes to answer without charging the client or inviting him to the office for proper briefing.
Most young wigs have lost money because of the informal way they give potential clients free advise (this young wig inclusive), the potential client then goes and makes use of the advice to solve his/her problem and immediately forgets the counsel that helped him.
Counsel must realise that any legal advice rendered is worth monetary value which is why it is imperative that young wigs conduct themselves in a way that would clearly distinguish them from laymen.
A lawyer cannot advertise, the best available option is his presentation to the society. One cannot hide in a closet and expect clients to come find him there. A young wig must be a social animal, he must be a people’s man; he must know how to interact with the society.
The brief may not come easy, nothing good comes easy, but a young wig must prepare for the brief that is sure to come, know that the society is watching and the brief one earnestly desires is all around counsel which includes but is not limited to his immediate community. While it is true that the Nigerian only needs a lawyer in times of trouble, it then behoves on a young wig to make an impression in the Nigerian’s mind so that when a legal problem presents itself, the young wig will be the first person he will call.
As a gentleman, a young wig should endeavour to dress smart and decently, must comport himself in all his endeavours, and need not be in a rush to offer free legal advice except one does not want to grow in the profession.

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