By Francis Onoiribholo Bureau Chief Benin
The saying that “the old farm of a father will not break his son’s axe” was put to test as the lawyers, mostly of the Isoko stock, struggled and organised themselves to realise a long held dream of having a branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) inaugurated at Oleh, headquarters of Isoko South Local Government of Delta State. Though there were already in existence many branches of the bar in and around the locality, having one distinguishable branch in Oleh proved challenging and only the resilience and determination of its sponsors and advocates could make its realisation possible.
The NBA, Oleh, branch germinated from the Isoko Lawyers’ Forum that was put in place with the efforts of Sir J. E. Ikede (as he then was) now Justice J. E. Ikede of the Delta State High Court, Effurun Judicial Division. The efforts of Justice Ikede and some members of the association culminated in the creation of the branch on August 26, 2011 at the Annual General Conference held in Port Harcourt. The effort of Blessing E. Ukiri of the Port Harcourt branch of the NBA, who was the then first vice president of the NBA at the national level, was significant in the bringing the branch on stream.
Ukiri is acknowledged as the most person that contributed to bringing the branch to be, who the branch chairman was “’akin to what President Barrack Obama said about Luther thus; ‘Like Moses before him, he would never live to see the Promised Land. But from the mountain top, he pointed the way for us” and for this, the entire branch is grateful.”
The Oleh branch chairman, Chief K. O. Uwubiti , said the new branch would face some teething problems and one of these is that of transportation., the branch chairman urged the Governor Emmanuel Uguaghan to assist the branch to buy a vehicle. He also urged the governor to donate buses to other branches of the NBA in Delta State in order to ease movement of members to national assignments.
According to Uwubiti, “It is disheartening to note that the Oleh, Agbor, Sapele and Ogwashi-Uku branches in Delta State are all suffering from this malaise and we appeal to His Excellency to keep his promise made during the NEC meeting of the NBA held at Asaba in 2012 where His Excellency promised that he would donate a bus each to our branch and the others yet to be given; let His Excellency’s word be his bond, we count on His Excellency’s integrity in this regard.”
He said the Oleh branch was eager to elevate its status among the comity of branches of the NBA in Nigeria and enhance the professional competence and proficiency of its members.
Uwubiti added, “It is pertinent to state that in a maiden law week of this magnitude, there is the possibility of lapses here and there in the course of execution of the plans made for this law week. If any, or where one is noticed, I sincerely apologise and plead for the understanding of our guests and guest speakers and members.”
With that plea for understanding even when very little could have been adjudged inadequately executed, the stage was set for the first of the day’s two lectures. It can easily be assumed that the event being for legal minds, friends and associates, only legal matters would be discussed. However, when the first speaker mounted the stage, it instantly dawned on all attendees that not only lawyers per se were going to benefit from the lecture and that the doctors, journalists (especially), engineers, name it, were all in for a great treat, so they all sat attentively listening to every word.
Prof. David Folorunso Tom delivered his lecture on the topic: “The Importance of Research in Legal Practice” which he consider very topical particularly, within the context of a legal practice in a developing nation such as Nigeria.
“There is need for all of us to embark on a self-orientation if legal practice is to grow in this country to accord with what is obtainable in legally developed countries. Today, legal practice is gradually diminishing in standard in Nigeria. Libraries in the Faculties of Law and law courts are not stocked with enough and up to date law books. In some cases, relevant books are not available in the bookshops,” Tom said.
He stated that a student who did not offer “Research Method” in his LL.B programme would find it difficult to embark on a meaningful legal research.
“Legal practice has gone beyond local and international boundaries and now requires knowledge of both local and international laws. To meet up with these challenges, any legal practitioner that wants to succeed must embark on intensive legal research.
“To actualise our aim of building a strong legal profession, we must subject our law students and legal practitioners to the rudiments of legal research. Research has been defined by Gasiokwu M.O.U as, ‘an investigation of every kind which has been based on original sources of knowledge maybe styled research and it may be said that without research, no authoritative works have been written, scientific discoveries made, no theories of any value propounded,” he said
He asserted that the reason to embark on legal research is because “laws cannot be perfect in a dynamic society; law reforms are being continuously undertaken to reflect the existing reality. The unintelligibility of laws will necessitate explanation, and consequently calls for research will always be made.”.
However, on strong admonishment and as if talking directly to journalists in the use of research opportunities, he said, “Research work should be devoid of intellectual property theft, that is, plagiarism which is the act of taking and using the thoughts/ideas, writings, invention, etc of another person as your own’ The rules provide as follows:
- Aim at sound publishable research, not perfection;
- Engage in honest and dispassionate investigation (ethics of research) avoid plagiarism;
- Do not confine research to theory or book ideas; and
- Have a working plan.
According to him, sophisticated office outlays and equipment present and compliment law practice as a business.
“You need to make it attractive and conducive. Many law firms on the Island in Lagos and Abuja even look more attractive than banks.
“A client who comes to such an office may not necessarily argue legal fees. In most law firms, clients are well attended to. You have tea or coffee served to visitors especially clients. These make the visitors or clients feel more at home and relaxed to share his problem with the firm. We need this level of practice. There is need to invest some of the legal fees in developing our office. Let there be good facilities even in rural areas like Oleh, Ozoro and its environs,” he stated.
The law professor listed the following as necessary for effective law practice “Well-trained personnel – Most successful law firms now employ qualified workforce. They recruit qualified secretaries and not just anyone who can type; personnel managers; administrative managers; good accountants, librarians and research assistants. People are not employed on the basis of family affinity or closeness. They are employed on the premise of their contribution to the overall development and satisfaction of the clients.”
He said there are several types of research methods some of which he discussed:
Analytical research - this type of research is aimed at exploring in detail the existing laws at all levels be it local or international. In doing this, there is need to examine the legislative competence of each level of legislature.
Historical Research – this type of research is intended to trace the historical development of laws in a particular legal system. It will enable the researcher to understand the background for changes in law.
Comparative Research – A comparative research may entail the study of law on the same subject matter within the same country or different countries on a comparative basis. The aimed is to point out similarities and dissimilarities and at the end reconcile them with a view to updating the present laws.
Statistical Research – The research entails the gathering of statistics with respect to the working of the law. Statistical research is useful in the verification of hypothesis concerning the influence of define factors upon law or vice versa.
He said it might be necessary to find out why people refuse to wear crash helmet, the number of persons that have been convicted compared to a hypothetical number of riders. The result could be traced to our dress pattern, which requires that women put on head ties and men put on caps and turban their heads. They may prefer to breach the law rather than doing away with their form of traditional dressing.
Tom said statistical research is common in the social sciences. It might require collaboration with a social scientist if the research is in law as they are grounded in formulating hypothesis and preparing statistical data.
Classification of Research., he said Gasiokwu in his book, “Legal Research and methodology”, classified research into two, namely, doctrinal and non-doctrinal (empirical) research. He said doctrinal research is when ‘research is focused on doctrines. It involves analysis of statutory provisions, such as acts, laws, decrees, regulations, rules, international laws, and case laws. The researcher organizes his study around legal propositions. Other materials include textbooks, articles opinion in treaties, dictionaries, encyclopaedia, commentaries and digests. These materials are regarded as secondary sources and they play supporting role.
He said non-doctrinal (empirical) research refers to the type of research, which assesses the impact of societal factors on law or proposed law. An example is the impact of law (statute or case law) on people; for example, does capital punishment deter offenders?
He stated that non-doctrinal research also involves the use of questionnaires and personal contacts. “Legal research knows no bound. It does not matter whether a legal practitioner is in academics or not; knowledge of legal research is a sine qua non,” he added.
The professor said a legal practitioner could be invited to submit an article for publication in a journal or a chapter in a book, adding that e could be invited to present a paper in an occasion such as this. He could decide to write an academic or practice book. He could also decide to embark on a post-graduate programme like an LL.M, or Ph.D. It may be necessary for him to prepare a brief. It should be noted that a general principle runs through the preparation of these works. However clever a legal practitioner may be, he cannot succeed in these tasks without embarking on Legal Research.
In the history of legal publications in Nigeria, serving Judges and Legal practitioners have also written academic and practice books. Law lecturers have written practice and academic books. All these were made possible through Research.
The Lecturer intends to briefly discuss Research in certain areas such as postgraduate programme and legal practice in the law courts. In postgraduate programme, such as LL.M and PhD, preliminary research work starts with the choice of a topic. A Researcher in choosing a topic must take into consideration the following factors.
1. Choice of topic 2. Whether the topic is researchable 3. Availability of materials, 4. Availability of supervisor, 5. Scope of the topic, 6. Cost of running the research. An academic research aims at enhancing knowledge, sometimes (certainly not always) in order to generate action for change.
Academic writings are intended to posit new arguments/ideas so as to establish new or reinforce old knowledge. It must be premised on well – carried out research. It is an aspect of research by which an academic proves scholarship because it is the publication derived from a research by which the researcher boldly calls on others to access him or her.
Factors to consider in Brief Writing by a Legal Practitioner; Clarity – Clarity of language in the presentation of a client’s case is essential. Candour – The language of an advocate should exhibit candour. An advocate should desist from the use of oratorical skills and flowery language over and above candour. He should display frankness and openness. Language that is evasive, shifty or dodgy is not befitting of an advocate. It does damage to his case and person.
Precision – Precision of language relates to the use of the right word to convey exact meaning at any point in time. Most language, not the least English language have many words that are similar in meaning.
Another attribute of a good command of language and written skill is simplicity of language. A practicing legal practitioner should know how to prepare briefs, such as (i) Appellant’s brief (ii) Respondent’s brief (iii) Reply brief.
Many cases have been lost by legal practitioners because of poor preparation of briefs. Briefs are quite complex and technical, and require that a legal practitioner should under-study the system of brief writing. This can only be possible through reference to previous works, precedents etc. It means embarking on research.
Essentials Of A Brief; A good brief should contain the following: i. Introduction ii. Issues for determination iii. Statement of facts relevant to the Appeal iv. Argument v. Summary and conclusions vi. List of authorities.
Sourcing Legal Information/Materials – The law library is the ideal place for a legal practitioner who is embarking on research to source for information and materials. Surprisingly, several legal practitioners would be lost and confused if they find themselves in a law library as they may not know where to start from. Today, the legal profession/practice demands enormous information of various sorts such as evidence, cases or judicial precedents and opinions.
Emphasizing on the fact that the legal profession is highly dependent on books and that the lawyers laboratory is the Law Library, Dada opined as follows: ‘There is no class of men, professional or otherwise so dependent on books as the lawyers…. I am speaking with authority when I say the lawyers books are his tools without which he would be unable to provide for himself and family’.
In his book “The Brief system in Nigeria Courts, Hon. Justice Niki Tobi (Rtd) quoted Wydick, a lawyer thus: We lawyers cannot write plain English. We use eight words to say what could be said in two. We use old, arcane phrases to express commonplace ideas. Seeking to be precise we become redundant. Seeking to be cautious, we become verbose. Our sentences twist on, phrase within clause… Glazing the eyes and numbing the minds of our readers. The result is a writing style that has, according to one critic, four outstanding characteristics. It is (I) wordy; (2) unclear (3) pompous and (4) dull.
His Lordship continued: “Modern advocacy has not much space for tedious, redundant and verbose language…. As a matter of necessity, legal arguments must be presented in straightforward language and to the point”. The modern advocate has no time for such verbosity. Apart from show off, it does nothing towards advancing the case of the advocate.
It would enable him understand fully the doctrine of stare decisis. Overall, it would improve professional standard. A legal practitioner who out of ignorance refuses to seek for information by way of research shall not find answers to his problems. He should have himself to blame for poor legal practice.
As if the lecture shouldn’t have an end but it had to, and the spontaneous reaction of the attendees in giving Prof. Tom a standing ovation was attestation to the scholarly presentation worthy of international award.
Perhaps it was hasty to rue the end of the first lecture because immediately F. J. Oniekoro who is Deputy Director (Academics), Nigerian Law School, Augustine Nnamani Campus, Agbani, Enugu mounted the stage, it became obvious that more of desirable information and teaching was in the offing. He presented his paper on the topic: “Pupilage, Partnership and New Trends in Legal Practice in Nigeria” A teacher of such standing could not have been expected to deliver less incisive a lecture but did he not surpass all expectations? Perhaps, it will be most fair to hear him first hand.
It is my great pleasure to be afforded this opportunity to deliver this short paper. I appreciate the executives of the Nigerian Bar Association, Oleh Branch. By virtue of my birthplace and connection, I see myself a member of this Branch. It is home coming for me. I am equally proud to know we have a strong Bar at home.
In reference to legal practice, a ‘pupil’ is a person that is yet to be grounded in the tenets and practice of law. He is a starter. He is still undergoing training in legal practice. This has nothing to do with age of birth or age at the Bar. He need not be a new wig. For, a person may have been called to the Bar for years and yet he can still be a pupil, if he has not been groomed in effective legal practice or has not been involved in effective legal practice. The defining words in pupilage are ‘training’ and ‘studying’. Thus the person under pupilage is one undergoing a form of formal or informal training. He is understudying another person who must have special knowledge or effective legal practice. Thus where two persons who are both lacking in deep knowledge or effective legal practice, practice law together, they cannot be said to be undergoing pupilage.
On the other hand ‘Partnership’ is derived from the word ‘partner’. It is a contact between individuals engaged in any business. It is a voluntary association of two or more persons who jointly own and carry on a business for profit. The defining words in a partnership are ‘business’ and profit. In reference to legal practice, it therefore entails the association of two or more legal practitioners who agreed to pull their legal, financial and moral resources together for the sole purpose of making profitable practice and to share the profit so made. Trend means general tendency or general direction. Thus new trend will mean new general tendency or new general direction. I assume we understand the term ‘legal practice’. It does not require further explanation. This is the practice of law within a given jurisdiction.
Why should I undergo Pupilage? It is true that once one is called into the Nigerian Bar by the Body of Benchers and has one’s name enrolled at the Supreme Court, he can legally practice law as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court in Nigeria. This equally imposes a correlative responsibility on the Legal Practitioner. Rule 17 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2007 imposes the duty to be competent in his legal practice on the Legal Practitioner. The rule provides: A lawyer shall not -
(a) Handle a legal matter which he knows or ought to know that he is not competent to handle, without associating with him a lawyer who is competent to handle it, unless the client objects;
(b) Handle a legal matter without adequate preparation; (c) Neglect a legal matter entrusted to him; or (d) Attempt to exonerate himself from or limit his liability to his client for his personal malpractice.
Thus the profession expects some level of competence. It is not sufficient or not a good defence to say ‘God forbid that a lawyer should know all the laws. This is premised on representation. Once you represent yourself to the client that you have gotten sufficient training and acquired necessary skills to effectively project his interest and that of justice of the case, it is no defence to say, ‘I did not know’. In the popular case of Ross V Counters where a solicitor who was not well skilled in probate matters wrote a Will for a testator and failed to advise the testator on who should be his witnesses, and as a result of this negligence, the son-in-law attested the Will. The daughter of the testator, who lost the bequest due to the effect of S.15 of the Wills Act, as her husband was one of the witnesses, sued the solicitor for negligence and he was so found. The court discountenanced his argument that there was no contractual relationship between the beneficiary (daughter of the testator and himself).
Consider this. How many of us would be free and bold to stay in an aircraft where you are informed that the pilot of the plane is just a student or someone who is yet to attain any degree of competence? You will run for your life. Consequently, the need for pupilage cannot be over-emphasized. A client who commits his case into your hands is like committing his life into your hands. You must ensure quality service is rendered. You need more training than what you receive from Nigerian Law School with its limitations and constraints.
Apart from shaping and reshaping of the skills and attitudinal disposition of the new wig, pupilage helps to build character in the legal practitioner. You are trained in credibility and the benefits of honesty. We have disturbing level of moral decadence amongst legal practitioners today as a result of the loss of interest in the training about the rudiments and perspectives of the profession. Many Legal Practitioners are facing the Disciplinary Committee of the Body of Benchers today. The number keeps increasing.
The quest for quick riches and to be like the other legal practitioner who appears to be in affluence push so many legal practitioners into activities that usually lead them either to police detention or criminal prosecution or to face the Disciplinary Committee of the Body of Benchers. One of the various ways to reduce this sad trend is to encourage pupilage.
For How Long Should One Serve His Pupilage?
There can be no uniform recommendation on this. It all depends on the law firm, its activities (whether it is a busy office or not) and the level of degree of skill one desires. However, it will be of great advantage to the new wig to spend at least seven years before embarking on personal practice.
Impediments to Effective Pupilage. One cannot but help to mention some of the impediments to effective pupilage. These include: a. Poor Remuneration – Many seniors pay their junior lawyers a dying wage and not living wage. There are law firms that even pay lawyers below the National Minimum Wage of N18,000. This is callous and wicked. The new wig is not less human. He is not less with needs.
Though all the needs of the new wig may not be met by his senior, yet he richly deserves a living wage. It is always touted by the senior that the new wig should be the one to pay for the training and not the other way round. This argument is porous and self-serving. The new wig renders services for which the senior receives clients’ remuneration.
The senior should be magnanimous enough to give a little part of this to the new wig. A salary below N50,000 is not realistic and should be deprecated by all reasonable and well-intentioned members of the profession. Even the Holy book enjoins that the labourer is worthy of his wage.
b. Insatiable Desire for Quick Wealth- Many new wigs are impatient. They would want to wear the same quality of dresses like their seniors; drive the same kind of cars. To them, these material acquisitions are the clearest evidence of success in practice. This makes them to either abhor pupilage or not stay for an appreciable time. Wealth is good but it must be allowed to take its course. First things first. Acquire the proper training and skills and every other thing shall be added unto you.
c. Poor Human Relationship – Some seniors see junior counsel in their firms as their chattels. They do not relate with them with any form of respect or regard. Yes, you are his boss and yet you do not allow him access to your bosom. Do not treat new wig as a slave. He deserves some empathy from you. It is not too much to show him that understanding even when the new wig makes some mistakes or misjudgement; he still deserves some love, not hatred, abuse or insult.
d. Ill-equipped Law Firms – There are instances where the senior himself requires pupilage. It is trite principle of law that one cannot give what one does not have. To pride yourself as a senior deserving pupilage in your firm, then you need to strive to have basic working tools. How can you be a good trainer without the tools? What is the state of your library? What is the level of the precedents you have for your junior to learn from? This discourages pupilage.
e. Laziness – Many new wigs are lazy and not ready to undertake any serious task. Such wigs are quick to run from even good firms and start their own practice even when they know little has been acquired in terms of skills.
f. Lack of Honesty – Some new wigs are very dishonest and unreliable so much so that one finds it difficult to entrust any client to them. They cannot be trusted with money. They do eye service and back-bite their seniors, saying very unprintable and negative things about them in their absence forgetting that, according to Stephen R Coney in his work:
“One of the most ways to manifest integrity is to be loyal to those who are absent. In doing so, we build the trust of those who are present. When you defend those who are absent, you retain the trust of those present”.
Specialization – Another new trend is specialization in certain areas of law that were hitherto unknown in Nigeria. We now have practitioners that are specialists in aviation, marine, communication, arbitration, etc. they have colonized these new areas. For those of us from the Niger-Delta where we have incessant instances of oil spillage and oil related issues, it is high time we develop ourselves and be known in this area of law. Why not develop interest in medical negligence? How many hospitals treat their patients without due care?
These patients leave their fate to God. We must make deliberate effort to discover some of these areas of law; develop them, and publicise them. You must be known for an area of the law and not to be jack of all trades. You will certainly not be a master of any.
The ovation that greeted this lecture was thunderous and not just because Oleh Branch of the NBA was having its maiden law week, therefore being erroneously considered to be peopled by ‘new wigs’ mostly, but essentially because even the old and experienced ‘wigs’ had a good FoC (Free of Charge) refresher course and a reminder for their ‘teacherage’ (my coinage) to wear a human face, so that the populace can continue to have willing, smiling and diligent pupils.
Chief Uwubiti was full of appreciation to the Chief Judge of Delta State, Hon. Justice Z.A. Smith who has continued to encourage the branch and also gave them the impetus to hold the maiden law week. The President of the Customary Court of Appeal Hon. Justice S.O.N. Ogene, Their Lordships, Hon. Justice Marshal Umukoro and Hon. Justice (Dr) F. Oho, Barr. (Chief) A.P.J Okpakpo and Barr. Benedict Asaboro who are regarded as founding fathers; all shared in deep appreciation for their encouragement and support. End
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