Akorede Habeeb Lawal: With Hard Work And Right Attitude, One Can Arrive At The Zenith Of The Profession

Could you briefly introduce yourself? I am Akorede Habeeb Lawal. I was born in 1988, third of the five children of parents who luckily are teachers by profession. I am an indigene of Ila-Orangun in Osun State. I am married to Aminat Lawal and we are blessed with a wonderful boy – Labib Lawal. I graduated from the University of Ilorin in 2009 and I was called to the Nigerian Bar in the year 2010. I practice as a lawyer and I am the Principal Counsel in A.H. Lawal & Co (Habibi Chambers), Asaba, Delta State. I am privileged to be serving as the Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Asaba Branch. I am also a member of the Reconciliation Committee of the Asaba Branch of the NBA and the Secretary of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Branch. And just recently, I was appointed as the State Legal Adviser of the Delta State Council of Islamic Affairs. What area (s) of law interests you? Once a lawyer, one can no longer be limited by the space that interests create. The definition of the job is to find interest in whatever clients bring forth. The peculiarity of the brief, the circumstance and scope of one’s instructions and the person of the client would adequately fuel one’s interest in whatever area of law that a brief may fall into. However, if I must be hypothetical, I enjoy brief-writing, election petition (particularly its procedures) and matters that border on the interpretation of the Constitution and other statutes. What do you like most about legal practice? As a full time legal practitioner, there are few things that are enjoyable in this profession than advocacy by good lawyers. The beauty of the profession is at its best when lawyers turn the courtroom into a stage of the drama of justice. You cannot help but marvel at how noble the job is. Just last week, my branch lost a very promising young lawyer (May God bless the soul of Ngozi Nmadu). We had a valedictory court session in her honour. The whole courtroom was understandably sober. The mood was melancholic. After the speeches in honour of our late colleague, the Chairman of the NBA, Asaba Branch moved his motion asking for an order of court to remove the remains of our colleague from the courtroom for the purpose of interment. On the other side as the Respondent to the motion was the State represented by the Acting Solicitor-General. He had no opposition to the NBA Chairman’s application, but the lawyer in him meant that he had to ‘observe’ that the application was not competent because the deponent’s passport photograph was not affixed to the affidavit in support of same. Issues were swiftly joined. The Chairman responded by arguing that the person of the deponent who happens to be the Secretary of the Branch was a notorious fact that needed no further proof by way of a passport photograph. The Presiding Officer of the court joined in the game, when he remarked that the NBA Chairman should have been more unequivocal in establishing that the person of the secretary is a ‘notorious fact’ and not that the secretary is a ‘notorious person.’ The whole court including family and friends of the deceased felt the comic relief. Many left the courtroom better than when they came in. That was justice in a way for the bereaved. In like manner, where the stakes are far higher and more serious than the one I just described, what I still find the most likeable about being a lawyer is the creative manner with which good lawyers employ advocacy in serving the course of justice. Why do you choose to be a lawyer? My father at a very early age subconsciously introduced me to some of the things that caught his interest as a young adult and these were reading newspapers, listening to news and dissecting the headlines with his friends. I grew up listening to his views and that of his friends on national issues. This defined my childhood. For the purpose of secondary education, the only class that would tolerate such interests was the art class. Going to the university, there were really not too many courses that an arts class secondary school student would fancy other than law. And that was it. I never really understood what it means to be a lawyer until I became a practicing one. What is the most critical time in practice you had to deal with? There are challenges in the practice of law. Managing a law firm in particular is a very critical exercise, starting it from the scratch and building it into reckoning is however a delight – the sort of delight parents experience in watching their little baby grow. Outside this everyday ambition to be better than what I was yesterday, I cannot readily recall any peculiar time that I have found my practice shaken. Perhaps this is because my practice is relatively young. If it is God’s wish that such critical time lies ahead in the future, I pray Allah gives me the strength and wisdom to deal with it. What do you think determines progress in practice? A lawyer’s progress in my view is first determined by his/her positive popularity amongst his colleagues. A lawyer should enjoy the respect of his colleagues. Among his peers, he should be distinguished and distinguishable. The second one which is mostly applicable to advocates is that a lawyer would be said to be progressing in his practice when he enjoys the respect of the judges, hence that popular saying that ‘a good lawyer knows the law, while a great lawyer knows the judge’. My third determinant of progress in practice is the respect of the public which should be earned by a lawyer’s positive contribution to his/her society. What are your outside interests and hobbies? Networking and meeting people is one interest that a lawyer must develop as a matter of business. Outside this, I find international diplomacy quite interesting. And as a hobby, I enjoy watching and analyzing football. And other than law reports, you may catch me reading up histories of people, things and places. Have you ever benefitted from your disappointments/mistakes? I have had some disappointments that had become beneficial to me in practice. Once, I had lost a case at the trial court when I was very young at the bar. The client was an influential man and he was quite disappointed. I met him after the judgment. I was able to convince him against all odds to appeal the judgment and retain my services at the appeal court. He agreed. And the fee was six times what I charged him at the trial court. Could you tell us your experience as a young lawyer? I am still a young lawyer by the NBA standards, even though my wig is no longer as new as it used to be some seven years ago. As a new wig, I was fortunate to be a legal research assistant to one of the finest brains in the Nigerian judiciary for one full year. This experience shaped me in many ways and it got me ready for life in the courtroom. Outside the courtroom was however a different ball game. I started my office in the year 2013 and for the reason that I began my practice and still practice faraway from where my family and friends reside, retaining clients was my biggest beginner’s challenge. Young age and look almost became disadvantages and I had to start keeping some beards to put up some matured appearance to clients who came to my office (laughs). Who has been most influential in your life? My father, but he hardly achieves anything without the full complement of my mother. At a very early age, my parents instilled discipline and a sense of independence in my siblings and I. Your word of encouragement to up coming lawyers Google it – the effervescent J.K Gadzama, SAN became a silk when he was 12 years at the bar. In September, my good friend and brother – Kehinde Ogunwumiju of Afe Babalola & Co would also be conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Mr. Ogunwumiju was called to the bar in the year 2005. Young lawyers can easily look up to persons of this stature and be assured that notwithstanding the challenges of being a Nigerian young lawyer, there are many potentials in youth and with hard work and right attitude, one can arrive at the zenith of the profession.]]>