Could you briefly introduce yourself? My name is Ucheakolam Mitchel Adim, I am a legal practitioner and a Social Justice Advocate. I am from Isiala Mbano L.G.A. in Imo State. I graduated from the prestigious Madonna University in 2011 and I am currently doing my Masters programme in International Law and Diplomacy in the University of Lagos. Wat area of Law interest s you? I have strong bias for Public Interest Law, Corporate Practice, criminal litigation and general civil litigation. What do you like most about legal practice? On a lighter note, what I like most about the legal practice is the respect, and pride that comes with it. (Laughs). Seriously, what I like most about the legal practice is the insatiable knowledge that’s comes with it. You just have keep reading, learning and unlearning, growing in diverse knowledge. The legal practice presents you with uncountable opportunities and platforms which if seized timely can launch you to great heights. Why do you choose to be a lawyer? I actually didn’t choose to be a Lawyer. My dad chose it for me. My first choice was to study mass communication even though I just liked LAW on the surface. So, my dad convinced me to put in Law because it is a more professional course and would present me with more opportunities. Today, I am really thankful to him for showing me that light and in my next life (if there is anything like that), I would definitely choose to become a lawyer. What is your most critical time in Legal Practice? The most critical time in practice that I had to deal with was immediately after my call to bar. Getting a law firm to work with was really challenging, and the first law firm I got offered to pay a stipend of N20,000.00 monthly. That for me is really challenging especially when u see your friends in other disciplines earning huge. It took real passion for the practice of law, strong will, and patience to stick to practice at that early stage. What do you think determines progress in practice? A host of factors determine progress in practice but I have personally stream lined them to include: Identifying your areas of interest and passion. Law practice is broad, and there are several untapped gold mine in Law. First, you must identify what interests you and what you have passion for. The second would be translating “your passion to profit” as people often say. Once you have identified your passion, you must endlessly find new ways to translate your passion to yield money, resources and opportunities for you. Self development, hard work is Key. There are a lot of lawyers out there but there are not enough lawyers to meet the insatiable and growing legal needs in the society. Thus, another factor that determines progress in practice is you standing out. You must positively make yourself different from other lawyers. Stand out What are your outside interests and hobbies? Oh I love listening to music and dancing. Have you ever benefited from your mistakes/disappointment? Yes I sure have… But my mind isn’t settled on the one to point out here now, because they are quite many. (laughs). Could you tell us your experience as a young lawyer? My experience as a young lawyer has been both positive and negative. it was really really challenging at my initial years., but I can say that I understand better now. I can easily sum up both experiences and say that I’ve learnt as a young lawyer that you need to put in all the “extras”- Extra time, extra work, extra research, extra knowledge, and all other “extras”. And it doesn’t mean that these “extras” necessarily or immediately translate into more money . But one thing that is sure is that it paves way for you and translates to more opportunities which if seized timely, guarantees you a lucrative legal practice. Who has been most influential in your life? Outside Law, I would say my Father, Chief I.C. Adim and my Pastor, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya. Most of my perception on life and several principles I have formulated for myself and my Vision are hinged on what I learnt from these two great men. I’ve learnt great principles on vision, work, marriage, and life in general from these two. In the legal profession, I would say the Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi. His life as a crusader , human rights , public interest lawyer, amongst many other things he represented in his lifetine has made me give meaning to the words of Chief Alexander Sapara Williams who said that a legal practitioner lives for the direction of his people and the advancement of the cause of his country. As a lawyer, I beleive I’m better placed to contribute psotively to my immediate society and nation at large. Your words of encouragement to up coming lawyers My word of encouragement for up coming lawyers is this- there are many opportunities and untapped gold mine in the legal profession. Yes you might not have it easy at the early years of your practice but one of the trick is knowing what you want and relentlessly pursuing it against all odds, with focus, determination and hard work. Of course it won’t be easy in your first years of practice but knowing what you want and having a concrete plan goes a long way. Also, start in the early years of your practice to see law as a business because the business of law is actually a business that yields unimaginable profits if approached with the “business mentality”.]]>