Carving A Niche In The Legal Profession In The 21st Century

By Ekemini Udim

(Being the text of a lecture presented on 15^th October, 2021 to students of the Faculty of Law, University of Uyo, Nigeria on the occasion of the Annual Induction Ceremony for the 2020/2021 academic year organised by Justice Nsima Akpabio Chambers, University of Uyo)

Preamble

It gives me great joy to be invited to deliver this speech as the guest lecturer at the Annual Induction Ceremony for the 2020/2021 Academic Year organised by the Executives and Members of Justice Nsima Akpabio Chambers, Faculty of Law, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. This gathering is significant to me in many ways. First is the fact that, Justice Nsima Akpabio Chambers is an intellectual platform in the Faculty of Law where students are given the opportunity of expressing themselves and horning their skills in preparation for their practice lives as they climb the ladder to become legal practitioners. It gladdens my heart to identify with such highly commendable idea. Second is the fact that, the existence of this Chambers keeps alive till eternity, the memory of one of the illustrious sons of Nigeria who was not just a lawyer but a successful one who rose through the ranks to occupy the Bench as a Judge of the Akwa Ibom State Judiciary where he served meritoriously till his death.

Justice Nsima Akpabio was an incorruptible Judge who kept to the tenets of law and was guided at all times with good conscience and who stopped at nothing to ensure that justice was served to all parties who appeared before him. Though he died at a time when his family members and the legal professional still needed him, it is on record that throughout his service on the Bench, there was no scandal that followed his name. This, no doubt, shall remain a cherished memory to his family, friends, associates, the legal profession and the society at large. The third significance of this gathering for me is the fact that I have the opportunity to engage in a conversation with young people – students of law – who are aspiring and doing their utmost best to become members of one of the noblest professions on earth – the legal profession. I shall do my best within the time given to me to address the above topic for your benefit and for the benefit of those you may share this lecture with.

Who was Justice Nsima Akpabio?

I have already said a little about him in the preamble but for the benefit of those who may not have known much about him, I hereby crave your indulgence for me to say a little more about him.

Justice Nsima Akpabio was a Judge of the Akwa Ibom State High Court. Family sources have it that, he attended the prestigious Regina Coeli College, Ikot Abasi in 1962 and later moved to another prestigious institution – the Holy Family College, Oku Abak where he sat for and obtained the West African School Certificate in 1969. He thereafter gained admission to study law at yet another prestigious institution, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He started his law studies in the said institution in 1976 and graduated in 1980. He then proceeded to the Nigerian Law School at Victoria Island, Lagos for his vocational training and on successful completion, he was called to the Nigerian Bar and licensed to practice law as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. From call to bar, he proceeded to serve Nigeria as a Youth Corps Member from 1981 to 1982 at the Department of Public Prosecution, Ministry of Justice, Rivers State.

The young Nsima, on his return from national service, ventured into law practice and did exceedingly well in it. He joined Ufonowo Chambers & Co., and later moved to open his firm with the name, Akpabio Chambers & Co., which has been kept alive till date by his eldest son who is a lawyer. Barrister Nsima also served as Magistrate Grade II in the Uyo Magisterial District and later serevd as Magistrate Grade 1 at the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Akamkpa, Cross Rivers State when the area now known as Akwa Ibom State was in Cross River State.

Following the wealth of experience gained as a Magistrate and the experience gained as a practicing lawyer, Nisma Akpabio was considered worthy of appointment as a Judge of the High Court by the Akwa Ibom State Government on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council in 1995. He served the State in the said capacity meritoriously till his death.

Nsima was also interested in the politics of his community, State and country. Thus, before his eventual ascension to the High Court Bench, he had served his people as a Local Government Chairman (Essien Udim Local Government) and as a Senator representing Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate. The political history of Essien Udim has it that it was during his tenure that the Local Government Secretariat was build in Afaha Ikot Ebak, Essien Udim. He also embarked on other projects and programmes that touched directly on the lives of the people. It is also on record that at the Senate he was a frontline advocate for the creation of a State for the people of the Mainland part of the then Cross Rivers State, the present day Akwa Ibom State.

Honourable Justice (Senator) Nsima Peters Akpabio was thus an all-rounder who succeeded in his career as a legal practitioner, politician, Magistrate, and as a Judge of the High Court. The students’ law Chambers which you all belong is thus an intellectual platform named after one of the most illustrious sons of Nigeria who made effective use of the opportunities which the law degree offers to every one who has tarried to become a qualified legal practitioner.

How do you carve a niche for yourselves in today’s legal profession?

In the history of the legal profession in Nigeria, it is on record that Sapara Williams was the first Nigerian to the called to the Bar. He was called to the Inner Temple in England in 1879. He then returned to Nigeria and began practicing law in the then Lagos Colony in 1888. He was a much-sought-after counsel owing to his deep knowledge of the law. Sapara was from Ijesha.

Gentlemen, the legal profession of Sapara’s time is not the same with the legal profession of today. They are poles apart. A lot of things have changed. For you to succeed as a 21^st Century lawyer, you must have a 21^st Century mindset. Some years after Sapara Williams was called to the Bar, others were also called. A couple of years after, Nigeria still had few lawyers who were not even sufficient to take care of the legal needs of a large country like Nigeria. The available lawyers were highly sought after by companies, governments and private individuals. The briefs literally walked to them.

Today, the reality is that, Nigeria has more than 197,000 persons that have been called to the Nigerian Bar and licensed to practice law as Barristers and Solicitors. The profession is highly saturated. Every year, more people – in thousands I mean – are called to the Bar and this automatically adds to the number. There is competition. The cases are not enough to go round. Juicy briefs are hard to find and when they are found, they are shared among a few lawyers in the highbrow areas and in a few elitist law firms. Litigants no more travel long distances to secure the services of lawyers because there are lawyers everywhere. The practice of law is now the survival of the most competent and the most favoured. Yes, favour from above is a key factor in law practice. I shall discuss this anon.

How then do you carve a niche for yourself and become a successful lawyer in an environment as saturated as the picture painted above? A few points will help you in this direction:

1. Take your studies seriously

To be a successful legal practitioner, you must be serious with your studies as students of law. What you learn in the classroom today will present themselves to you one way or the other in your practice life. When you are grounded in the theoretical aspects of law, it becomes easy for you to identify the issues of law in both simple and complicated cases whenever you are briefed by a client. A good knowledge of the theorical aspects of law will also assist you in the preparation of legal documents for clients during your practice years and will also assist you in the drafting of processes for filing in courts of law where you will be expected to advocate for your clients. There is a position out there that ‘’it doesn’t matter what you graduate with.’’ Do not follow the proponents of this theory. Strive to graduate with good grades and above all, graduate with good knowledge of the law. The foundation of successful legal practice is first rooted in your understanding of the principles of law taught to you in the classroom. Do not joke with your studies. Be serious with it.

2. Develop the culture of reading

Reading makes the man. Reading makes the lawyer. To be a successful practicing lawyer in the 21^st Century world, you must develop a culture of reading. As someone who has practiced law for many years from the trial courts up to the Supreme Court, I can rightly tell you that there is so much to read in the course of practice. There are records of appeal for instance which run into hundreds of pages and a good lawyer is expected to go through the whole pages to be able to articulate the arguments in your brief and make a good case for your client. Clients also send volumes of contract documents for the lawyer to go through and advise them as appropriate. Without a culture of reading which you must develop now, you will find it difficult and highly challenging to remain in law practice.

3. You must be at home with ICT

To be a successful legal practitioner and carve a niche for yourself in the 21^st Century, you must arm yourself with knowledge of ICT. This will make your job easy and better organised. Law practice has gone digital with several applications developed to assist the 21^st Century legal practitioner. Today, you can carry a whole law library in an ICT enhanced application such as the Law Pavilion, Appy Law amongst others. You should be at home with the current happenings in the profession including current positions of the law on various areas of practice. Knowledge of ICT thus gives you an added advantage in your practice life.

4. Identify your strength and passion and build your expertise early enough

Law as a discipline is quite vast. Identify your strength and passion for the practice arears you desire to specialise in. Develop your passion for such areas. Read up the more and attend conferences and seminars for practical knowledge and possible certifications. In Lagos State, Nigeria, for instance, there are some lawyers whose practice area is commercial law. They are the practitioners who handle briefs for financial institutions, hi-tech companies, etc. Most of these lawyers are very successful and worthy of emulation. Others specialise in mediations, maritime law, aviation law, immigration, etc. Other lawyers specialise in land law while others specialise in election petition law and practice and others on constitutional law. By picking a law specialty and using the permissible but creative business strategies, lawyers can focus their actions and stand out to clients. Clients seek out lawyers with extensive knowledge in specialised fields. Successful law firms usually scout to employ lawyers with specialised skills and as a young lawyer, you have an added advantage in the labour market. Moreover, you make a living in what you love. I admonish you to identify you areas of practice interest, develop yourself in such areas, calve a niche for yourself to have competitive advantage in the competitive profession of law.

5. Develop and keep good practice skills

To carve a niche for yourself you need to develop and keep good practice skills such as advocacy skills, writing skills, cross-examination skills, etc. These skills will surely stand you out and many people will need your services and timely interventions in critical legal issues.

6. Be purpose driven, focused and determined to make a difference

Law practice is like a jealous house wife. It needs your time, energy and resources. It needs your attention. It needs commitment. It needs dedication. It needs determination. It needs focus. All these must come to play if you truly desire to carve a niche for yourself in the highly competitive 21^st Century practice of law. Carving a niche in law practice is a marathon not a sprint. It is a consistent endeavour and never a one-off thing. You must climb the ropes and walk the talk. It is not an impossible thing to achieve. A lot of people have achieved it and have carved a niche for themselves. You too can do it. You too can stand out in law practice.

7. Do not engage in sharp practice

Sharp practice is the practice of law outside the permissible bounds of the ethics and regulations of the profession. Some people call it ‘’jankara practice.’’ Unfortunately, we have had members of the profession who have given a bad name to the noble profession as a result of their involvement in sharp practices. But note, that the profession has a mechanism to identify and sanction such members who choose the way of sharp practice. Such lawyers lose their licenses for life or become suspended for long periods of time. As young persons who desire to carve a niche for yourselves in the noble profession of law, do not involve yourself in sharp practices. At your level now, examination malpractice, writing of assignments for your classmates, stealing of books from the library, engaging in corrupt practices as student leaders, etc qualify as sharp practices. Avoid them like plagues.

8. Be prayerful at all times

I did say earlier that there is the place of favour and of the divine in law practice. Make no mistakes about it. We are products of the divine and our successes in life depend to a large extent on the benevolence of the divine. Here lies the place of prayers in the lawyer’s life. Work hard and do all you need to do in your chosen profession of law but hand over your dreams, aspirations, work and your entire life to the hands of the Almighty Creator who alone is the source of success in all professions. With hard work and a touch of the divine, one’s practice can develop and grow exponentially in all angles.

Conclusion

The future of the legal profession in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large is in the hands of all of you seated here. Among you, there are Judges. Among you, there are Senior Advocates of Nigeria. Among you, there are Professors of Law. Also among you, there are Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, Members of the House of Assembly and other political office holders. There are people who will also practice law in various other ways. I therefore congratulate you for choosing to study law. I left this faculty in 2008 (13 years ago). I left with a Second Class Upper in Law. At that time, no one had ever been awarded a First Class by this Faculty. My Second Class Upper was adjudged the best in my class for which reason I received the Pro -Chancellor’s Award on convocation day as the Best Graduating Law Student of that year. Why am I bringing this story here? It is simply to tell you that you too can graduate as the best in your class. You too can obtain good grades in your courses and gain mastery in all the courses you offer. I have been in private practice since my Call to the Bar till date and I can tell you as my dear friends that it is so good to be a lawyer. Being a lawyer is like holding a master key; it unlocks a thousand doors for you. This does not mean that there are no challenges in law practice; there are thousands of them but in the midst of these challenges, there are lawyers who have carved niches for themselves and have become successful practitioners. You too can carve a niche for yourselves and stand out in the comity of lawyers.

Keep the candle burning, keep the flag flying, believe in your ability to make the difference and prepare yourselves to become successful lawyers. History is replete with successful lawyers and you too can join the league of successful lawyers. Stay resolute and never lose your focus. I wish you all the best in your endeavours and pray that in no time you have every reason to be grateful that you studied Law. Thank you and may God bless you.

Ekemini Udim is a Barrister, Solicitor, Senior Partner of Justice Chambers, Author of Law Books, Regular Commentator on Radio, TV and other media platforms, Co-Host on Legally Speaking (aired on Planet 101.1 FM every Friday from 5 – 6 pm and, Host of You & The Law (a platform hosted on YouTube for regular discussion of legal issues in the breaking news and other issues of law affecting everyday living). Ekemini is reachable on 08185001073 and via email at ekeminiudimforjustice@gmail.com