Personally I don’t encourage lawyers to collect appearance fees every time they make an appearance in court; every expenses to be incurred in the performance of your legal duty should be included in a bill of charges. In my opinion, collecting appearance fee is demeaning to the legal profession.”

– Ndasule Sherrif Esq, former Chairman NBA Kaduna Branch.

Imagine a young lawyer who resides and carries on his practice in Kaduna and intends to handle a litigation brief for a client in Kano and they settle for five hundred thousand naira (N500,000) as professional fees to handle the matter from commencement till the end of the suit. Initially, this sum might look huge and satisfying to the young lawyer, but after several travels and adjournments, one would discover that the amount is actually not sufficient to adequately handle the brief, then the lawyer begins to work under undue pressure because of unexpected expenses incurred.

It is important that at the start of every brief, no matter how small, a young lawyer should present a bill of charges to the client, the bill should itemize every foreseeable expense the lawyer would incur while handling the brief, from professional fee of the lawyer {which is money paid to the lawyer for his service nothing more}, fees that would be paid to third party or any organisation on behalf of the client, work done on documents, correspondence and postage {courier}, transportation, accommodation if any, et al.

‎A clearly defined bill of charges at the start of every transaction would go a long way to eliminate any misconception or misunderstanding as to the professional fees of a lawyer. Most clients don’t understand that professional fee is payment to the lawyer for carrying out his responsibility and nothing more, yet clients expect that lawyers should perform their legal duties to completion when payment is not complete.

Heard of a senior lawyer who was at the premises of the court he was supposed to enter appearance but did not come down from his vehicle until his professional fee was fully paid. The legal profession is a business not a charitable organisation as such, payment is required for every legal service rendered. It is not personal, it is just business. It is a natural hazard of the profession for clients to be willing to pay for services when needed but renege on payment when the job is done.

By virtue of the Legal Practitioners Act, Cap 207, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria “… a legal practitioner shall not be entitled to begin an action to recover his charges unless, a bill for the charges containing particulars of the principal items included in the bill and signed by him, or in the case of a firm, by one of the partners or in the name of the firm, has been served on the client personally or left for him at his last address… ” meaning when a client is owing, bill of charges is a condition precedent to recovering legal fees in court.

Professional fees need not be one million naira before a bill of charges is needed to be prepared and served on a client, even for as little as N50,000 a bill of charges is needed. It is imperative that the fees are clearly spelt out in the event of hitches along the way and it is only with a bill that appropriate measures can be taken to resolve issues or any misconception amicably.

In the words of a Nigerian musical artist “Na where u dey work, na there u dey chop” so why should it be any different for a legal practitioner. In my humble opinion, the service of a legal practitioner though intangible is valuable, hence it is beneficial to the practice of a young wig on the long run if at this early stage, one learns the art of preparing bill of charges and serve same on clients.

By Daniel Bulusson Esq

______________________________________________________________________ Explore Nigeria’s Constitutional System — 17 Chapters, 924 Pages Of Insight By Prof. Hagler Sunny Okorie
“Constitutional Law and Constitutionalism in Nigeria” By Prof. Hagler Sunny Okorie
Call to Order Your Copy: 📞 0803 766 7945 | 0802 863 6615 | 0803 225 3813 ✉️ haglersoco@gmail.com 🏢 Winners Chambers, 135 Ehi Road, Aba, Abia State ______________________________________________________________________ “Timely And Groundbreaking” — Babalola, Nnawuchi Release Casebook On Privacy & Data Protection In NigeriaA timely new publication, Casebook on Privacy & Data Protection in Nigeria, co-authored by Olumide Babalola and Uchenna Nnawuchi, 📘 Casebook on Privacy & Data Protection in Nigeria is now available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/8TmFZrd ______________________________________________________________________ Groundbreaking Guide For Lawyers: Adigwe Publishes ‘Artificial Intelligence For Lawyers’ With Free Research eBook Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACiarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria. How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌎 Website: www.benadigwe.com Ebook Version: Access it directly online at https://selar.com/prv626 ______________________________________________________________________ Alexander Payne Co. Law Reports

Contact & Orders 📞 0704 444 4777 | 0704 444 4999 | 0818 199 9888 🌐 www.alexandernigeria.com

______________________________________________________________________ The books are available for purchase at: Online: www.educodex.com | www.selar.com | www.amazon.com | www.mikeozekhome.com Enquiries: +234 704 044 9375 | +234 814 813 4773 | +234 816 872 3532 Email: educodexl@gmail.com ______________________________________________________________________

[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials

“Evidence Act: Complete Annotation” by renowned legal experts Sanni & Etti.
Available now for NGN 40,000 at ASC Publications, 10, Boyle Street, Onikan, Lagos. Beside High Court, TBS. Email publications@ayindesanni.com or WhatsApp +2347056667384. Purchase Link: https://paystack.com/buy/evidence-act-complete-annotation ______________________________________________________________________