Legal Practitioners In Salaried Employment Representing Clients Other Than Their Employer; An Overview

By Cynthea Ntui Esq.

In Nigeria, a legal practitioner is a person who has been duly called to the Nigerian Bar by the appropriate authority and whose name is on the roll of legal practitioners in Nigeria. Legal practice in Nigeria varies from the regular court room lawyer (litigation lawyers) to specialized sectorial areas like corporate and commercial practice, telecommunications, investments, Alternative Dispute Resolution, real estate and the list is inexhaustible.

Thus, a lawyer can practice his profession in every sector of the economy, from the law office to companies, government agencies and even private individuals. With the wide range of career paths a legal practitioner can toll, the focus of this article is on whether a legal practitioner is allowed to work in two or more of the sectors listed above simultaneously.

The fundamental duty of a lawyer in Nigeria is captured in Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners (herein after referred to as RPC) which provides that ‘a lawyer shall uphold and observe the rule of law, promote and foster the course of justice, maintain a high standard of professional conduct, and shall not engage in any conduct which is unbecoming of a legal practitioner’.  Thus where a legal practitioner representing clients other than his employer would contravene the above provision, he must restrain himself. This however doesn’t mean it is up to the legal practitioner to decide, there are specific provisions to guide the conducts of the legal practitioner in this regard.

Paragraphs 2 (b) of the 5^th schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended provides that except where he is not employed on full time basis, a public officer shall not engage or participate in the management or running of any private business, profession or trade. The implication of this provision is that where a lawyer is employed as a public officer, he is prohibited from engaging in private practice, thus he cannot represent clients other than his employer except he is not engaged on a full time basis.

Also, a legal practitioner employed as a public officer should not for any valuable consideration, render to any other person other than his employer any services which is related to his profession. See section 1 of the Regulated and other Professions (Private Practice Prohibition) Act.

Note also that a public officer engaged in practice of law as a full time law lecturer is exempted from the above prohibitions by virtue of the Regulated and other Professions (Private Practice Prohibition) (Law Lecturers Exemption) Order 1992.

In the case of a general retainer, a lawyer shall not advice on or appear in any proceedings detrimental to the retainer which will involve advising or arguing against the interest of the client paying the retainer. See Rule 49 (3) (a) of the RPC.

In light of the above, it is clear that a legal practitioner is prohibited from representing other clients while in a salaried employment. However, there are some exceptions to this, and they include;

1. A legal practitioner can render pro bono services to family members, charitable organizations or professional association which he is said to belong to.
2. A legal practitioner who is not engaged on full time basis may engage in private practice.
3. A legal practitioner may with the consent of his employer engage in private practice.
4. As has been noted earlier, law lecturers are also allowed to represent other clients other than their employer.

The valid point to note with regards to the above exceptions is that the legal practitioner may represent other clients as long as it would not be detrimental to his employer.

REFERENCES

• Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended
• Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007
• Regulated and other Professions (Private Practice Prohibition) Act. 1984 CAP 390 LFN 1990
• Regulated and other Professions (Private Practice Prohibition) (Law Lecturers Exemption) Order 1992

Written By Cynthea Ntui