The Challenges Of A Young Lawyer In Nigeria

By Ebi Robert

The desire of every Law Student is to go through the four walls of the Nigerian Law School and be called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of Supreme Court of Nigeria. It’s a great pride indeed, to be a minister in the temple of justice.

People want to be associated with you because you are a lawyer – one who knows his or her right and can defend it anytime, any day. To others, you have arrived, and soon the pocket will start complaining of accommodating plenty of cash. Funny enough, this is also the expectation of the young lawyer; but little do they all know that there are many challenges involved which an average young lawyer will most likely face in his or her voyage to legal success. In this piece, this writer will be looking at the challenges young lawyers face in Nigeria as they venture into core legal practice of the law.

Inadequate remuneration is one of the basic challenges faced by young lawyers in Nigeria. Most young lawyers are exploited under the popular statement, “Gain The Experience”. As an adult, there are many responsibilities to be taken care of. A young lawyer must feed, pay his or her transport fare, change his or her wears, at least, once in a while, recharge his or her phone, etc., but when a young lawyer lives on a very low income, it makes it very difficult for such a lawyer to take care of his or her needs.

Many young lawyers in the legal community cannot take care of their immediate needs because of low income or remuneration. Aside their personal needs, there are other things a young lawyer needs to improve his career. Young lawyers are usually faced with the issue of not been able to get the necessary authorities of law when needed. Because of the same problem of poor remuneration, access to some books and materials are denied them. Often, they are at the mercy of senior lawyers, and sometimes, libraries, to get hold of such needed materials. Lack of cash at hand also hinders young lawyers from attending programs which should add to their stock of knowledge in the profession, as part of the Continuous Compulsory Legal Education. Except for cases where he or she luckily gains sponsorship from senior lawyers who are sympathetic to his or her course, the same has to wait until he or he has what it takes to participate in such conferences and seminars. This and many more deal with the issue of the welfare of young lawyers. Many senior lawyers in the position to help young lawyers do not do so except for when they are vying for positions in the bar, or if such support will benefit them. Many senior lawyers believe that starting hard is the best way to learn and succeed, as many of them encountered the same processes before they succeeded in their career.

Furthermore, young lawyers hardly get briefs from clients because people in our society believe that young lawyers are inexperienced. Indeed, an average young lawyer needs some form of mentorship to bring out his best; that doesn’t translate to the fact that he or she lacks experience in every aspect of the law. One of the criteria given by most organizations for employment is ‘years of experience’. Young lawyers are deprived of certain jobs because of this criterion. Most establishments prefer to go for lawyers who are believed to have garnered enough experience as against the young wigs. They are always seen as apprentice, not as professionals. This is the view of not just some members of the society, but fellow colleagues.

Another challenge faced by young lawyers is the attitude of some senior lawyers towards them. Some senior colleagues do not understand that close to the ethics of seniority at the bar is the code of conduct that lawyers are to treat themselves with respect. Some young lawyers are talked-down on by senior colleagues who are handling matters against them. Although this is not always the case, fact is that some young lawyers sometimes face disrespect from some older colleagues.

Also, conventionally, senior lawyers mention their cases out of turn even if a young lawyer arrived the court hours before the senior lawyer. This is a major challenge to young lawyers especially when they have other engagements to attend to. Except permitted by a senior colleague to call their matter out of turn, or if the judge by his discretion allows those who arrived the court earlier to mention their matters first, or if the judge by discretion follow the number on the cause list, young lawyers must wait till the seniors are done with their cases, even if they arrived the court before 7:00 pm. The writer is not saying it is a wrong practice, he is only saying it is a challenge to a young lawyer.

The challenges faced by young lawyers in the legal profession are enormous. Steps have so far been taken to address some of these issues, but little has only been achieved thus far. The wellbeing of young lawyers tell to what extent welfare of lawyers in the Nigerian Legal Profession is a priority.

By Ebi Robert

Co-editor TheNigerialawyer