As the NBA election draws closer, campaigns and all forms of
soliciting will fill the legal atmosphere. Aspirants will likely
present things they perceive are of outmost importance and must be
addressed at all cost to make the NBA better. But for many of the
Bar-men, there are few areas of great significance that probably
have not been considered by previous administrations, or may have
been contemplated but much has not been done to realize them. What
are these areas?
REMUNERATION FOR YOUNG LAWYERS: Bar men of at
least 1-6 years post call make up a good number of practitioners in
the bar. Thus, the underpinning of the young wigs should go a long
way in determining the victory of any aspirant in the oncoming
elections. The much talk of poor remuneration of young lawyers is
one major area of concern. This is because there is currently no
concrete policy in place that deals with the remuneration of young
wigs in the legal profession and this has led to the exploitations
of young lawyers by their seniors at the bar as little or sometimes
nothing is given for services rendered in Law firms they are
working with. Most recently observed is the introduction of the
Legal Profession Regulation Bill that prescribes a two years
compulsory pupilage for young wigs without any form of
remuneration. This policy was criticized by many in the legal
profession including Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, who fortunately is one of
the aspirants of the NBA presidential election. It is therefore
expected that aspirants consider strongly this area of interest as
they present their much awaited manifestos.
E-LAWYERING (NBA STAMP AND SEAL FILING ONLINE):
This is another area of interest in the legal profession. This area
which includes E-filing is important because it is in line with
global practices. An aspect of E-lawyering that has led to many
debates is the lack of provision for NBA stamp and seal online,
which in turn has affected E-lawyers. Advocates of E-Lawyering,
such as Cyber Crime Expert, Felix Eboibi has
argued squarely for the need why the NBA stamp and deal should be
made available on E-Format to enable E-lawyering appreciable in
Nigeria. E-lawyering is actually broad. It does not only deal with
NBA online stamp filing, it also affects every legal activities
conducted on the E-Format. It is indeed necessary for the archaic
pattern of manual stamping and scanning to be done away with to
give way to NBA stamping and sealing online. It is therefore
expected that an incoming administration introduces policies that
will improve E-lawyering, so that the Nigerian legal profession
will meet up the legal profession in other advanced world
jurisdictions.
NLS CURRICULUM: Another area aspirants are
expected to look into is the Law School curriculum. Of a truth,
what is taught in the Nigerian Law School is exactly what the Law
says, however, there seems to be a controversy being that there is
always a difference between what is taught in the Nigerian law
School and what is obtainable in practice. Young wigs who venture
into the legal labour market, get the surprise of their lives as
they are made to abandon to a large extent what they are taught to
what they see. This makes these fresh heads look stupid as they try
to apply what they have been taught. This has been severally
trivialized, but the legal truth is that it does not tell well of
the legal profession in this part of the world. It subjects us to a
kind of ridicule in developed legal systems of the world. Thus it
is never a bad idea if aspirants take into consideration this very
trivialized but important aspect of the legal profession.
PROTECTING THE DIGNITY OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION:
I have stated elsewhere that the legal profession is a noble
profession if not the noblest in the world. As a noble profession,
government agencies are expected to treat legal professionals with
respect. But for the past weeks, the social media has been
consistently bombarded with the news of the brutality of legal
practitioners by security agencies. This is more than becoming a
trend as for every passing day, more and more tales of such
brutality make the headlines. The conclusion may be that much has
not been done by the Nigeria Bar Association. The NBA must disprove
this assertion and this must be a priority by any aspirant;
preservation of the dignity of the bar.
INITIATING AN IDEA TO MAKE CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION
BROADER: The Mandatory Continuing Legal Education in a
programme operated by the Nigerian Bar Association as provided in
Rule 11 of the Rules of professional Conduct. According to the
rules, activities lawyers are to participate in for the purpose of
the programme include attendance and participation in accredited
courses; lectures, seminars, workshops and conferences on law
approved by the N.B.A; writing on the law and its practice in books
or Journals and Newspapers approved by the Nigerian Bar Association
and also study towards professional qualifications approved by the
Nigerian Bar Association. Sub Rule 2 (e) which provides for other
approved means of acquiring legal professional knowledge and
experience by the NBA is a sure way to make the CPD programme
broader. As days go by, new opportunities present themselves to
make the programme better, one of which is the publication of legal
works in well known blogs and websites. It is not doubtful of the
fact these blogs/websites have contributed mightily to the
improvement of the legal profession via the publication of articles
on current legal issues. There is therefore a need to incorporate
policies to improve the CPC in this regard. This is an area
aspirants can look into.
INSURANCE POLICY: Provision of a sound
insurance policy for lawyers is a sure way to cater for their
welfare. This is because it does not only take care of current
challenges but others that may arise in the future, even after
retirement. While legal practitioners are advised to have a good
retirement plan, a well developed insurance policy which also deals
with health insurance will go a long way in improving the welfare
of lawyers. Health they say is wealth, therefore to lead wealthy
bar men, it is expected that a functional health insurance policy
be put in place to insure practitioners of a hale and hearty life.
The current administration of A.B. Mahmoud SAN though has done a
lot in that regard; more is also expected from anyone who presents
himself as an aspirant for the oncoming election.
NBA AND THE LAW FACULTIES: As an association of
Bar-men, it is expected that there should be a solid relationship
between the NBA and students of law in the Nigerian University.
Thus, going outside the welfare of lawyers, what is the nature of
the relationship between the NBA and law students in the Nigerian
universities? How much do they know about the NBA? How prepared are
the prospective members of the Bar? There are many things the NBA
can do to draw the bar closer to the law faculties. One of which is
the organization of National Moot/Mock trial competitions for
higher institutions in the nation. This will not only draw the bar
closer to the soon-to-be bar men, it will as well unite law
faculties from various part of the country before going to the
Nigerian law School. This is with recourse to the fact that it
improves the legal education. This is an area the NBA must look
into. Individuals have been known to always sponsor such events. It
is high time the NBA take the bull by the horn to consider such
areas of interest in the profession.
ADOPTION OF ADJA: The move to adopt the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act by all states of the
Federation is one of the best moves ever embarked upon by the NBA.
A lot has already been done in that regard via some encouraging
partnerships and advocacy. It is therefore necessary that the fight
is taken to the finish even after the current administration leaves
office. Lawyers are waiting to see this become a reality to ease
the administration of criminal justice in the states of the
federation.
ICT IN THE COURT SYSTEM: Some months ago,
TheNigerialawyer conducted an independent poll to ascertain what
litigants and lawyers think about compensating parties when the
court fails to seat without prior notice. Some in support of the
idea argued that one way to solve the problem is to make the court
system ICT enabled so that the court can through that means alert
parties when the court may not be seating. Extensively, ICT can be
employed to the court system as a whole to affect, production and
early availability of cause list and the generality of other
activities in the court such as the fast track publication of
judgments in court. This can be made possible through the creation
of functional websites for superior courts of records in Nigeria.
Can this not be something to be considered?
ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY: These are
beyond policies; they are the pillars of every aspirant. For the
NBA president, lawyers want the assurance that their practicing
fees are well utilized. They want to see the record that matches
what is obtainable in the real sense of spending. What are the
possible partnerships? Who are to be partnered with? And why will
such partnership be necessary?
TheNigerialawyer Editorial
As the NBA election draws closer, campaigns and all forms of
soliciting will fill the legal atmosphere. Aspirants will likely
present things they perceive are of outmost importance and must be
addressed at all cost to make the NBA better. But for many of the Bar-men, there are few
areas of great significance that probably have not been considered
by previous administrations, or may have been contemplated but much
has not been done to realize them. What are these areas?
REMUNERATION FOR YOUNG LAWYERS: Bar men of at
least 1-6 years post call make up a good number of practitioners in
the bar. Thus, the underpinning of the young wigs should go a long
way in determining the victory of any aspirant in the oncoming
elections. The much talk of poor remuneration of young lawyers is
one major area of concern. This is because there is currently no
concrete policy in place that deals with the remuneration of young
wigs in the legal profession and this has led to the exploitations
of young lawyers by their seniors at the bar as little or sometimes
nothing is given for services rendered in Law firms they are
working with. Most recently observed is the introduction of the
Legal Profession Regulation Bill that prescribes a two years
compulsory pupilage for young wigs without any form of
remuneration. This policy was criticized by many in the legal
profession including Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, who fortunately is one of
the aspirants of the NBA presidential election. It is therefore
expected that aspirants consider strongly this area of interest as
they present their much awaited manifestos.
E-LAWYERING (NBA STAMP AND SEAL FILING ONLINE):
This is another area of interest in the legal profession. This area
which includes E-filing is important because it is in line with
global practices. An aspect of E-lawyering that has led to many
debates is the lack of provision for NBA stamp and seal online,
which in turn has affected E-lawyers. Advocates of E-Lawyering,
such as Cyber Crime Expert, Felix Eboibi has
argued squarely for the need why the NBA stamp and deal should be
made available on E-Format to enable E-lawyering appreciable in
Nigeria. E-lawyering is actually broad. It does not only deal with
NBA online stamp filing, it also affects every legal activities
conducted on the E-Format. It is indeed necessary for the archaic
pattern of manual stamping and scanning to be done away with to
give way to NBA stamping and sealing online. It is therefore
expected that an incoming administration introduces policies that
will improve E-lawyering, so that the Nigerian legal profession
will meet up the legal profession in other advanced world
jurisdictions.
NLS CURRICULUM: Another area aspirants are
expected to look into is the Law School curriculum. Of a truth,
what is taught in the Nigerian Law School is exactly what the Law
says, however, there seems to be a controversy being that there is
always a difference between what is taught in the Nigerian law
School and what is obtainable in practice. Young wigs who venture
into the legal labour market, get the surprise of their lives as
they are made to abandon to a large extent what they are taught to
what they see. This makes these fresh heads look stupid as they try
to apply what they have been taught. This has been severally
trivialized, but the legal truth is that it does not tell well of
the legal profession in this part of the world. It subjects us to a
kind of ridicule in developed legal systems of the world. Thus it
is never a bad idea if aspirants take into consideration this very
trivialized but important aspect of the legal profession.
PROTECTING THE DIGNITY OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION:
I have stated elsewhere that the legal profession is a noble
profession if not the noblest in the world. As a noble profession,
government agencies are expected to treat legal professionals with
respect. But for the past weeks, the social media has been
consistently bombarded with the news of the brutality of legal
practitioners by security agencies. This is more than becoming a
trend as for every passing day, more and more tales of such
brutality make the headlines. The conclusion may be that much has
not been done by the Nigeria Bar Association. The NBA must disprove
this assertion and this must be a priority by any aspirant;
preservation of the dignity of the bar.
INITIATING AN IDEA TO MAKE CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION
BROADER: The Mandatory Continuing Legal Education in a
programme operated by the Nigerian Bar Association as provided in
Rule 11 of the Rules of professional Conduct. According to the
rules, activities lawyers are to participate in for the purpose of
the programme include attendance and participation in accredited
courses; lectures, seminars, workshops and conferences on law
approved by the N.B.A; writing on the law and its practice in books
or Journals and Newspapers approved by the Nigerian Bar Association
and also study towards professional qualifications approved by the
Nigerian Bar Association. Sub Rule 2 (e) which provides for other
approved means of acquiring legal professional knowledge and
experience by the NBA is a sure way to make the CPD programme
broader. As days go by, new opportunities present themselves to
make the programme better, one of which is the publication of legal
works in well known blogs and websites. It is not doubtful of the
fact these blogs/websites have contributed mightily to the
improvement of the legal profession via the publication of articles
on current legal issues. There is therefore a need to incorporate
policies to improve the CPC in this regard. This is an area
aspirants can look into.
INSURANCE POLICY: Provision of a sound
insurance policy for lawyers is a sure way to cater for their
welfare. This is because it does not only take care of current
challenges but others that may arise in the future, even after
retirement. While legal practitioners are advised to have a good
retirement plan, a well developed insurance policy which also deals
with health insurance will go a long way in improving the welfare
of lawyers. Health they say is wealth, therefore to lead wealthy
bar men, it is expected that a functional health insurance policy
be put in place to insure practitioners of a hale and hearty life.
The current administration of A.B. Mahmoud SAN though has done a
lot in that regard; more is also expected from anyone who presents
himself as an aspirant for the oncoming election.
NBA AND THE LAW FACULTIES: As an association of
Bar-men, it is expected that there should be a solid relationship
between the NBA and students of law in the Nigerian University.
Thus, going outside the welfare of lawyers, what is the nature of
the relationship between the NBA and law students in the Nigerian
universities? How much do they know about the NBA? How prepared are
the prospective members of the Bar? There are many things the NBA
can do to draw the bar closer to the law faculties. One of which is
the organization of National Moot/Mock trial competitions for
higher institutions in the nation. This will not only draw the bar
closer to the soon-to-be bar men, it will as well unite law
faculties from various part of the country before going to the
Nigerian law School. This is with recourse to the fact that it
improves the legal education. This is an area the NBA must look
into. Individuals have been known to always sponsor such events. It
is high time the NBA take the bull by the horn to consider such
areas of interest in the profession.
ADOPTION OF ADJA: The move to adopt the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act by all states of the
Federation is one of the best moves ever embarked upon by the NBA.
A lot has already been done in that regard via some encouraging
partnerships and advocacy. It is therefore necessary that the fight
is taken to the finish even after the current administration leaves
office. Lawyers are waiting to see this become a reality to ease
the administration of criminal justice in the states of the
federation.
ICT IN THE COURT SYSTEM: Some months ago,
TheNigerialawyer conducted an independent poll to ascertain what
litigants and lawyers think about compensating parties when the
court fails to seat without prior notice. Some in support of the
idea argued that one way to solve the problem is to make the court
system ICT enabled so that the court can through that means alert
parties when the court may not be seating. Extensively, ICT can be
employed to the court system as a whole to affect, production and
early availability of cause list and the generality of other
activities in the court such as the fast track publication of
judgments in court. This can be made possible through the creation
of functional websites for superior courts of records in Nigeria.
Can this not be something to be considered?
ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY: These are
beyond policies; they are the pillars of every aspirant. For the
NBA president, lawyers want the assurance that their practicing
fees are well utilized. They want to see the record that matches
what is obtainable in the real sense of spending. What are the
possible partnerships? Who are to be partnered with? And why will
such partnership be necessary?
TheNigerialawyer Editorial
Read more https://nairalaw.com/nba-elections-2018-10-things-a-presidential-aspirant-should-look-into/