The NBA-SLP (Section on Legal Practice) of which you
are the chairperson, had been in limbo for over two years now. How
did you manage the affairs of the section while it was dormant,
given the fact that the parent body seemed to be against your
emergence as chairperson of the Section?
It is incorrect to assert that the parent body was against my
emergence. It is unfortunate that for some reasons, the past
president decided to review the elections that had taken place. It
was later found, when the current President came in, that due
process was indeed followed and so there was no reason for the
steps that had been taken. Consequently, at the Section’s AGM held
in Lagos in August, 2017, the officers that had been removed were
re-elected.
However, we do not want to dwell on it but to look ahead. The
Section has a very bright future and the current Section officers
and council members believe that with time, it will emerge stronger
and rejuvenated. Our focus is on rebuilding the Section and
positioning it properly because irrespective of your area of
specialisation, as lawyers, the Section on Legal Practice covers
all aspects of practice and has an impact on the manner in which we
practise law. Before we were able to get back on track, we lost one
of our very dear Council members, Chief Adetola-Kazeem, SAN. He was
a pillar of the section. We miss him and his very wise counsel. May
he rest in peace.
In a few months, Nigerian lawyers will elect their
national officers; five candidates are already jostling for the
office of the President. What qualities should lawyers be looking
for in electing the next Bar President?
I do not know if I can be considered a barman but I believe that
you do not need to be a barman to know what qualities are desirable
in the next Bar President. He should have a listening ear, be
honest, upright with integrity, financially prudent with managerial
skills. He should also build on programmes commenced by his
predecessor. Our regulatory system is long overdue for an overhaul
and we hope he will build on what his predecessors did.
I also support universal suffrage electronic voting system which
accords more with modern life. It is inclusive. The delegate system
was anachronistic and had outlived its usefulness.
Rivers State seems to be carving a niche for itself in terms of
the Justice/Legal Sector, as not only have the courts been totally
revamped, many legal outings seem to be taking place in Port
Harcourt these days.
What could be responsible for this?
Not too long ago, many people were reluctant to go to Port
Harcourt because they felt that it was unsafe.
Is the narrative different today?
The general fear of insecurity exists nationwide but has never
affected the hosting of law-related conferences. Rivers State has
had its challenges, like other parts of the country, but to
residents, there appears to be a concerted effort by all
stakeholders to reverse the trend. Port Harcourt has always
played host to a lot of law-related conferences since the return of
democracy. Over the years, the state has always been very
supportive of lawyers and has hosted several events and conferences
including the NBA Annual General Conferences in 2011 and 2016,
Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators which
took place in 2016 as well as several other Section conferences and
workshops. As the Governor is a lawyer, it is not surprising he has
continued with this noble trend.
Many people have complained that the filing of
frivolous applications, incessant adjournments etc. were some of
the ways employed by lawyers to frustrate the course of justice.
What steps can be taken to curb these excesses?
The Law reports and press reports suggest that lawyers are being
disciplined for misconduct on a regular basis by the Legal
Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC. So, I believe the
committee is doing quite a lot. I know that they have additional
prosecutors so much is being done. I also know that the
President of the NBA is working on models and modalities to be
considered by the Bar, at the appropriate time, to reform our
regulatory framework.
As for delays in court, there are several Rules of Courts and
practice directions that have been issued by the various courts to
stem the delays in cases. Lately, the courts have started awarding
punitive costs to be paid personally by lawyers to discourage
delays in court. However, the fact that a person seeks an
adjournment in a matter does not mean that the lawyer is
deliberately trying to delay the case. Furthermore, once a lawyer
takes steps that are within the bounds of the law and the Rules of
Court, it cannot be said that he is trying to frustrate the course
of justice and our Rules of Professional Conduct make that clear.
After all, some people have been the subject of frivolous law suits
and they have a right not to be subjected to same, to object to
such proceedings or defend themselves within the purview of the
Rules of Court and the law. If you have been at the receiving end
of such actions, you may have a different perspective. The
important thing is to ensure that as a lawyer, you act strictly
within the law. In any case, the Judge is the master of his court
and has a duty to ensure that lawyers who behave in such unethical
manners do not get away with sharp practices or dilatory
tactics.
The NBA-SLP’s annual conference with the
theme: Re-Thinking and Re-Tooling Legal
Practice for the Challenges of Our Time, will hold in Port
Harcourt April 12-13, 2018. What will be the highlights of the
conference? What innovations will be introduced at the conference
that will be of benefit to lawyers in their practices and what do
you hope to achieve?
The conference will consider topical issues on professional
ethics, the relationship between the bench and the bar,
effectiveness of the prosecution of white collar and economic
crimes, factors impeding lawyers in generating income and as 2019
looms large on the horizon, we will consider election matters and
the journey so far with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
We have knowledgeable and amazing speakers who have the expertise,
experience and passion to discuss the topics they have kindly
agreed to speak on and we are very grateful to them. The positive
response from our colleagues, who agreed to contribute their time
as speakers, discussants or chairpersons so as to be a part of the
SLP conference, has been overwhelming considering the fact that the
Section has basically been inactive for a couple of years.
After our opening ceremonies, we will immediately kick off with
the session, Practising law in a regulated environment –
what we need to know. This session will deal with professional
ethics which as we know, is on the front burner of public
discourse. We are regaled on a regular basis with allegations of
misconduct against lawyers, some of whom have been disciplined, to
the knowledge of the public. As the Section on Legal Practice, we
need to talk about this, how to stem the growing tide of misconduct
and criticism that arises therefrom.
To show how serious these issues are in other jurisdictions, I
will give an example of a friend who practises outside the country.
I recall him being quite agitated on an occasion because he was
handling a matter which was about to be statute barred and he had
not filed his originating processes or informed his client that the
action would soon be statute barred. He feared the Bar Council,
where he practised, would take away his licence if the case became
statute barred. So, we can see we still have a long way to go in
Nigeria.
As lawyers, we need to fully understand the extent of our duties
and where we can run foul of the rules and regulations. As a
practising lawyer, can you be engaged in the business of buying and
selling land? Can you manage an estate? Can you advertise? Are you
liable for negligence? How many lawyers have liability insurance?
What are the chances that the public will become more aware and
start suing their lawyers for negligence? Our first session
therefore will consider laws regulating legal practice, extent of
practice, disciplinary issues arising therefrom. Our main speakers,
Yemi Candide-Johnson, SAN, and Etigwe Uwa, SAN, will treat the
sub-theme from different perspectives and at the end of the
session, it will be clear to those who do not know or who claim not
to know, what is right, what is wrong as a practitioner and the
chances of being disbarred or disciplined, as the case may be.
The NBA-SLP (Section on Legal Practice) of which you
are the chairperson, had been in limbo for over two years now. How
did you manage the affairs of the section while it was dormant,
given the fact that the parent body seemed to be against your
emergence as chairperson of the Section?
It is incorrect to assert that the parent body was against my
emergence. It is unfortunate that for some reasons, the past
president decided to review the elections that had taken place. It
was later found, when the current President came in, that due
process was indeed followed and so there was no reason for the
steps that had been taken. Consequently, at the Section’s AGM held
in Lagos in August, 2017, the officers that had been removed were
re-elected.
However, we do not want to dwell on it but to look ahead. The
Section has a very bright future and the current Section officers
and council members believe that with time, it will emerge stronger
and rejuvenated. Our focus is on rebuilding the Section and
positioning it properly because irrespective of your area of
specialisation, as lawyers, the Section on Legal Practice covers
all aspects of practice and has an impact on the manner in which we
practise law. Before we were able to get back on track, we lost one
of our very dear Council members, Chief Adetola-Kazeem, SAN. He was
a pillar of the section. We miss him and his very wise counsel. May
he rest in peace.
In a few months, Nigerian lawyers will elect their
national officers; five candidates are already jostling for the
office of the President. What qualities should lawyers be looking
for in electing the next Bar President?
I do not know if I can be considered a barman but I believe that
you do not need to be a barman to know what qualities are desirable
in the next Bar President. He should have a listening ear, be
honest, upright with integrity, financially prudent with managerial
skills. He should also build on programmes commenced by his
predecessor. Our regulatory system is long overdue for an overhaul
and we hope he will build on what his predecessors did.
I also support universal suffrage electronic voting system which
accords more with modern life. It is inclusive. The delegate system
was anachronistic and had outlived its usefulness.
Rivers State seems to be carving a niche for itself in terms of
the Justice/Legal Sector, as not only have the courts been totally
revamped, many legal outings seem to be taking place in Port
Harcourt these days.
What could be responsible for this?
Not too long ago, many people were reluctant to go to Port
Harcourt because they felt that it was unsafe.
Is the narrative different today?
The general fear of insecurity exists nationwide but has never
affected the hosting of law-related conferences. Rivers State has
had its challenges, like other parts of the country, but to
residents, there appears to be a concerted effort by all
stakeholders to reverse the trend. Port Harcourt has always
played host to a lot of law-related conferences since the return of
democracy. Over the years, the state has always been very
supportive of lawyers and has hosted several events and conferences
including the NBA Annual General Conferences in 2011 and 2016,
Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators which
took place in 2016 as well as several other Section conferences and
workshops. As the Governor is a lawyer, it is not surprising he has
continued with this noble trend.
Many people have complained that the filing of
frivolous applications, incessant adjournments etc. were some of
the ways employed by lawyers to frustrate the course of justice.
What steps can be taken to curb these excesses?
The Law reports and press reports suggest that lawyers are being
disciplined for misconduct on a regular basis by the Legal
Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC. So, I believe the
committee is doing quite a lot. I know that they have additional
prosecutors so much is being done. I also know that the
President of the NBA is working on models and modalities to be
considered by the Bar, at the appropriate time, to reform our
regulatory framework.
As for delays in court, there are several Rules of Courts and
practice directions that have been issued by the various courts to
stem the delays in cases. Lately, the courts have started awarding
punitive costs to be paid personally by lawyers to discourage
delays in court. However, the fact that a person seeks an
adjournment in a matter does not mean that the lawyer is
deliberately trying to delay the case. Furthermore, once a lawyer
takes steps that are within the bounds of the law and the Rules of
Court, it cannot be said that he is trying to frustrate the course
of justice and our Rules of Professional Conduct make that clear.
After all, some people have been the subject of frivolous law suits
and they have a right not to be subjected to same, to object to
such proceedings or defend themselves within the purview of the
Rules of Court and the law. If you have been at the receiving end
of such actions, you may have a different perspective. The
important thing is to ensure that as a lawyer, you act strictly
within the law. In any case, the Judge is the master of his court
and has a duty to ensure that lawyers who behave in such unethical
manners do not get away with sharp practices or dilatory
tactics.
The NBA-SLP’s annual conference with the
theme: Re-Thinking and Re-Tooling Legal
Practice for the Challenges of Our Time, will hold in Port
Harcourt April 12-13, 2018. What will be the highlights of the
conference? What innovations will be introduced at the conference
that will be of benefit to lawyers in their practices and what do
you hope to achieve?
The conference will consider topical issues on professional
ethics, the relationship between the bench and the bar,
effectiveness of the prosecution of white collar and economic
crimes, factors impeding lawyers in generating income and as 2019
looms large on the horizon, we will consider election matters and
the journey so far with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
We have knowledgeable and amazing speakers who have the expertise,
experience and passion to discuss the topics they have kindly
agreed to speak on and we are very grateful to them. The positive
response from our colleagues, who agreed to contribute their time
as speakers, discussants or chairpersons so as to be a part of the
SLP conference, has been overwhelming considering the fact that the
Section has basically been inactive for a couple of years.
After our opening ceremonies, we will immediately kick off with
the session, Practising law in a regulated environment –
what we need to know. This session will deal with professional
ethics which as we know, is on the front burner of public
discourse. We are regaled on a regular basis with allegations of
misconduct against lawyers, some of whom have been disciplined, to
the knowledge of the public. As the Section on Legal Practice, we
need to talk about this, how to stem the growing tide of misconduct
and criticism that arises therefrom.
To show how serious these issues are in other jurisdictions, I
will give an example of a friend who practises outside the country.
I recall him being quite agitated on an occasion because he was
handling a matter which was about to be statute barred and he had
not filed his originating processes or informed his client that the
action would soon be statute barred. He feared the Bar Council,
where he practised, would take away his licence if the case became
statute barred. So, we can see we still have a long way to go in
Nigeria.
As lawyers, we need to fully understand the extent of our duties
and where we can run foul of the rules and regulations. As a
practising lawyer, can you be engaged in the business of buying and
selling land? Can you manage an estate? Can you advertise? Are you
liable for negligence? How many lawyers have liability insurance?
What are the chances that the public will become more aware and
start suing their lawyers for negligence? Our first session
therefore will consider laws regulating legal practice, extent of
practice, disciplinary issues arising therefrom. Our main speakers,
Yemi Candide-Johnson, SAN, and Etigwe Uwa, SAN, will treat the
sub-theme from different perspectives and at the end of the
session, it will be clear to those who do not know or who claim not
to know, what is right, what is wrong as a practitioner and the
chances of being disbarred or disciplined, as the case may be.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/nba-2018-election-our-regulatory-system-overdue-for-review/