SLP Conference: Attendees To Gain Cle Points In The Conference

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The NBA- Section on Legal Practice Chair, MRS. MIA
ESSIEN SAN, speaks on the forthcoming SLP conference that
will hold in Port-Harcourt. In this interview she spoke on why the
theme “Re-thinking and Re-tooling legal practice for the challenges
of our time”was chosen for the conference and the choice of Garden
City (Port-Harcourt) as the venue, and as well as other vital
aspects of the conference.

What informed the choice of Port Harcourt as venue
for this year’s SLP conference?

After some years of inactivity, some thought that Lagos or Abuja
would have been better suited for such a conference. Port Harcourt
has hosted several conferences in the past and it has the
facilities to do so. It also has a very vibrant bar. It is
therefore fitting for the Section to have its Annual conference in
Port Harcourt. The Branch is also going to host delegates at an
evening get together on the first day where delegates can relax and
enjoy the hospitality of the garden city.

The theme of the conference is:Re-thinking and
Re-tooling legal practice for the challenges of our
time.”Which areas of the legal profession in Nigeria need
rethinking and retooling?

Oh several. But let me take professional ethics. The complaints
and allegations against lawyers of sharp practices have increased
and are now reaching a crescendo. Lawyers are being suspended,
disbarred etc. We need to address that. That is the starting point
and at the Section on Legal Practice, that is definitely the first
place to start. As Legal practitioners we render a service. We must
remember the duties we owe to the court, our clients, our
colleagues and the larger society. In the quest to make money many
have forgotten what is ethical and what is not. As Legal
practitioners, for us to retool ourselves to be relevant, we must
take a look back at where we are coming from, where we are right
now and where we need to be. Gladly for our first session we have a
formidable panel led by the President of the NBA, AB Mahmoud, SAN,
Yemi Candide-Johnson, SAN and Etigwe Uwa SAN to take us through
what the law is, what is the reality and what we expect in the
future.

The Bar and Bench Forum is a session that seems to
excite some lawyers and would-be attendees. What is it all about
and why does it appear so important and necessary at this time?
Does it suggest that the relationship between lawyers and judiciary
has been frosty?

It is not exactly a bar and bench forum. Sometimes bar bench
fora tends to be rather formal. That we have such a session does
not suggest we have a frosty relationship. The session has to do
with managing our symbiotic relationship. Hopefully we will be able
to talk about our relationship bearing in mind that to be on the
bench you must come from the bar. Fortunately Hon. Justice Gumel,
the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt
Division, who is very passionate about the bar, will be speaking
from the perspective of the bench while Y. Maikyau, SAN will be
speaking from the Bar’s perspective. It will be very engaging and
interactive. A lot of lawyers and invited guests are looking
forward to that session.

Many commended the online registration portal
created by SLP to enable lawyers to register. Please kindly explain
the steps to access this portal and how lawyers can avail
themselves on this opportunity.

If you go to Nba-slpconference.org, it is very
straight forward as there is a user friendly form you will fill.
You can also pay online using your debit or credit card. We had
some hitches at the beginning but our IT team was able to sort them
out. The early bird ended on the 29th of March, 2018. We also have
pre- registration on Wednesday 11th of April, between 10a.m. – 4.00
p.m. so delegates can go the day before the conference register,
sort out any issues they may have and pick up their access cards.
The feedback we got is that a significant number of lawyers only
filled the forms but did not complete their registration by paying
online. If you had such issues, the registration team will be on
hand to sort it out on the 11th so that you won’t have any
difficulties on the 12th. We encourage our colleagues to take
advantage of the pre-registration so they can walk in with ease on
the 12th.

What is the gradation and scale of fees for
conferees of different years of call?

Registered members who took advantage of the early bird attend
the conference for free. After the early bird, the fees are N7000
for lawyers 1-7 years post call and above 7 years post call,
N10000. The details are on the website.

What about young lawyers? Some of them are not
really well remunerated by their principal. Were they considered in
terms of registration fees?

We considered not just young lawyers but practitioners generally
and that is why we decided to make attendance free for registered
members of the Section. The Section is the only section of the Bar
that cuts across all areas of legal practice. Whether you are
in-house Counsel, maritime specialist, oil and gas, human rights,
legal practice, even if you are on the bench, Legal Practice is the
foundation and so it is important for us to ensure we reach
everybody. If the fees are high we will not be able to impact many
lawyers. For registered members of the SLP attendance is free and
we encouraged people to take advantage of the early bird.

What role would the parent body, NBA National be
playing in the conference?

The NBA National is one of our Partners and if you go to our
website nba-slpconference.org you will see it is listed as such.
They are also sponsoring 25 young lawyers to attend the conference.
The President also has a session at our conference and so you will
see the National is playing a big role.

Port Harcourt in recent times has had security
challenges. How are conferees assured of their safety during the
conference?

Unfortunately, the reality is that the Nigeria we are in today
is no longer the one I grew up in. The one I grew up in was the one
where stories of kidnapping were only tales told of “gbomo gbomo”
in Lagos, which one never knew were true or not. Right now sadly,
there are security challenges everywhere in the country. A daily
read of the newspapers shows that. However, the Government of
Rivers State is making a concerted effort to tackle security
challenges as stakeholders are aware of.

Still on fees, we understand that SLP is charging
higher registration fees for non SLP members. But since they are
all lawyers in Nigeria, is there any justification for
this?

As lawyers you ought to belong to a section of the NBA. There
must be benefits that accrue to members of a Section and for us,
our focus and drive is to reach as many of our lawyers as we can.
There is nothing unusual in what we have done. It is the norm
during conferences for members of a particular organization to pay
lower fees than non-members.

For those who register and are not able to attend,
what plans are there for them to have access to the conference
materials, that presentations and papers to be delivered at the
conference?

All the papers will be uploaded on the conference website and
members who are duly registered will log on with their log-on
details and will access all the papers which will be uploaded after
the conference. However considering the nature of the conference,
which is going to be very interactive, I will encourage our members
to attend. Attending a conference is not just to read the papers,
be a part of the experience, network with friends and colleagues
and contribute to our discourse. Let your voice and views be
heard.

Can a lawyer who is a member of another section of
the NBA be a member of SLP and be entitled to the full benefits of
both sections?

Of course. You can be a member of as many sections as you want.
I am a member of the Section on Business Law as well.

Many lawyers have complained that they attend
conferences and they don’t get CLE points, oftentimes the
NBA neglects to accord them those valuable points. What plans do
you have to ensure that all conferees get their verified Continuous
Legal Education points from this conference?

We have taken the necessary steps to ensure we have had our
conference accredited and the relevant body will be in attendance
to review the content to make sure it meets the requisite standard.
I can assure members that they will get their points. If they have
any challenges they can reach out to me or any member of council.
All work and no play makes Lagbaja a dull lawyer.

What are your plans for socials and entertainment?
What should lawyers look forward to in Port Harcourt at this
conference?

The Port Harcourt Branch is hosting delegates in the evening so
that delegates can unwind in the evening of the 12th. The Chairman
has assured us we will have a lovely time. Tell Lagbaja we are
ready for him.

The conference will be addressing crucial issues in
the legal profession in Nigeria? What steps are in place to ensure
that this won’t just be a Talk Show?

That is why the NBA headquarters is involved as well. We will
ensure the feedback and communiqué are properly considered. It will
not just be a talk show. The Section is here to make a difference
and the response from lawyers from all over the country suggests
that we will all make that difference.