‘Legal Practice In The Digital Ecosystem’ Organised By The NBA Abuja Branch On The 15th October, 2019 At The National Human Rights Commission, Abuja: Matters Arising For Lawyers By Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq.

On the 15^th day of October, 2019, the
Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch (The Unity Bar) under the
Chairmanship of Mr Folarin Aluko, organized a capacity building
training by way of a Discussion Series which marked the
22^nd Discussion Series since inception pioneered by the
immediate past administration under the Chairmanship of Mr Ezenwa
Anumnu, with the theme ‘LEGAL PRACTICE IN THE DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM’,
which was held at the National Human Rights Commission’s
Headquarters, Abuja. This Discussion was attended by more than a
hundred and fifty (150)
participants, with over 90% as lawyers.
In attendance were two Honourable Justices of the Federal High
Court of Nigeria coram: Honourable Justice Inyang Ekwo and
Honourable Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo (Justices of the Federal High
Court of Nigeria) and the Discussion Series was Chaired by
Honourable Justice Inyang Ekwo, representing the Honourable, the
Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Honourable
Justice John T. Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of
Nigeria and in honour of the Programme were legal and non-legal
staff of the Federal High Court of Nigeria,
Abuja.

The Discussion Series had about 3 main speakers on the theme and
an interlude section by a Director of the Corporate Affairs
Commission, Headquarters, Abuja, among other invited guests. It was
however interesting that the Honourable Justices of the Federal
High Court were participatory at the event from the beginning till
the closing and photographs were taken together with the guests and
the NBA Abuja Branch’s Executives as well as the general
participants’ photographs. The Discussion Series was a Certificate
Programme and ended with enticing refreshment. This paper aims at
considering some of the matters arising from the said Discussion
Series for lawyers who attended and those who did not attend. This
paper is encouraged and provoked by the need to actually put the
topics discussed by the speakers who were renowned personnel in the
digital/technological industries across to my fellow learned
lawyers, especially those who did not attend, for them to taste
from its sweetness with no side effect. Nevertheless, this paper
focuses more on the take home lessons at the event.

First and foremost, the words ‘ecosystem’ is defined
by the Webster online dictionary, to mean ‘everything that exists
in a particular environment’ and in its full definition, it means
‘the complex of a community of organisms and its environment
functioning as an ecological unit’. Therefore, some of the lessons
derivable from the theme or the topics by me on my personal
assessment are stated in the following
paragraphs.

First is that the world has grown up to the digital world so is
the medical practice, so is the engineering practice and so shall
the legal practice in the very near future to come where even a
lawyer’s physical office/chambers would go into extinction and that
Artificial Intelligence will even most likely replace lawyers in
their practice. This indeed is a signal for lawyers to make sure
that they engage in further learning of the digital practice and to
also use technology as a tool in their legal practice and in
reaching out to clients.

Second, there are various technologies created now which act as
robot to even detect lies and to help in forensic analysis (through
forensic sciences) of facts in both criminal, civil and recruitment
field of discipline. These tools have been used to detect the truth
of facts from suspects in the course of investigation and various
governments’ law enforcement’s agencies have been trained on their
use but lawyers are rarely found to be trained on these tools.
Therefore, lawyers need to rise to this demand for digital practice
as they operate in the other developed countries.

Third, majority of those personnel who are even in the
digital/technology industries are not in connection/contact with
lawyers therefore, lawyers need to build a digital means of
reaching these technicians in their own world.

Fourth, there are several briefs in the digital world or
environments that lawyers are already losing which lawyers need to
get aware of on how the digital/online/technological system
operates. It is also important for lawyers to know the liabilities
of intermediaries in the digital world. The Nigerian
Cybercrimes Act of 2015 is of importance
in the criminalization of cybercrimes. Many bloggers and other
technicians do not really know the legal implications of their
actions, hence, at various times, they run into troubles.

Therefore, arising from the Discussion, there is the need for
policy making on the digital system by the Nigerian National
Assembly or the State Assemblies. I personally would also recommend
that the development in the digital environments/system should be
brought into the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
where necessary, especially in the criminal aspects.

I also wish to encourage and advise lawyers to consider the
digital world/environments that are being created daily as a tool
for shining their legal practices so that they would not be caught
up by ignorance and unpreparedness for the challenges ahead in the
digital legal practice.

Finally, I hope that those who participated at the event really
gained a lot from the Discussion and that those who did not attend
would have also picked from the few lessons highlighted by this
paper and that we as lawyers would put all of these lessons learnt
into immediate practice with no single hesitation! I also wish to
appreciate the brilliant efforts made by the Folarin Aluko’s
administration in its continuous building of the capacity of
lawyers both young and old members of the bar! I further appreciate
the time spent by their Lordships who graced the occasion. Such
active roles and participation in my mind shows that the alleged
dying cordial relationship between the bar and the bench or the
bench and the bar is being rekindled and will grow more in no time!
In the overall, all praise belongs to God Almighty for the success
of the event and I pray for many more befitting Discussion Series
and other interesting programme yet to be organised by the NBA
Abuja Branch!

Email: [email protected]^[1]