By Roland Uwakwe, Esq.
![image](/2020/10/lawreport.jpg")
![image](/2021/04/CaseManager.jpg")
It is no longer news that all the courts in Nigeria are closed.
The closure of these courts has definitely lowered the moral of
litigation lawyers who depend mainly on appearance fees and the
money paid by client for their representation in court.
![image](/2021/01/payne-alex.jpg")
We are living in a changed and changing world system. The
traditional legal practices are giving ways for emerging ones, it
is therefore pertinent that, lawyers should adapt to modern
realities. In any case, litigation is becoming old fashion, modern
thinking focuses on ADR. Lawyers across the globe are now having
bias for litigation because of the zero sum game approach.
Therefore, I will attempt to draw our attention to the fields we
can further deepen on as 21 century lawyers.
Digital Media and Internet Lawyer
Internet use is prevalent across the globe. And we have heard of
a lot of offenses done on social media platforms. These types of
lawyers deal with situations involving legal issues concerning our
use of the internet and technology. They deal with crimes related
to website terms and conditions, copyright laws, privacy issues,
and pirating music and movies.
Entertainment Lawyer
An entertainment lawyer deals with all kinds of entertainment
issues that are related to entertainment contracts. They manage
contracts, draft and review licensing agreements, and deal with
contracts that have to do with royalties and other aspects of
entertainment.
Real estate lawyers’
Real estate lawyers’ deal with legal issues related to real
property. This includes sales, purchases, leases, title disputes,
landlord-tenant issues, environmental compliance, and
foreclosures.
Though a real estate attorney may spend some time in court (or
contract his colleague in litigation to handle matters in court),
albeit, most real estate lawyers primarily do transactional work
(e.g., negotiating and drafting various documents that facilitate
the business of real estate).
Tax law
Tax law is a field of law that relates to the assessment and
payment of taxes. Tax lawyers often identify ways to impact the tax
burden on an entity or individual.
Intellectual property law
Intellectual property law deals with the legal rights related to
creative works and inventions. Intellectual property law includes 3
subcategories:
Copyright law governs literary and artistic works—including
books, music, and movies.
Trademark law governs brand names and logos.
Patent law governs inventions and discoveries.
Patent lawyers generally have a background in science or
technology
Immigration law
Immigration law relates generally to the attainment of citizenship
and temporary or permanent relocation of individuals from one
country to another. Immigration attorneys may work with government
agencies, non-profit organizations, or private immigration law
firms.
Health law
Health law is a rapidly changing and steadily growing field. Law
firms with health law practice fields provide legal services to
hospitals, health insurance companies, nursing homes, physician
practices, medical device manufacturers, and others. If you’re
detail oriented, inquisitive, and enjoy change, health law might be
the field for you.
Business or corporate law
Business law (sometimes called “commercial” or “corporate” law) is
a broad term used to describe lawyers who work on issues that
impact businesses. Often, this includes the strategic creation of a
new entity,(incorporation of companies ) and the handling of
subsequent issues impacting that entity(post incorporation)
Most young lawyers get their initial briefs from the Corporate
Affairs Commission, even though the management of the CAC is doing
everything to take lawyers away from its activities. Nonetheless,
the current RG will never succeed in that mission because it is a
global practice that we inherited as a country.
Family Lawyer
This type of lawyer handles legal issues revolving around the
family. They handle things like a prenuptial agreement, divorce,
custody battles and other issues surrounding marriage and
children.
Security and Finance Lawyer
These kinds of lawyers operate only in a specific sector of law.
They usually deal with issues related to individuals and banks
issuing money, or to companies that are selling stocks.
Mergers & Acquisitions Lawyer (M&A)
Mergers and acquisition (M&A) lawyers deal with the buying
and selling of companies. The buying and selling of major companies
can be a very long and complex process which usually involves a
team of lawyers. M&A lawyers tend to be very well-versed in
finance and securities laws, as well as tax law.
Estate Planning Lawyer
Estate planning lawyers make sure your family dealings are all
in order if/when something goes wrong. Their tasks range from
creating trusts for a child’s college fund to drafting a will so
your assets get distributed appropriately to the members of your
family when you die. However, there are instances where people do
not have a will and their assets have to go through Probate (court
that decides what happens to your assets after death if you don’t
have a will). In these instances, there is a subset of family
lawyers, called Probate Lawyers, who argue where and how those
assets are distributed.
Conclusion
The Nigerian Bar Association must begin to recognize
specializations in law. The award of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria
to litigation lawyers and few academics must be de-centralized. A
Senior Advocate of Nigeria is not an expert in every aspect of law,
therefore we must come up with new recognitions base on different
fields of practice, for instance, if someone is good at immigration
law, he should be awarded a privilege on that area, so that when
clients are looking for experts in such fields, he becomes a ready
hand. This will further encourage lawyers to diversify.
Written By Roland Uwakwe, Esq.
By Roland Uwakwe, Esq.
It is no longer news that all the courts in Nigeria are closed.
The closure of these courts has definitely lowered the moral of
litigation lawyers who depend mainly on appearance fees and the
money paid by client for their representation in court.
We are living in a changed and changing world system. The
traditional legal practices are giving ways for emerging ones, it
is therefore pertinent that, lawyers should adapt to modern
realities. In any case, litigation is becoming old fashion, modern
thinking focuses on ADR. Lawyers across the globe are now having
bias for litigation because of the zero sum game approach.
Therefore, I will attempt to draw our attention to the fields we
can further deepen on as 21 century lawyers.
Digital Media and Internet Lawyer
Internet use is prevalent across the globe. And we have heard of
a lot of offenses done on social media platforms. These types of
lawyers deal with situations involving legal issues concerning our
use of the internet and technology. They deal with crimes related
to website terms and conditions, copyright laws, privacy issues,
and pirating music and movies.
Entertainment Lawyer
An entertainment lawyer deals with all kinds of entertainment
issues that are related to entertainment contracts. They manage
contracts, draft and review licensing agreements, and deal with
contracts that have to do with royalties and other aspects of
entertainment.
Real estate lawyers’
Real estate lawyers’ deal with legal issues related to real
property. This includes sales, purchases, leases, title disputes,
landlord-tenant issues, environmental compliance, and
foreclosures.
Though a real estate attorney may spend some time in court (or
contract his colleague in litigation to handle matters in court),
albeit, most real estate lawyers primarily do transactional work
(e.g., negotiating and drafting various documents that facilitate
the business of real estate).
Tax law
Tax law is a field of law that relates to the assessment and
payment of taxes. Tax lawyers often identify ways to impact the tax
burden on an entity or individual.
Intellectual property law
Intellectual property law deals with the legal rights related to
creative works and inventions. Intellectual property law includes 3
subcategories:
Copyright law governs literary and artistic works—including
books, music, and movies.
Trademark law governs brand names and logos.
Patent law governs inventions and discoveries.
Patent lawyers generally have a background in science or
technology
Immigration law
Immigration law relates generally to the attainment of citizenship
and temporary or permanent relocation of individuals from one
country to another. Immigration attorneys may work with government
agencies, non-profit organizations, or private immigration law
firms.
Health law
Health law is a rapidly changing and steadily growing field. Law
firms with health law practice fields provide legal services to
hospitals, health insurance companies, nursing homes, physician
practices, medical device manufacturers, and others. If you’re
detail oriented, inquisitive, and enjoy change, health law might be
the field for you.
Business or corporate law
Business law (sometimes called “commercial” or “corporate” law) is
a broad term used to describe lawyers who work on issues that
impact businesses. Often, this includes the strategic creation of a
new entity,(incorporation of companies ) and the handling of
subsequent issues impacting that entity(post incorporation)
Most young lawyers get their initial briefs from the Corporate
Affairs Commission, even though the management of the CAC is doing
everything to take lawyers away from its activities. Nonetheless,
the current RG will never succeed in that mission because it is a
global practice that we inherited as a country.
Family Lawyer
This type of lawyer handles legal issues revolving around the
family. They handle things like a prenuptial agreement, divorce,
custody battles and other issues surrounding marriage and
children.
Security and Finance Lawyer
These kinds of lawyers operate only in a specific sector of law.
They usually deal with issues related to individuals and banks
issuing money, or to companies that are selling stocks.
Mergers & Acquisitions Lawyer (M&A)
Mergers and acquisition (M&A) lawyers deal with the buying
and selling of companies. The buying and selling of major companies
can be a very long and complex process which usually involves a
team of lawyers. M&A lawyers tend to be very well-versed in
finance and securities laws, as well as tax law.
Estate Planning Lawyer
Estate planning lawyers make sure your family dealings are all
in order if/when something goes wrong. Their tasks range from
creating trusts for a child’s college fund to drafting a will so
your assets get distributed appropriately to the members of your
family when you die. However, there are instances where people do
not have a will and their assets have to go through Probate (court
that decides what happens to your assets after death if you don’t
have a will). In these instances, there is a subset of family
lawyers, called Probate Lawyers, who argue where and how those
assets are distributed.
Conclusion
The Nigerian Bar Association must begin to recognize
specializations in law. The award of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria
to litigation lawyers and few academics must be de-centralized. A
Senior Advocate of Nigeria is not an expert in every aspect of law,
therefore we must come up with new recognitions base on different
fields of practice, for instance, if someone is good at immigration
law, he should be awarded a privilege on that area, so that when
clients are looking for experts in such fields, he becomes a ready
hand. This will further encourage lawyers to diversify.
Written By Roland Uwakwe, Esq.