The Sun News On-line

A Lagos based legal practitioner has declared that the degree of individual lawyer’s skill is most crucial in managing a law firm.
According to Barrister Okey Okoroji, “even if you have all the money to play around with, you will still find establishing and managing a law firm, a serious challenge.” Consequently, he enjoined young lawyers to undergo pupillage training.
He noted that serving a reasonable period of time under a senior principal would sharpen the skill of every lawyer, as, according to him, “what you’re taught in the school is book knowledge and far from the law in practice.”

In order to attain the modern trend in the profession, Okoroji urged lawyers to always come together to establish a firm in which a sort of specialisation would evolve over time.
He spoke further on other issues affecting legal profession in the country.

Why I studied law
I have always been interested in legal profession. I have always had a passion for it. When I gained admission to study philosophy at the University of Ibadan and later a Master’s degree in the same discipline, I felt that it was preparation to study law because it has remained my ultimate desire. So, basically, my decision to study law is purely borne out my love for the profession.

Pupillage
I had my pupillage experience under Jimoh Lasisi (SAN). It was under him that I learnt the rudiments of the trade. He taught me the nitty-gritty of the profession. The knowledge of law is so important because you need it to do many things. It is useful not only for the lawyers, but also the generality of the public. As a new lawyer, it’s the depth of your knowledge of law that gives you confidence in court. And as ordinary citizens, it is only through your knowledge of law that you will know your rights and enforces them where threatened or being violated.

It is important for young lawyer to undergo pupillage because the law in book, which is what you were taught in school, is different from law in practice, which is the actual realities of the profession. You need the guidance of a serious and reputable senior to learn the rudiments of law in practice. As a young lawyer, my principal helped me so much. In fact, my first appearance was at the Court of Appeal, where I successfully moved an application against a senior advocate.
He prepared me well for practical challenges of the profession. Honestly, the gains of pupilage. That is why you find some lawyers en-nominem (lawyers in name) because they did not bother to undergo pupillage.

Managing a law firm
Managing a law firm is a challenging and interesting thing. The most crucial thing in managing a law firm is to master your rule and understand the business of the profession. How do you master your skill? You can only do that by working under an experienced senior for sometime, to learn the basic techniques of practice. Then when sure of yourself, to some extent, you could then begin to think of how you are going to start your own firm. Usually, you need to start small, except you have all the fund to play around with. However, no matter how large you fund are, you’ll still discover that buying books is a serious challenge because of the cost.

Acquisition of modern office equipment, such as computers, photocopying machines, printers could also pose a serious challenge because of the high cost. Also, you have to engage the services of a clerk and a secretary. All these add to the cost, which make the financial implication substantial.
Also, you have to manage your clients strictly, in accordance with the ethics of the profession. However, I would like a situation whereby three or four lawyers pull their resources together to establish and manage a law firm. And within such firm, a kind of specialisation is allowed to evolve based on the perceived skills of the counsel involved in such arrangement. That is better than to run a one-man show, which is the common practice here.

Generally, it is challenging to establish a law firm, and it is even more challenging to run it successfully. Initially, the client may not be coming, but gradually, they would start coming and you are to ensure they will bring more clients to you.
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