Lawyers learn basics of the profession during pupillage
By ONUOHA OLIVER
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

For Olusegun Adesokan, the belief that lawyers are liars is product of ignorance. Saying that lawyers are not prophets or magicians, he urge clients to tell the truth at all times.
He also says the judiciary has helped to redefine the democratic evolution of the country.

Pupillage
After my National Youth Service, I joined Shodipo and Co before establishing my law firm, Adesokan & Adesokan. Pupillage is important and that’s why the curriculum of the university is structured to meet the dynamics of today. When we were in university, we didn’t have opportunity of internship. We only had excursions, maybe once in a session to law courts for two or three hours.

By and large, I believe pupillage is important because after law school, when you start practicing, you will discover that what you were taught in school is quite different from what you practice. That is when you learn the basics of the profession.

First appearance
It was during my youth service. My principal said I was going to appear in court and I remember that in that matter we were defendants. A financial house had instituted an action against our clients for non-payment of its debt to them. All night, I was just thinking I had prepared my presentation and all that. I was nervous initially. I got to court and announced my appearance. The acclaimer said he had a motion for judgment against our client because he had not filed for defence. I said I was holding briefs for my principal and that we were in the process of filing our defence.

At last, the judge, retired Justice Silver came to my help and refused their application. That saved my day.

Cost of running a law firm
You need space. You need a functional library. I don’t mean that you should have all the books, but you need some basic practice books, law reports and other precedence books. If you’re specializing, as much as possible have fundamental books that will help you. You need a secretary that will handle your correspondences, depending on the scope of work you have. You could have juniors or stand on your own.

You’ve got to pay electricity bills and NEPA is not reliable; so you need a generator. You have to continue to update your knowledge of the law, attending courses, workshops, seminars and these things come at a cost.

Managing clients
This profession, is about crisis management. We have to get to court and it’s about dispute resolution. The more experience and skill you gather are precepts that lead you in managing relationships. Clients are your customers. In the business world, customers are always right. What we are selling is professional service. The customer is bound to listen to you. He is in a mess and wants you to get him out of that mess. First of all, you have to be honest. Integrity matters. If he has a good case, let him know. If he doesn’t, let him know. It’s important.

Some lawyers may misrepresent facts because they want to earn the fee from the clients. Once he knows you are honest, he’ll always come back to you. When it comes to charging fees, I believe it might be different from client to client. In this profession, one of the things I’ve been taught and I’ve always imbibed is that we are in the business of social engineering and in the business of helping the weak, poor and voiceless to get a voice in the society. I do some briefs probono, I see it as part of my contribution to the development of the society, I see it as giving back to society what I’ve gotten from it.

Assessment of judiciary
I have to give them kudos; they have done a lot to stabilize our polity. Only God knows what would have happened if not for some of the radical judgment that the judiciary has thrown up. I like to commend them, in the face of intimidation, threat to their lives and families. They have decided to stick with the rule of law. In a way, they have helped to redefine the democratic evolution of the country and now, we know parties can’t just substitute candidate. Now, we know INEC has no right to disqualify a candidate.

Now, we know the Federal Government can’t just sit down and hold on to revenue belonging to state or local government councils. As far as I’m concerned, they are the last man standing in this dispensation and I can assure you their decision will shapen our democracy in years to come.

Lawyers as liars
Lawyers don’t lie, but they have the tendency of looking at affairs from the perspective of the clients. When we enter the temple of justice to handle a case for clients, we expect them to say the truth at all times.

Cases I may not handle
When clients come to me, I give them an idea of my strategy. If they don’t agree with it, I don’t proffer any superior argument. It is either we agree or disagree. Specifically, I would handle all cases. If there are cases I’m unable to handle, due to one reasons or the other, I could recommend or refer them to other lawyers.

Appointment of SANs
The procedures have been fair. The challenge we have is that they can only appoint a limited number in a year, a precise number. It used to be 12, but was increased to 15. In most cases, you find so many people applying for 15 awards or titles. In that regard, some might be aggrieved, but lawyers have been able to manage it. I don’t know if anybody has gone to court to challenge his non-appointment. I’m sure they understand, we have so many people chasing 15 places. The probability is one out of many. The procedures are fair.

First of all, there are requirements that you have to meet and I’ll commend the legal practitioner’s disciplinary committee for doing a good job, year in year out.

Future of the legal profession
The advent of democracy has opened up opportunities for lawyers in Nigeria. For example, anybody starting a business, foreign or local, needs a vehicle and it’s the lawyer that can help you obtain this vehicle. You need to incorporate a limited liability company or a business name; it’s the lawyer who will put these in place. The lawyer’s shop is the first port of call, as an entrepreneur. Opportunities are emerging daily. As our economy continues to open up, there’ll be need for our services.

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