Read this and couldn't help but share it. Guess despite being 'learned', not merely 'educated', emotions and sentiments creep in sometimes to ruin the 'excellent pedigree' lawyers ALWAYS claim to have!
Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!
http://saharareporters.com/news-page/legal-fireworks-over-senior-lawyer%E2%80%99s-sexist-comments
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Monday, 30 April 2012
Starting Out
For a young lawyer, starting out on your own is the scariest thing to do (unless your parents have the clout to set you up and have their friends patronise you). 99% of new wigs have a template cover letter and resumes in their bags; something they can rustle out at short notice!!!
You complete Law School with very good grades and a lot of excitement. Then you brag to your non-law friends that you have all it takes to become a renowed lawyer in a few years. You brag about not collecting a penny less in your professional fee (usually put at a whopping 10%, no matter how large the amount in question is. Then you start applying to the bigger chambers - the Babalakins, Olanipekun and those with suspicious looking Oyinbo names.
When no positive response come from these, you downgrade your search to second tier law firms, this goes on and on until you get to the really mudane firms. The type you see in market places (tufiakwa!!!); where the Principals eat African salad in front of their clients without batting an eye, and you immediately suspect these Principals can't be lawyers afterall. For some new wigs, that is the last straw. They would rather set out on their own and become their own bosses, submit to the tongue-lashing of the Judges to get experience!!!
For some others, they pitch their tents in corporate practice or resurrect a vocation ... at the end of the day, we are all in it to make money abi? When you speak to a young lawyer/Juniors about the legal profession, it is apt for them to be seen moaning about how insensitive Seniors can be. Seniors make it look like its so crowded at the top, no-one should venture! A friend who works in an A-list law firm has told me that his earnest prayer is for his Principal's firm collapses so he can start a firm with whatever files that he is able to 'escape' with.
One of my old Principals worked in the law firm of a popular human rights activist and when it was obvios he was ready to set out on his own, he did some kind of mafia moves on his boss, which ensured that he targeted some of the good clients (good client to a lawyer is one who pays his fees when due, who barely knows the law and relies absolutely on his lawyer to break down the Judge's grammar to him in a language he understands), he made it almost impossible for the clients to meet their lawyer, the Big Boss (Guess it was easy then as the only means of communication was the office landline? Don't try this tactic now o .... Mobile phones and emails to the rescue... ). In the alternative, he would see the client himself, show genuine concern and sympathy towards their cause, and make himself available in court. Soon, when the clients managed to see the Big Boss, they insisted that Barrister Dee must appear in court since Big Boss was very busy .... bla bla bla
When Barrister Dee left, he left with a sizeable amount of files and faithful clients who he had given a 'personal touch'. Having such a start-up cushioned the effect of leaving Mr Big Boss and the referrals he got from them helped him build a formidable chamber. Today, he keeps all his 'important' files under lock and key, under the close scrutiny of Closed Circuit Security Cameras. Although his relationship with Mr Big Boss was irretrievably broken, he is in mega millions today ... and like everything Nigerian, the past os long forgotten.
I'll like to hear from you peeps. How dis you start out in the legal profession?
You complete Law School with very good grades and a lot of excitement. Then you brag to your non-law friends that you have all it takes to become a renowed lawyer in a few years. You brag about not collecting a penny less in your professional fee (usually put at a whopping 10%, no matter how large the amount in question is. Then you start applying to the bigger chambers - the Babalakins, Olanipekun and those with suspicious looking Oyinbo names.
When no positive response come from these, you downgrade your search to second tier law firms, this goes on and on until you get to the really mudane firms. The type you see in market places (tufiakwa!!!); where the Principals eat African salad in front of their clients without batting an eye, and you immediately suspect these Principals can't be lawyers afterall. For some new wigs, that is the last straw. They would rather set out on their own and become their own bosses, submit to the tongue-lashing of the Judges to get experience!!!
For some others, they pitch their tents in corporate practice or resurrect a vocation ... at the end of the day, we are all in it to make money abi? When you speak to a young lawyer/Juniors about the legal profession, it is apt for them to be seen moaning about how insensitive Seniors can be. Seniors make it look like its so crowded at the top, no-one should venture! A friend who works in an A-list law firm has told me that his earnest prayer is for his Principal's firm collapses so he can start a firm with whatever files that he is able to 'escape' with.
One of my old Principals worked in the law firm of a popular human rights activist and when it was obvios he was ready to set out on his own, he did some kind of mafia moves on his boss, which ensured that he targeted some of the good clients (good client to a lawyer is one who pays his fees when due, who barely knows the law and relies absolutely on his lawyer to break down the Judge's grammar to him in a language he understands), he made it almost impossible for the clients to meet their lawyer, the Big Boss (Guess it was easy then as the only means of communication was the office landline? Don't try this tactic now o .... Mobile phones and emails to the rescue... ). In the alternative, he would see the client himself, show genuine concern and sympathy towards their cause, and make himself available in court. Soon, when the clients managed to see the Big Boss, they insisted that Barrister Dee must appear in court since Big Boss was very busy .... bla bla bla
When Barrister Dee left, he left with a sizeable amount of files and faithful clients who he had given a 'personal touch'. Having such a start-up cushioned the effect of leaving Mr Big Boss and the referrals he got from them helped him build a formidable chamber. Today, he keeps all his 'important' files under lock and key, under the close scrutiny of Closed Circuit Security Cameras. Although his relationship with Mr Big Boss was irretrievably broken, he is in mega millions today ... and like everything Nigerian, the past os long forgotten.
I'll like to hear from you peeps. How dis you start out in the legal profession?
Friday, 27 April 2012
How Law Began
Becoming a lawyer was not the highest expectation of my heart as a child. I have always admired professionals in uniforms. My dad was a soldier, I lived the greater part of my life in an army barracks, so falling in love with well ironed uniforms came naturally. I still do a double take when I see a well-starched and ironed uniform!
When I got into SS1 (the class where teenagers weave their aspirations and fantasies into reality), I went for the Sciences as it was my father's dream that I would become a Doctor (I secretly preferred the Nurse's uniform anyway). Beyond the elements, Chemistry was a blur. Physics was pure torture! I couldnt understand why Further Mathematics was in our curriculum and secretly cursed the inventors, Physicists and Chemists in my heart. They were created to torture me!
I towed the line of honour in SS2, dropped the annoying Sciences and took on Literature in English ... then, I found my true calling. At 15, I was writing poems Wole Soyinka would have been proud of (or so my Teachers said). I was the toast of my Literature and English Language Tutors, but while my father encouraged me to take Government seriously so I could become a lawyer (as that was the only way he could be compensated if I wasnt going to be studying Medicine), in my heart, I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to show starry eyed teenagers the beautiful world of Poetry. I wanted them to see William Shakespeare as the truest hero of the arts!!! My mum couldn't understand how in spite of all resources expended, I would settle for a 'lowly profession' as Teaching. She put her 'Mama Antics' to work, worked on my Psyche, and today, I brandish a Law Degree!!!! What my Mum told me? .... that's gist for another day ;)
When I got into SS1 (the class where teenagers weave their aspirations and fantasies into reality), I went for the Sciences as it was my father's dream that I would become a Doctor (I secretly preferred the Nurse's uniform anyway). Beyond the elements, Chemistry was a blur. Physics was pure torture! I couldnt understand why Further Mathematics was in our curriculum and secretly cursed the inventors, Physicists and Chemists in my heart. They were created to torture me!
I towed the line of honour in SS2, dropped the annoying Sciences and took on Literature in English ... then, I found my true calling. At 15, I was writing poems Wole Soyinka would have been proud of (or so my Teachers said). I was the toast of my Literature and English Language Tutors, but while my father encouraged me to take Government seriously so I could become a lawyer (as that was the only way he could be compensated if I wasnt going to be studying Medicine), in my heart, I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to show starry eyed teenagers the beautiful world of Poetry. I wanted them to see William Shakespeare as the truest hero of the arts!!! My mum couldn't understand how in spite of all resources expended, I would settle for a 'lowly profession' as Teaching. She put her 'Mama Antics' to work, worked on my Psyche, and today, I brandish a Law Degree!!!! What my Mum told me? .... that's gist for another day ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)