Navigating Life as a Baby Wig in Nigeria (PT 1)
It has been six calendar years — or seven legal years, judging from the calculation of practitioners’ fees — since I passed the Nigerian bar exams, and I have had to reflect on the journey so far, especially during my earlier years in legal practice. I was fortunate to learn some tips and also get caught up in experiences that opened me to lessons in surviving the Nigerian terrains. These are nuggets gathered from my days as an intern at Perchstone and Greys — a thriving law firm in Lagos — as well as my experience in starting a thriving partnership in less than 3 years after completing law school. I will be sharing my stories here.
I got very interested in studying Law after watching a United States TV series, “The Practice”, which aired on select TV stations across Nigeria. I read a lot of John Grisham novels at the time and had dreams of arguing in front of a judge, impressing the jury with eloquent arguments and leaving a lasting impression on the faces of the audience. I also hated injustice and always wanted to stand up for “the little guy”. Of course, Nigeria does not practice a jury system, but I did not know this at the time. A lot of family members also suggested that I study law, because according to them, I was “always arguing” and thought I was best suited as a lawyer.
Reflecting on the journey so far, I can state categorically that navigating legal practice in Nigeria is pretty frustrating for young lawyers, particularly the “new wigs”(a term used to describe lawyers in their first year of practice) and all the fantasies from my teenage years were far from the reality of law practice in Nigeria. The work culture in many law firms is toxic, and young lawyers just starting out their careers are frequently subjected to emotional (and sometimes even physical) abuse. Sometimes, it is difficult to see who is more oppressed between the litigant seeking justice in the courtroom and the young lawyer being subjected to psychological trauma in a law office. There are instances where clients, seeing what young lawyers are subjected to — the long hours at work, bullying from senior colleagues and non-payment of salaries that are meager in the first place — give these young lawyers cash gifts as a means of encouraging them. It is not all doom and gloom, as some are lucky enough to work in good law firms with commendable work culture as I did. But such healthy environments are usually the exception rather than the rule.
It is at law school you will notice that a significant chunk of what is being taught at lecture halls is not what is obtainable in practice. The lecturers admit to this: the system does not teach you how to thrive as a budding legal practitioner, but instead prepares you to be at the mercy of senior lawyers and succumb to a system of tyranny. Many new wigs find themselves earning less than a $100 (an equivalent of N36,000) a month, and are still expected to work long hours on weekdays and even weekends. Many of these lawyers are not paid bonuses or leave allowances, and are prone to constant bullying and abusive behavior from their employers.
“Seniority at the bar” a slogan usually bandied around to elicit respect from junior lawyers, has since become a tool of oppression by these senior lawyers to the extent that that being a new wig makes you susceptible to derisive remarks. Many have had to realize that the profession they loved and spent 6 (or more) years of their lives studying, is not what they were told it was. In essence, they were sold a lie. I have a friend who had to switch careers entirely because the trauma he faced early on in his law career.
Through my experiences, I was able to discover ways of surviving and thriving in spite of these aforementioned challenges.
“Bad advice will blind you, good advice will instruct you,
excellent advice will enlighten you, and transcendent
advice will elevate you”
- Matshona Dhilwayo (Author, Entrepreneur and Philosopher)
I was an intern at the law firm of Perchstone and Greys Lekki, Lagos, when a senior associate gave me an advice that changed my approach to law practice in Nigeria. He said to me:
“As an aspirant to the bar, when you eventually start practising, firms will not be willing to pay you what you desire or what you think you are worth in your early years of practice. You will have to find a way to survive, and you must learn to network”.
It is important to build a network so strong that you become a household name in your chosen field of practice, even at the early stages of your career.
This senior associate also advised me to print an attractive and professional complementary card and, added that I must attend events. He said I must be able to initiate and sustain conversations and be bold, because no one would hire a timid lawyer. He further noted that I must be willing to learn on the job and seek advice when I get stuck.
During my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) days, I was part of the lucky new wigs who did not have to work on weekends, so I used the weekends to attend events, whether they were mere social gatherings or significant religious events. At that time I had also printed my complimentary card. I made small talk with anyone willing to have a conversation with me and never left without sharing my complimentary card. However, no legal briefs came till about six months into my national service year.
My first brief was centred round property law: a client wanted me to be the lawyer in charge of his property somewhere at Ajah, located in the uppity part of Lagos. I was the lawyer in charge of screening the tenants, writing notices to quit and recovery of premises. I was also placed on a retainer by the client. Sometimes I called my lawyer friends to assist me when I felt overwhelmed on the job, and this helped build a formidable network which culminated into a partnership. I also had mentors whom I called and trusted to give me sound advice on legal challenges with regards to clients’ work.
Thinking And Acting Like A Salesman
“Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman
and not the attitude of the prospect”
- William Clement Stone (Business man and Philanthropist)
It is possible to fuse certain elements of salesmanship into securing clients early on in legal practice, without necessarily flouting the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners (RPC).
Rule 39 of the RPC allows a lawyer to engage in advertising or promotion in connection with his practice of the law, but under clear boundaries. The Rule also states that advertisements or promotions should not be so frequent or obstructive as to cause annoyance to those to whom it is directed. It also prohibits soliciting professional employment either directly or indirectly by advertisement, personal communication or self-aggrandizement. Obviously, this poses a huge challenge to the 21st century Nigerian lawyer, since we know that the language of the 21st century is a digital one and an effective lawyer will have to be digitally inclined, which includes the effective usage of new media for self-promotion.
While we wait for the Rules to be amended to accommodate the advent of social media and other disruptive technologies and artificial intelligence, it is important we make do with what is tenable within the extant rules.
I am a soccer fan who religiously follows elite soccer leagues in Europe and America. One day while coming back from work, I noticed a couple of fancy hotels along the Lekki-Ajah axis, and one weekend, I decided to watch a soccer game in one of those fancy hotels, rather than watch the game at my apartment. The idea was to end up meeting affluent people who could be potential clients. The conversations were passionate in most cases, but I always made sure to maintain civility. I began frequenting these hotels on weekends to watch soccer, and I noticed that some of the hotel guests were not only developing properties in that vicinity, but also lived outside the country and only lodged there when they were in town.
The conversations were mostly soccer-related initially, but we soon began talking about politics and career advancement, amongst other things. Soon they nicknamed me “The Law”, after which I would disclose what I did for a living and give them my complimentary card. That alone did a lot of marketing and advertising for me, and soon I became quite popular around that axis.
I also met entertainers and record label executives at that hotel. I converted my home to a make — shift law office to cut costs. In summary, I made millions from frequenting that hotel, less than two years into my career as a legal practitioner. I knew I had to be a man of integrity and have a sound work ethic if I was going to sustain the relationship I had built up until that point.
For example, there was an instance where a client transferred a huge some of money to my client account for the purchase a choice property on his behalf. The client was out of the country and had only seen pictures of the property sent to him by his relatives. I did my due diligence and told him that the property did not exist. Apparently, his relatives had planned to obtain money from him under false pretenses. I told his relatives that I did not want to be a part of it. I then informed the client of their plans and returned the money back to him. He was grateful as expected and introduced me to several of his friends, who eventually became clients.
It is very important for young lawyers to have a good work ethic and equally be diligent as well as consistent, if they are going to build a sustainable practice for themselves.
In the second part of this piece, I will shed light on creating a personal brand with little or no cost. I will also talk about content marketing and how law students can create and gain valuable network and experience before starting out their legal careers.
