by 
By Dr. Raphael Christopher
Senior Member Enugu Bar
Permit me to heartily congratulate the newly inaugurated Barristers and Solicitors of The Supreme Court of Nigeria.
You have done well. You have faced down the pandemic challenges and have overcome and here you stand today a learned counsel! You should be proud of yourselves. Your family are very proud of you and your stellar achievements.
But the journey to your inauguration has not been easy for most of you, if not all of you and sometimes you came to the brink of actually quitting but whilst in that no man’s land, a divine intervention took place and you fought the good fight and got back to where you belong and succeeded in conquering that obstacle and hindrances and now as a result of your tenacity and doggedness, you achieved your dream and now being celebrated.
You deserve all the accolades and congratulations!
One of the reason why you should be celebrated is because, the whole world has been facing the unparalleled challenges brought upon by the Covid 19 pandemic.
In fact, every strata of society was severely affected and are still being affected. Many of our loved ones fell asleep never to wake up again. In the midst of these unprecedented challenges, there remained the challenges of legal education and your qualification and at this point, where we have to acknowledge and give a great kudos to the Directors, Staff, Lecturers and members of the faculty in all the Nigerian Law School in the country for they are the unsung heros who had to adapt quickly and under tremendous pressure, costs constraints and challenges to reorganise their teaching and mode of delivery in order to ensure that you receive the very best law education that will prepare you for your bright future! And by the fact of your graduation, they have succeeded and they too deserve our grateful thanks.
As the ceremony comes to a close, let me offer a few pointers from experience and practice that hopefully serve to help you ensure your bright future in the Legal profession so that in a few years time you hopefully would be able to pass on to the newly inaugurated barristers and solicitors then, your wisdom to help them too and so it continues for all time.
You never forget your call date. I was called in 1990 and to this day the memories are so still vivid in my mind. It was unforgettable because of the many celebrations that followed my call.
Looking back, have I achieved the hopes that was expressed over me at that point? I would say no. It has been mixed. In some ways I have and in other ways I haven’t.
I remember my pupillage time spent with Chief Olisa Agbakoba SAN in his chambers in Apapa, Lagos and he taught me so very much during my pupillage and much of his teaching has stayed with me and helped me along the way.
The very first principle is to be honest fearless, courteous and act with integrity at all times. Some of you will be Judges, SANs, Professors, Lecturers and even Governors of states and may be even President of Nigeria. Some of you will work in the Government and rise to very highest offices in the land. Some
will travel overseas and be established there. Some of you will work in banks and industries sector and will do well there and others may enter private practice and open their own firms and do well.
Some of you will change history and help in drafting the laws of the Land but there would be some of you who may not do any of these things.
But wherever position and situation you find yourself, be the same – act with integrity, fearless, honesty and courteous in all your dealings with everyone.
You will face many challenges with lack of finances, clients generation, courtroom advocacy, time management and clients expectations to name but a few. Yet you should still act with fearlessness, integrity and honesty in all these varied situations.
Secondly, be an active member of your Local NBA branch and don’t just be indifferent. You are not on your own. You are part of the most prestigious and oldest vocations ever to grace the face of this earth. Be proud of belonging to it.
Attend your local NBA branches meetings and be known to your fellow members and participate heartily in the programs and contribute your time and funds towards whatever is needed to promote the NBA branch . Do the same in the NBA at the national level.
Thirdly, commit to continuous professional development and self improvement in the law for the rest of your life. Read widely. Spend the necessary time to do your research on cases and look at the many wonderful resources that your law lecturers have given you, look at the rules of courts and familiarise yourself with them and become conversant with them. This is the bedrock of success in advocacy.
Fourthly, start now to identify an area of law that you are passionate about and you have an aptitude for and which you can make a good living from enough to pay your house rent and put food on the table and decent clothes on your back. Some of you may be good in case research whilst others may be good litigators. Whatever area you are good at- begin to seek to specialise in this area at your earliest convenience. The days of Jack of all trades in the legal profession is long gone and collaborative law is and should be the way forward by the operation of the doctrine of necessity.
This is because the vast plethora of cases churned out by the legal system is vast and from different courts, state courts, Federal courts, various specialised courts such as the customary courts, labour courts and various tribunals constituted within the Nigerian Legal system.
No one can humanly keep up to date with all of these plus the various laws and edicts enacted by the National Assembly.
This is why I have argued for ever more specialisation which makes sense is the way forward but then enhance this specialisation by bringing in other counsels with different specialisations together to form a collaborative law practice.
This is my proffered solution for the new working model for legal practice in this 21st century and will be tweaked and improved and will be the norm in the upcoming 22nd Century!
Fifth, embrace technology. Now more than ever, the Covid 19 pandemic has shown that innovation is now the norm and very soon robot lawyers and courts may well be the norm. Remember I have predicted this scenario here so when they come to pass, you can reference what I have said.
This is the future. You need to be prepared for it. You need to embrace technology and technical aids to enhance your law skills and practice. You must invest your time to learn how they work and what you can achieve with them. Do not rely on the old ways of doing things and old patterns as they are slowly but surely giving way for the new technically enhanced methods of working. Yet, still respect and work humbly with our colleagues who are used to the old ways for they have a lot of wisdom and experience that you will do well to listen and take on board.
Sixthly , seek help from members of your local NBA branch when you don’t know what to do and how to do it. There are many senior lawyers in every NBA branch who have been through the same challenges that you have gone through and made it through and they have words of wisdom and can help you overcome these challenges.
Network widely and help your less fortunate colleagues without arrogance for all fingers are never going to be equal and if you happen to find yourself in bad place, do reach out for your colleagues for help.
Seventh, help the oppressed. Help those who have no voice. The widows, the orphan. The disabled. The poor. Those with mental and physical challenges. They have no one. Be their helper and do this regularly and God’s blessings will come upon you and your family abundantly and you will feel good too.
Eight, make sure you make time for yourself to unwind and relax with your family and loved ones. The pressures inherent in the legal profession is enormous at all levels whether it be the bar or the bench.
Many long and sleepless nights will be spent on getting together cases and drafting paperwork for court matters and by the end of it you will be physically exhausted but unable to sleep.
The Law Is a jealous mistress!
This is not good for your health and well being especially if you engage in these pattern for years and years. As your body gets older the less you are able to function to the same degree of excellence and nature will force you to take a break whether you like it or not. So, to this end, do go for full medical checkup at once a year so anything out of the ordinary can be picked up and dealt in time before it may be late.
Take up regular exercise and watch what you eat and drink so that by so doing you will prolong your good health and be fit sharp and active all your life.
Finally, before you embark on all your adventures in the legal world, take some time to go and appreciate all those great or small who helped you get to your inauguration and let them know you appreciate their help.
And keep a thankful heart towards colleagues whether you are on opposite sides in the court case, still make sure you are courteous always to everyone and if you follow my advice you will indeed succeed in the profession and gain respect of your colleagues and be a credit to the legal profession!
