ALTERNATIVE CAREER PATHS OUTSIDE

LITIGATION FOR LAWYERS

By: Killi Nancwat (2020)

INTRODUCTION
Dissatisfaction and disillusionment are common in the litigation industry. While I was still a
student in the University, I have heard quite monotonously, lots of young lawyers complain
about how poorly paying litigation is. In as much as those assertions may be true, litigation is
not the only career path in legal practice. I subsequently understood that a lot of young folks
are ignorant of the existence of other areas of legal practice. Apart from ignorance, the
University system is also a contributory factor as the prominent perspective of legal practice
left to the imagination of law students revolves mostly around litigation. As a young lawyer, if
you have determined that a career in litigation is not for you, you can apply the skills you have
developed as a law student, lawyer, paralegal, or legal professional to countless opportunities
outside litigation such as: Banking and Finance, Corporate and Commercial Law, Alternative
Dispute Resolution, Financial Technology, Legal Consulting, Legal Publishing, Energy and
Infrastructure, Intellectual Property, Sports Law, Media and Entertainment Law, Maritime
Law, Capital Markets, and Insurance Law amongst others. This article shall discuss the concept
of litigation vis a vis other important areas of legal practice and the things a young lawyer
should consider in choosing the right career path in law.

CONSIDERATIONS IN CHOOSING A CAREER PATH IN LAW

Selecting a practice area is probably the most difficult thing for a young lawyer, but it is an
important factor affecting a lawyer’s long-term career success, and is something our various
universities and the Nigerian Law School often fail to prepare law students and young lawyers
like me for. When making this decision, work through these primary considerations:

1. Understanding yourself by analysing your Interest/Talents - It sounds like a cliché, but

taking time to truly think through and analyse what area of the legal practice interests you
and where your talents lie will pay high dividends as you embark on your legal career.
This is because different practice areas suit different personalities, both substantively and
skillset-wise.
2. Understanding the Role of Supply and Demand - Gone are the days when simply having a law
degree meant guaranteed job security at a law firm. Employers are ever-more discerning on
credentials, expertise and value. Thus, when selecting a practice area you need to understand the
demands of your prospective employers, stand apart, choose the path less travelled, and be the
purple unicorn.
3. Making an Early Choice and committing to it - Making a choice for a career path in law is most
preferably done in law school, if not done earlier. From the interviews I had with some top tier law

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 firms, I discovered that employers are more attracted to candidates who have some demonstrated
interest in a particular practice area whether that interest is shown through prior work experience,
externships/internships, or even a concentration in classwork. The candidate who has a
demonstrated interest in what the employer is hiring for will win-out over the person whose resume
reads like an unfocused process of elimination. Once you choose, commit because in our current
world of hyper-specialization, it is increasingly difficult for lawyers to retool, or change practice
areas, after their first or second year practicing.
4. Developing Business/Client Relationships - The number one propelling force for creating career
options and job security when practicing law in a firm is your ability to develop business. You
should not be astonished by the assertion that, “it is easier to develop clients in certain practice
areas and geographies than others”. So, if your long-term goal is to become a law firm partner or
hang out your shingle, understand how your practice area selection affects your potential client
base, and whether it is the sort you can attract and develop into meaningful client relationships.
5. Considering Your Long-Term Personal Goals - The intriguing and culminating question here
is, “how will the practice area you choose at the beginning of your career set you up for personal
and professional success 10 years down the road? This question is worthy of consideration in our
quick-moving world, where multiple job changes throughout a career are the norm. Thus, take the
time now to understand if it is an area that lends itself well to your finances, family, geography,
work environment, status/prestige, and your communal responsibility.

OTHER CAREER PATHS OUTSIDE LITIGATION

As a young lawyer who is yet to truly experience what it means to practice law, selecting a
practice area outside the conventional litigation can be daunting. But remember, you currently
have, or can learn through thoughtful research and conversations, the information you need to
make this crucial decision. Some few important alternative legal careers apart from
litigation you might explore in your search for a new career path are as discussed below.
However, before we delve into that, it is imperative we understand the concept of litigation.

Litigation involves the process of bringing about and engaging in a law suit; it typically refers
to trial court practice. Litigation lawyers prosecute and defend litigation matters for their clients
in courts and tribunals. A litigation lawyer should have a solid grasp of the Nigerian judicial
system and winning landmark cases. Disputes in litigation can concern anything from unpaid
bills or unfulfilled contract terms to problems between landlords and tenants, infringement of
IP rights, construction-related claims, the liabilities of insurers, shipping cases, defective
products, media and entertainment industry wrangles, etc. Litigation lawyers work to ensure
that disputes arising from the business and commercial activities of clients are resolved.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Crowded court dockets and rising legal fees have prompted a movement to settle disputes
outside the courtroom. In the alternative dispute resolution process, neutral arbitrators
collaborate with the disputing parties to reach a mutually agreeable resolution. Legal
professionals with strong communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills can find
jobs in the growing field of dispute resolution as mediators, conflict analysts, arbitrators, or
conciliators. A lawyer who wants to specialize in ADR should have expertise in providing
clients with Pre-Dispute Advisory Services, International and Domestic Arbitration and

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other Alternative Dispute Resolution methods such as expert determination, mediation,
conciliation and negotiation.

Banking and Finance

The cliché ‘money makes the world go round’ could not be apter when talking about this area
of legal practice, because, not only does it relate to money, but it traverses the entire globe,
covering numerous legal jurisdictions. Banking and finance law concerns everything money-
related, from personal loans to corporate business deals and focuses on the contractual
relationship between lenders and borrowers. Different areas in this vast topic include: bank
lending, property finance, project finance, acquisition finance, capital markets, etc.

The banking and finance industry involves complex legal, regulatory, and compliance issues.
Legal professionals, particularly those with backgrounds in finance, banking, securities, and
tax, can leverage their knowledge into lucrative positions in the finance industry as escrow
agents, compliance specialists, bank probate administrators, funds administrators, insurance
brokers, trust examiners, risk managers, and other related positions. Lawyers can also give
legal and transactional advice to financial institutions, corporations, and the government.

Capital Markets
The world's capital markets are trading floors (either real or virtual) on which cash-hungry
businesses obtain funding by selling a share of their business (equity) or receiving a loan (debt)
from lenders. Capital markets lawyers advise companies (issuers) and investment banks
(underwriters) on these complex transactions. Solicitors engaged in capital markets can advise
on offerings, fund formation, bonds, listings (on national and international stock exchanges),
prime brokerage and custody, global depositary receipts, demutualization of stock exchanges,
securitizations, establishing and developing trading platforms, derivatives, etc.

Corporate and Commercial Law

Corporate law governs the functioning of companies; from how they are formed to the
transactions they are permitted to engage in. It applies to shareholders, directors, creditors and
other stakeholders by regulating their rights and duties. One of the most important pieces of
legislation in corporate law is the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). Corporate
lawyers are required to carry out tasks such as due diligence (appraising the business for
prospective buyers or partners). They must also negotiate agreements with different parties and
verify all accounts and finances for business transactions. Another key task corporate lawyers
are involved with is navigating the provisions of a company’s constitution, shareholder and
directors’ rights.

On the other hand, commercial law involves legal problems that can occur in the running of
businesses and commercial transactions. Its predominant concerns are contract and tort
law. Commercial law is incredibly important as it affects how businesses are run and how they
in turn work to help and grow society. Furthermore, it provides the rules for businesses and
organisations so as to ensure legal conduct avoiding fraudulent activity. The clients of
commercial solicitors are normally businesses. So, a typical day would involve, for example,
reading contracts and amending them for the clients, drafting legal papers for businesses and
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reviewing business mergers. It may also require high levels of negotiating on behalf of the
client for the terms of a contract, a licensing agreement.

Energy and Projects

Energy and projects practice lawyers provides legal and commercial services and support to
the upstream, midstream and downstream industry; the power and renewables industry as well
as various infrastructure development projects. Expertise in this field spans the entire value
chain from upstream exploration and production to oil and gas processing, transportation,
commercialization and utilization.

Insurance
Insurance is the practice of hedging against financial risk; the practice and its fallout require a
lot of legal work. Insurance and reinsurance (even insurers are vulnerable to financial risk and
they transfer part of their risk on to reinsurers) are practised by a significant number of
specialist law firms and general commercial outfits across Nigeria. Insurance lawyers work on
cases related to property damage, product liability, fraud, insolvency, director's liabilities,
aviation, business interruption, mortgage losses, political events, technology, energy,
environment, construction, finance, etc.

Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual Property law protects creations made by businesses or individuals from others who
try to profit from them. Intellectual property can be separated into various categories such as
trademarks, copyrights, patents, and design rights. Due to the nature of the work involved,
intellectual property lawyers are likely to work for companies in the technology, life sciences,
media and IT sectors where intellectual property is fundamental to a company’s business
strategies.

International Law
International law, also known as public international law, is a field of law that governs the rules
of relations between states. The areas that fall under international law include trade and
investment law, international environmental law, human rights, international humanitarian law,
self-determination of states, rights of migrants, and diplomatic and consular law.

Legal Publishing
As a legal professional, your research, writing, and editing skills are top-notch. You can put
those skills to use in the publishing industry as a legal publisher, editor, writer, or web manager.
The expanding legal industry has sparked the birth of a diverse range of legal publications that
cater to lawyers, paralegals, secretaries, court reporters, litigation support personnel, and other
legal professionals. Every legal profession has its own series of niche publications that seek
skilled writers with experience in the industry. The Internet has also created new opportunities
for the legal professional-turned-writer. You can share your knowledge of the law and
showcase your writing skills by writing web content, contributing to online legal newsletters,
or writing copy for law firm websites.

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Legal Technology
The dawn of the digital age has ushered in new opportunities for the tech-savvy legal
professional. Lawyers, paralegals, IT professionals, and legal personnel with a knack for
technology can find lucrative positions in the growing fields of litigation support, e-discovery,
and computer forensics. Your knowledge of legal software and technology applications
combined with your insight into the legal process and the needs of clients may make you a
good fit for litigation support with a law firm, corporation or legal vendor.

Maritime Law
Maritime law, also referred to as admiralty law or the laws of the sea, is the legal practice area
that governs nautical matters like shipping or anything which is carried out on open waters. For
this reason, it can cover not only matters of business on the sea but also offenses against
international laws and, in some cases, even crime. Maritime law, is a collection of domestic
and international laws and treaties that govern behaviour on the sea. Maritime law lawyers
normally deal with issues regarding cargo on ships, civil matters between owners of vessels
and passengers and piracy issues, registration, inspection and insurance of ships.

Media and Entertainment Law

Media law governs what can be published and broadcast. Some of the elements that media law
includes are censorship and the tort of defamation, as well as piracy. This area of law also
relates to intellectual property law. Consequently, media and entertainment law lawyers deal
with a broad area of law which covers broadcasting, publishing, music, film and television,
digital media (gaming and social media, such as tweets and Facebook campaigns), advertising
and marketing, and theatre.

Property Law/Real Estate

Property law governs the various forms of ownership and tenancy in real property and personal
property. It also provides the principles and rules by which disputes over property are to be
resolved. This field is one of the most stable legal practice areas because the value of land has
always been relatively high and for that reason, the market for buying, selling and leasing
property is unlikely to slow. It is common for lawyers to develop a specialism within this field,
such as residential conveyancing, mortgage lending and property finance, social housing or the
leisure and hotels sector. Note that ‘property’ and ‘real estate’ are entirely interchangeable
terms.

Sports Law
Sports law would be best described as the application of the law to a sporting context. It has
been known to incorporate acts and case law, from areas of law including but not limited
to: contract law relating to a sportsperson’s sponsors; employment law relating to one’s club
or federation contracts; laws relating to the impact of freedom of movement on transfers; varied
employment and immigration issues; IP rights in the lucrative merchandise market and
negotiation on matters affecting a sportsperson’s image rights; and criminal law concerning
doping or on-field altercations. Unlike areas such as conveyancing, criminal or family law,

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sports law cannot necessarily be described as an individual entity that you can train in. Rather
than being able to simply study and qualify in the subject, you would need to have a working
knowledge of various legal specialties. These specialities include finance, IP,
telecommunications, negligence and privacy.

Taxation
Tax lawyers are a permanent feature in almost every industry, but they are most in demand
(and most highly paid) when it comes to transactional and regulatory matters for corporate
clients. Private client lawyers also increasingly have to be tax experts when advising high net
worth individuals on how to structure their wealth. Navigation of this highly analytical and
complex practice area often necessitates a degree of proficiency in mathematics and an interest
in accountancy. Tax lawyers in the private sector ensure that clients structure their business
deals, assets, or day-to-day operations in such a way that they take advantage of legal breaks
and loopholes in tax legislation. A public-sector tax lawyer is primarily employed to provide
advice and assistance regarding regulations, but also works on investigations, audits and
prosecutions of tax evading organisations. Although this is predominantly an advisory practice
area, on occasion matters can veer into litigation territory.

There are other areas of legal practice other than litigation that can also be exploited such as
anti-trust and competition, employment and immigration, mergers and acquisitions, public
policy and regulation, telecommunications, aviation, health care, transportation, restructuring
and insolvency, etc.

CONCLUSION
Young lawyers and law students need to see the bigger picture and understand that law is not
an end in itself but a means to an end. If you are a law graduate or you have been called to the
Nigerian bar, it is not a condition precedent that you must wear your wig and gown. There are
other areas of practice beyond that because lawyers do more than just wear a wig and gown. I
encourage law students, law graduates and young lawyers to seek out opportunities for
internships, mentorships, trainings and seminars because it will expose you to other areas of
legal practice and help you make informed decisions when choosing your career path in law.
Take the time to research your market and understand which industries are driving business
and what type of legal services they will need. Stay ahead of market trends and disruptors; it is
often in these corners that the most exciting opportunities are found. Do not also forget to have
an open mind-set and be open to cutting-edge opportunities evolving in the legal practice.
Choose the right practice area, and you are best positioned to enjoy job security, career
satisfaction and overall long-term success. Choose incorrectly, and you will likely face a
continual struggle for professional fulfilment.

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