17TH November 2017

COURSE OVERVIEW AND HISTORY OF THE

LEGAL PROFESSION
RECOMMENDED TEXT BOOKS
1. OBI OKOYE: LAW IN PRACTICE IN NIGERIA (PROF. ETHICS AND
LAWYERING SKILLS)
2. AKINOLA: PRINCIPLES OF LAW IN PRACTICE (PROF. ETHICS &
SKILLS)
3. DOHERTY: LEGAL PRACTICE AND MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA.

The course is divided into 4 parts

Part A: Professional Ethics and Responsibilities of a lawyer
Part B: Law office Management
Part C: Legal practitioners’ account and remuneration
Part D: ADR, Communication and drafting Skills

Overview of ADR methods

ADR simply means alternative dispute resolution
 Negotiation: it must be direct transaction between party A and party B,
although it can be conducted by a counsel on behalf of his client
 Mediation
 Conciliation
 Arbitration
 Other ADR methods

Advantages of ADR
1) It saves time

History
Who was the first lawyer in Nigeria? 1888
First female lawyer (1935): Stella Mark, she was also the first female magistrate
First Nigerian to become a judge (1931) Olumuyiwa jigbo
First indigenous CJN (1958)
First name on the roll of SAN (1975) – Chief Rotimi Williams
First Nigerian Attorney General Federation (1960) – Justice Taslim Elias
First female CJN (2012) Justice Mariam Aluma Muktar (retired)

History of the Legal Profession in Nigeria

How did the legal profession start in Nigeria?

 The Supreme Court Ordinance of 1863 establishing the SC of Her Majesty’s
settlement of Lagos was introduced and to be used in the then British territory
to facilitate British Rule. This established a proper legal structure
 Lawyers were needed for this Court causing the promulgation of the Supreme
Court Ordinance of 1876

1876-1914
They went to Britain Ireland and Scotland
Three Categories of Lawyers:
1) Professionally qualified lawyers – they qualified as barristers
Requirements:
- Must have been called to the English bar in one of the three Inns of
Court by Benchers.
- Dinners were compulsory (12)
2) Articled Lawyers
Conditions:
- They must have served in a law office of a practicing legal practitioner
in Nigeria or gold coast,
- Must have done at least five year,
- Must have passed examinations conducted by person appointed by the
CJN
3) Local Attorneys. Conditions: fit and proper persons with basic academic
qualification. Sat and passed exams conducted by the CJN to test the general
knowledge of laws of England and the colony. Term was for 6 months and
renewable for another 6

Local attorneys were appointed at the discretion of the CJN especially where was a
dearth
Case of Osho Davies

1914-1962: second Era

The SC ordinance of 1876 was repealed by that of 1943
The SC (CPR) 1945 was established and set out new criteria for qualifications of LP’s
in Nigeria
The 1945 Rules provided for 4 ways to become a legal practitioner.
In addition to having been professionally qualified and showing evidence of good
character, he/she must have:
- Have also practiced as a barrister or solicitor in the courts of a british
colony for at least two years
- Read in the law office of a practicing barrister or solicitor of 5 years
and above for one year
- Practiced in the court of the country of his call to bar for two years
post call
- Read in Nigeria in the chambers of practicing lawyer of more than 10
years for at least 2 years

Shortcoming of the lawyer trained in England

LP’s enrolled and practiced both as barristers and solicitors whereas they were trained
as either barrister or solicitor
 LP’s of then studied English legal and constitutional system and were
therefore were not able to adapt to laws relating to our local circumstances
 Politically, the LP trained under a unitary system of government and practiced
what he learnt under a federal system of government.
 Most of them didn’t have formal education, they just had to have dinners

Because of these issues a committee was set up in 1959 called the Unsworth
committee which made recommendations.
Most of these recommendations were accepted.
Law school was started in 1962 but classes started in 1963 on 213 igbosere road.
Developments upon recommendations:
- NLS was established in 1962 by the council of legal education
- A law degree was to be obtainable
Significant things in this era: Qualifications that lawyers should attach, coming in of
the unsworth committee that made recommendations that changed the face of it

1962- date (present era)

Person that could practice:

- Those entitled to practice generally
- Those entitled to practice for purposes of particular office
- Those entitled to practice for purposes of any particular proceedings
section 2(2)

Those entitled to practice generally

Persons whose names are kept on the roll of LP’s kept by the registrar of the SC
Two categories:
- Those called to bar after presentation of call to bar certificate at the
supreme court
- Those enrolled by virtue of the regulation made by the attorney
general of the federation

For a person to be called to the bar three things must be in place:

- Produce a qualifying certificate to the benchers
- Called to the bar
- Have your name enrolled at the bar. How to enrol? – take your
qualifying certificate to the registrar of the SC to enrol it.
- Pay call to bar fees **

For a person to obtain a Qualifying Certificate he must

- Consideration for issuance: citizen/non-citizen that has successfully
completed the course at the Nigerian law school (note what makes up
an academic year)
- Be of good character (see Okonjo v council of legal education (1979)
digest of AC 28
- Keep three dining terms

Note that certain category of person may be exempted.

- Total exemption
 Only applicable to Nigerian and is discretionary
 Certificate of exemption is awarded
Note the 5 conditions that must be met before a person be granted total exemption:
1) He is Nigerian citizen; and
2) He is qualified to be admitted to the law school
3) His qualifying subjects for admission to the law school include all the core
subjects prescribed by the Council of Legal Education
4) At the time he qualified to attend the law school or a reasonable time
thereafter he lost the opportunity of doing so for reasons beyond his control.
 5) The person has gained experience in a law firm for over 5 years for over years
that it would be inexpedient for him to go through the law school after gaining
such experience.
This law is yet to e exercised as no one has gotten a total exemption. A person given a
total exemption is not given a qualifying certificate but rather a certificate of
exemption

Partial exemption is exemption from the bar part 1 program

And there are two types
a) Graduates from Common Law jurisdictions who have been teaching Law for
at least five years and above in a faculty of law in a Nigerian University may
be exempted from Bar Part I course; and
b) Graduates from Non- Common Law Jurisdictions who have taught Law in
faculty of law in a Nigerian University for ten years and above may be
exempted from the bar part I course
Call to Bar
4-requirement s4 of the LPA 2004

Note:
It is the benchers who issue the certificate
Benchers act as sponsors to the aspirants

Enrolment at the SC
- This is done by tendering candidate’s certificate to the Registrar of the
SC to have his/her name entered on the roll of LP’s in Nigeria
- The order

Category B
- Those enrolled by virtue of the AG’s regulation
- Its usually foreigners practicing. There are certain condition that need
to be fulfilled
The AGF consults with the general council of the bar and the body of
benchers and by regulation provide for the enrolment of names of LP’s
Thereafter, satisfy the CJN as follows:
- Produce a certificate signed by the AGF confirming citizenry or
nationality or members states of the AU and that that country offers
reciprocal arrangement

Note: that it may be withdrawn upon that country withdrawing its reciprocity.

Those entitled to practice for purpose of a particular office: s2 (3) LPA

- Office of the AG, S-G and DPP
- Legal officers in the public service government departments
- Non-lawyers designated to carry out legal duties particularly the
attendance of judicial proceedings – no longer obtainable because we
now have more than enough lawyers to fill the role

Those entitled to practice for purpose of particular proceedings.

Conditions:
 - Applicant must be entitled to practice as an advocate in his own
country
- Applicant’s country’s legal system must be similar to that of Nigeria

Fee must be paid to the registrar of the SC

Awolowo v Minister of Foreign Affairs (1966) NSCC 209

Contents of drafting instructions

1. Sufficient background information about the law
2. Principal objects of the law
3. Ways/mechanisms to achieve objects
4. Problems or challenges envisaged
 24th November 2017
REGULATORY BODIES IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION
AND EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS OF A LEGAL
PRACTITIONER IN NIGERIA
There are 8 regulatory bodies:
1. Body of Benchers
2. Council of Legal Education
3. Legal practitioners Privileges Committee
4. Legal practitioners Disciplinary committee
5. Legal practitioners Remuneration committee (LPRC)
6. National Judicial Council (NJC)
7. General Council of Bar (GCB)
8. Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)

Body of benchers
They can be defined as people of the highest distinction and pedigree in the legal
professions.
Establishment: by the Legal practitioners Act 1962 s.3
Members:
1. The chief Justice of Nigeria and all the justices of the Supreme Court
2. President of the Court of Appeal
3. Attorney General of the federation
4. Presiding justices of the Court of Appeal divisions
5. Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and the president of the National
Industrial Court
6. Chief judge of the Federal Capital Territory
7. Attorney General of the states
8. President of the Nigerian Bar Association
9. Chief judges of the states of the federation
10. Chairman of the Legal Council of Education
11. 30 Legal Practitioner’s nominated by the Nigerian Bar Association; and
12. At least 10 persons of not less than 15 years at the bar who appear to the Body
of Benchers to be eminent members of the Legal Profession
13. Honorary members appointed by the Body of Benchers

Life Members of the BOB

These are members that are part of the body of benchers for the rest of their life
They could be
- Statutory Life Benchers e.g. CJN; or
- By appointment: here the body looks within itself to find people who
are credible enough to be life benchers

Rights and privileges of the BOB

- Right to sit at the inner bar or front row where the former does not
exist
- Privilege to mention matters for motion out of turn LPA s6(1)
Note that the privileges are for the life members only
Functions of the BOB
S 10(a)
- Formal call to bar of aspirants to the Bar
- Disciplinary jurisdiction over members of the legal profession
- Disciplinary jurisdiction over aspirants to the bar.
- Prescribe call fees for aspirants
- Issuance of call to bar certificate to new wigs
- Prescribes the number of dining terms (3) before qualifying for call.
- Ensures that an aspirant is of good character. Aspirants must have two
as sponsors
- Ensures the maintenance of the high standing of the profession.
- Appointment of caretaker committee in running the affairs of the
Nigerian Bar Association.

Legal Practitioners disciplinary Committee

Membership: s11
1. Chairman (shall be neither CJN or JSC)
2. President of the CA and one justice of the CA
3. Two CJ’s
4. Two AG’s
5. 4 members of the NBA who have no interest

Functions
- Considers and determines complaints brought against the LP. S.9
- Gives direction to the registrar of the SC where LP has been found
guilty of professional misconduct s 12(c)

Council of legal education

Established: set up by the then legal education act 1962 now Legal Education
(consolidation, etc.) Cap L10 vol.8, LFN 2004)

Membership
- Chairman appointed by the president on the recommendation on the
- Dean of the faculties of law of recognised Nigerian universities whose
course of studies is approved by the CLE.
- President of the NBA
- Director general of the NLS
- 15 legal Practitioner’s of not less than 10 years post call either
selected or elected by the NBA
- Two authors of published (law) works appointed by the AGF

Function
- Legal education of aspirants to the bar.
- Issuance of qualifying certificate to aspirants
- Continuing legal education for lawyers. Note that this is also provided
for in the Rules of Professional Conduct – rule 11 and when there is a
conflict the act prevails over the rules.

Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC)

Establishment s 5(3) of the Legal Practitioners Act
Members:
- The chief justice who shall be the chairman
- The attorney-general of the federation
- One justice of the supreme court to be appointed by the CJN in
consultation with the AGF
- President of the court of appeal
- Five state CJ’s to be appointed by the CJN in consultation with the
AGF
- The CJ of the FHC
- Five legal practitioners who are senior advocates of Nigeria to be
appointed by the CJN in consultation with the AGF

Functions: s 5(7)
- Conferment of the rank on deserving members of the professions
- With the approval of the BOB, make rules relating to SAN’s in respect
o
 Privileges accorded to SAN
 Dignity of the rank of SAN
 Mode of appearance of SANs before the court

Guidelines for the conferment of SAN

- See Guidelines for conferment of the Rank of SAN, 2017
- Rank is bestowed on distinguished and deserving members of the
legal profession who have mainly stood out in active full- time legal
practice
- Mainly conferred on advocates.

Criteria: para 18
Applicant must:
- Have been practicing as an advocate and in active current legal
practice and have been so for at least 10 years immediately preceding
the date of application
- The candidate must be of good character and must have no pending
disciplinary case or complaint relating to professional misconduct
against him.
-

Method of appointment
- Call for application made not later than November 1st every year
- Application in the prescribed form shall be submitted by 31st January
of the year consideration
- A non refundable processing fee of N600,000 is paid. Para 9 (3)
- Successful candidates shall pay a further processing conferment fee of
N200,000
- There’s a ‘first-filteration’ process

Names of successful candidates are sent to the: CJN, justices of the SC, president of
the CA, AGF, CJ of states,
Para 12(1)
- para 13
- para 13(2)
- On what constitutes competence. See para 19 (1 & 3)

What are significant cases? para 19(5)

The LPDC shall consider a case to be significant if it meets 2 or more of the
following:
1. Involves an issue of significant legal or public interest
2. Decides a novel point of law
3. Is considered ground

Particulars of cases
- Candidate shall produce 20 final judgments in the High Court or
superior court of record of which in 12 contested cases, the candidate
must show that he practically conducted them from trial stage to
judgment. See para 14(5)(a)
- Candidates must produce 5 final judgments which he handled at the
court of appeal. para 14 (5)(b)
- 4 final judgments which he handled at the supreme court. Para 14(5)
(c)
- in providing contested cases para 14 (7)
- para 14 (6)

Law office inspection

- The committee shall pay the candidate’s law office a visit to ascertain
the quality of office facility. The following shall be inspected.
 Size and quality of library
 Number of counsel or partners in chambers
 Number and quality of support staff
 Maintenance of proper books of account
 See para 15(1-4)

This is how they arrive at what they score

 Integrity – 20%
 Opinion/ judges references – 20%
 General knowledge of the law – 25%
 Contributions to development of law – 10%
 Leadership qualities in the profession – 10%
 Qualities of law office/ library – 15%

Disqualification of SAN’s: Para 18(2)

A candidate who has applied for the rank may have his application disqualified on the
following grounds:
1. Bad behaviour of poor temperament or with propensity to assault or cause
bodily harm
2. Indulgence in alcohol, drugs or similar substances
3. Moral depravity or other unacceptable behaviour
4. Abuse of legal trust reposed in him by his client
5. Indulgence in blatant or self – seeking praise or advertisement
 6. Touting
7. Provides misleading information in his application form. para 14(6). See
also

A partner in a law firm is also allowed to apply. However must show evidence of
partnership . para 21
Members of academics are also welcome to apply. Such applicant must show proof of
published works or books by reputable publishers.

Withdrawal – para 25 (1)

The rank may be withdrawn from its holder on the following grounds
1. Where holder is adjudged by the LPDC to have conducted himself in a manner
incompatible with the dignity and honour of the rank ;
2. Found guilty of professional misconduct by the Legal Practitioners’
Disciplinary Committee; or
3. Convicted by a court of law for any offence which in the opinion of the LPDC
is incompatible with the honour and dignity of the holder of the rank such as
offences relating to breach of trust, theft or other criminal offences
4. Upon the production of document of a competent Court or upon a report from
such a Court that he has conducted himself in a manner incompatible with the
dignity and honour of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Nigerian Bar Association

Automatic enrolment
However, it has a different legal status from the rest of the regulating bodies.
Discuss
- Juristic or juridical? The NBA is a juridical personality, while the
other bodies have juristic personality.
- What is the legal effect of this? Fawehinmi v NBA (No.2) (1989) 2
NSCC 43

Functions
1. Helps in preserving the honour and dignity of the bar and promotes good
member- relationship
2. Organises conferences and provides legal stance on contemporary issues as
they arise
3. Responsible for the provision of seal and stamp as provided for under the RPC
R 10
4. Responsible for the issuance of annual practicing certificates for all lawyers
who have paid their practising fees and completed the mandatory CPD. Rule
12
5. Keeps a database for legal practices of lawyers across the country
6. Prosecuted charges brought against legal practitioners before the LPDC r 5(1)
LPDC rules

General council of the bar

Establishment – s1 (1) of the LPA
Primarily established
Membership
1. AGF
2. AG’S of states
3. 20 LP elected by the NBA – a minimum of 7 of these person are required to be
at least 10 years standing at the bar

Functions
Make regulation to the following
- Agreements between a LP and his client relating to the charges of the
LP
- Establish the maximum charges which an LP may make over a
transaction
- Taking a security by the LP for payment of their fees and allowance of
interest upon such security
- Determination of appropriate charges

Order of precedence in Nigeria courts - s8 (4) LPA

Note: that there is equality of the bar. However, this general rule is subject to the
rights and privileges conferred on certain members who have attained heights in the
profession.
The order is as follows:
1. The Attorney –General of the federation
2. The Attorney – General of states (in their own states)
3. Life members of the body of benchers s 8(4) LPA.
4. Senior Advocates of Nigeria in order of their seniority.
5. Person authorised to practice for purposes of their office.
6. Person whose names are on the roll in order of enrolment.
7. Person authorised to practice by virtue of warrant or for purposes of peculiar
reasons.

Do benchers make the list? S 6(3) of the LPA

Note that privileges (privileges of the life members of the body of benchers) also
extend to the SAN’s, AGF, the Attorneys – General of the states and Solicitors-
general of the federation and solicitor general of the states.

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS OF A LEGAL PRACTITIONER IN NIGERIA

AND RESTRICTIONS

1. Right of audience in all courts – s 36(1) & (4) & s 36 (6) (c) constitution –
right to fair hearing. The right of audience constitutionally inheres in every
party in a court action (audi alterem partem rule). The right can be exercised
by the party in person or by his legal practitioner, where he is represented. A
LP is the only person who the right can be delegated to under the constitution.
Section 8(1) LPA generally grants every LP the right of audience in all courts
of law sitting in Nigeria.
Limitation on representation
- Default in payment of annual practicing fee s. 8(2) LPA, rule 9 (1)
RPC – by 31st march every year. Newly called persons to the bar must
make payment within one month of enrolment
 - S.2 (2) LPA: a LP who practices in Nigeria by a warrant issued under
the hands of the chief justice of Nigeria, can only practice as a
barrister: a) in the proceedings upon which the warrant was granted;
and b) in any appeal arising therefrom.
- Mandatory continuing professional development
2. Preparation of court processes in litigation. – S 22 (1) LPA only LP can
prepare for reward any court process. It is an offence if any person other than a
LP prepares a document for court process in expectation of a reward.
3. Preparation of instruments relating to immovable property for a fee:
- S 22(1)(d) LPA. This is also part of preparation of documents,
- This includes Deed of assignment, Lease, Deed of mortgage
- Note: the franking requirement - The document has to be franked
4. Preparation of documents for probate or letters of administration
- S 22 (1)(d) LPA
- quare: can a person who is not a legal practitioner prepare a will?
There is an execution to the law under the same section, preparation of
will by a person is not caught by the same person
5. Statutory declaration of compliance with the requirement of the CAMA
section 35(3) CAMA
6. Appointment as AG and chief law officer of the federation/ state and as legal
officer – also a minister/commissioner of justice.
- s. 150 constitution – Attorney General of the Federation (they must
have 10 years standing at bar, so 10 year post call prior to appointment
– s 195 of the constitution)
- s. 195 constitution – AG states (they must have 10 years standing at
bar, so 10 year post call prior to appointment – s 195 of the
constitution)
Qualification - s. 150 (2) ,s 195
7. Appointment as a notary public: they are appointed by the CJN. Only LP’s can
be so appointed s 2(1) notaries public act.
8. Appointed as a judge/justices of superior courts of records.
- s 231(3) supreme court justices; s 238(3) constitution of court of
appeal justices; s 250(3), 254 B(3), 256 (3) constitution; but see 261
(3)(B) Const. – there is a variation in this court, you don’t need to be a
lawyer to be in the sharia court of appeal.

Restrictions on the rights of a Legal Practitioner to practice in Nigeria

1. Default to pay annual practicing fee: by virtue of s 8(2) LPA, failure to pay
will lead to deprivation of right of audience in courts. The fees are payable by
31st march every year. Newly called lawyers fees are payable by – 1 month of
the enrolment – rule 9(1) RPC. The fees are payable to the registrar of the
Supreme Court and a receipt is issued - S. 8(3)(a). Default is a breach of RPC
– rule 9(2) and (3) RPC.
Amount to be paid:
 SAN or member of body of benchers – 50,000
 Legal Practitioners of 15 years and above- 25,000
 10 years and above but less than 15 years – 17,000
 5 years and above but less than 10 years – 10,000
 Less than 5 years – 5000
  See: Legal Practitioner (bar practising fees) notice 2002

2. Lawyers engaging in business

- Engaging in incompatible business: see rule 7(2) RPC. Note the
operative words “while personally engaged in”.
Note the list of prohibited trades – rule 7(2) RPC. Also note the exceptions
under R. 7(3) RPC.
Will a lawyer be prohibited from holding shares, or being a secretary to a
company trading in commodities? By virtue of rule 7 (3) (a -c) the fact that
a person is a lawyer doesn’t stop them from being a shareholder or
secretary to a company
- Combining practice of law with another profession. Rule 7(1) RPC.
Exception: if the lawyer has been permitted by the general council of
the bar.
- S 292 (2) constitution says that once a person is former judicial officer
they cannot return to the practice of advocacy in court. Atake v
Afejuku.
He can still be addressed as retired justice.
S318 defines who a judicial officer is and a magistrate is not listed as a
judicial officer.

3. Salaried employment – rule 8(1) RPC. See Ibwa v Imano Nig Ltd decided
under 1969 rules no longer applicable – rule 9(3) RPC. Exceptions to rule 8(1)
RPC. Legal officers in a government department. They are not prevented from
appearing in administrative tribunal because they are in salaried employment.

4. Restriction on a senior advocate of Nigeria. Rule 2(1) SAN (privileges and

functions) rules 1979 (made pursuant to s 5(7) LPA). They cannot appear as
counsel in any civil case before superior court of record except with a junior or
with another SAN. If the matter is a criminal case he can appear alone. He
cannot draft any instrument with a fee less than 400 naira – rule 5. He may
draft without any fee.
- He cannot appear or settle (prepare and sign) processes/documents in
an inferior court of record e.g magistrate court. See Registered
Trustees v Ijesha (1999)
Exceptions
- Rule 2(2) ibid: a senior advocate of
5. Private practice by lawyers who are public officers
i) Previously there had been – the regulated and other professions (private
practice prohibition) act. This law prohibited private practice for a reward
whether within or outside the working hours. Exception: to self; family or in
emergency; service rendered pro bono. Outside official hours
Part 1 5th schedule code of conduct for public officers (in the Nigerian
constitution)
ii) The code of conduct for public officers: see Para 2(1) of the code in the 5th
schedule part 1 constitution. Note the argument on lecturers excluded by the
regulated and other professions (private practice prohibition) (law lecturers
exemption order) 1992. According to the constitution the only profession that
a public officer can engage in is farming.
 Note further that the aforementioned law (as well as its subsidiary legislation)
has been repealed by the federal republic of Nigeria (certain consequential
repeals) decree 1999, upon the advent of the 1999 constitution.
Arguments have ranged
In Ahmed v Ahmed (2013) which involves a lecture where there was
opposition to appearance of a public officer the Supreme Court has declined to
go into the issue and said that even if this was an infringement of the
constitutional provision of the cod of conduct, it wasn’t the proper court as it
didn’t have jurisdiction, that a tribunal would be the right place.

6. Pro bono – This is the same as an argument above.

7. Mandatory continuing professional development: it’s a mandatory program

that should be undertaken under the Rules of Professional Conduct every year
and a certificate is issued. Rule 12 (1) (b) Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule
12(3)
8. Non-association with non-legal practitioner for legal practice.
9. Notification on commencement of practice – Rule 13(1) RPC
10. Appearance in a superior court with wig and gown – Rule 45(1) RPC
11. Seal and stamp rule 10 RPC
12. Restriction on a legal practitioner who is a party in a case – rule 17(5) RPC
13. Retired public official are precluded from representation in any matter wherein
he had proffered advice. Rule 6(1) RPC
14. Lawyer as a witness. Rule 20(1) RPC, Tijani v Elabanjo it is not the case that
a lawyer who represents a party in court cannot act as a witness in court in that
same case but rules of caution state that there would be clash of interest and it
creates confusion if a lawyer does both so the SC advised that as a lawyer he
should not be involved both as the LP and a witness in that case.

Impersonation of a lawyer
Section 22 LPA creates offences of impersonation of legal practitioners
Thus it is an offence for a person who is not a legal practitioner if he:
1) Practices as a legal practitioner – s 22 (1) (a) LPA e.g. appears in court,
prepares and files legal documents and processes in court.
2) 1(b)
3) 1(c)
4) Prepares for in expectation of reward any instrument relating to 1(d) :
- Immovable property.. Note the definition of “instrument” see 22(2)
LPA. Also note that the law only applies when its does in expectation
of rewards, if its for free its not caught in the ambit of this law.
Note that a non LP does not infringe the law by preparing a will or any other
testamentary instrument s 22(4)(e) LPA
ii) Relating to or with a view to the grant of probate or letters of administration
iii) Relating to or with view to proceedings in any court
S 22 is the most important section in this sub topic

Read everything in section 22 (4) LPA

However by virtue of s 22(4) LPA it is not an offence for a person (who is not a LP)
to prepare an instrument in the following circumstances:
1. As a pupil of a Legal Practitioner
 2. As a clerk or servant of a Legal Practitioner

How to answer questions: PRES P- point of view, R – reason, E – evidence S –

summarise
15.
 8th December 2017
WEEK 5 - INTERVIEWING AND COUNSELLING
SKILLS/ETHICS & LAWYERS’
DUTIES OF COUNSEL TO CLIENTS 1

DUTIES OF COUNSEL TO CLIENT

Rule 14 RPC
See (1) – (5)
- Must show dedication and devotion to the cause of his client

1) Duty to accept brief: this is the cab-rank rule. However there are exceptions to
this rule and they include: 1) conflict of interest – there are 3 instances of
conflict of interest: religious, personal or conflict of interest on the part of the
lawyer. In theses instance a LP can decline (rule 24). 2) If the LP doesn’t
practice in that area, so its not within the practice area of the counsel; and 3)
where the client hasn’t paid the professional fees.

2) Duty to take instructions: rule 22 – a lawyer should take instructions at the

office and shouldn’t go to a client’s house to take instructions. Exceptions
include old age, ill health and special circumstances. Always note the rule and
exceptions.

3) A lawyer has duty to take full instructions – Counsel must ensure that he is
clear on the instructions given to him so that he can act appropriately.
What is the most appropriate mode of taking such instructions?
- How do you as the lawyer ensure that you have all the instructions as
requested by your client?
A lawyer ought to note down instructions from clients to avoid missing out
any instruction by a client.

A lawyer is not expected to follow instructions slavishly i.e. so it’s not

everything the client says that the lawyer must do. Rule 15(1) RPC; Myers v
Elman (1940) AC 282
Ability to control the incidence of trial. Adewunmi v plastex (Nig) Ltd. (1986)
2 NSCC 852. cf R 24(4) & (5)
In Adewunmi v plastex the court decided that it is possible for the lawyer to
control totally the incidence of the client’s litigation and the lawyer had full
control, however today the position has changed. The present position is
reflected in R 24(4) & (5) and it is that the lawyer has a duty to do things that
are incidental around the case, things that touch in the matter of the case
unless the client has otherwise given him instructions to do so

4) Representing clients competently and within the bounds of the law

- The lawyer has accepted brief and must therefore do everything
possible to achieve the best for his client – true or false? Discuss R
15(3)(b); (3) (i) and (j); 15(2) RPC
- What shall a lawyer do where he finds that the duty to his client
clashes with his duty to the court? Who does he owe the first duty to?
Rondel v Worsley (1966) 3 WLR 950
 5) Where a fraud has been committed by the client, it is the duty of the lawyer to
ensure that such fraud is rectified by the client. Rule 15 (4)

6) A lawyer is precluded from vouching for the character of his client or his
witnesses or stating his confidence – Rule 15 (5)

7) Conflict of interest - rule 17, see (2) & (4)

8) Duty of disclosure

Can a lawyer having elected for a client in a particular matter elect to represent
another party in the same matter? Rule 49(3), he cannot represent
What about appearing in a matter for a client that is suing you his former
client? See Onigbongbo community and minister

Professional negligence by lawyers

Professional negligence is where a lawyer fails to exert skill, care and diligence and
cause harm or damage to the client.
It is also where a lawyer breached his duty of care, whether as an act or omission in
the course of carrying out the job of his client, causing the latter to suffer damages. It
is conduct carried out carelessly or recklessly.
- Negligence by counsel may

Nature
- What is the relevance of this phrase in the scheme of legal practice?
- A lawyer is bound to exhibit professional competence in the
occurrence of handling matters for clients. However as humans, errors
are bound to happen. The degree of care to be shown by the lawyer
would depend on the brief and other circumstances
- However, the extent of the negligence must be one that is gross rather
than ordinary Bello v Raji.

Exclusion for liability?

- What is the condition for a lawyer to be excluded? s 9 LPA , under (1)
and (2) he would still be liable, however under (3) he would not liable.
- Note the distinction between before the courts and outside the courts.
Lawson v Matti (1932) 11 NLR 113 on justification for holding the
lawyer negligent.

Areas of practice where negligence may occur:

- Legal advice
- Areas of solicitor’s work
- Handling of writs
- Handling of cases in court
A solicitor has less reasons to be negligent as he has everything at hand whereas a
barrister before the court works under pressure.

Legal advice:
As this is the foundational step of any action the client
Solicitors work:
It is more probable for a suit of negligence to arise in the course of doing solicitors
work than in instances where a lawyer is

Handling of writs:
- Lawyers must ensure they carefully file writs in court particularly
minding the time within which they do so. NBA v Akintokun

Handling cases
 On conduct of cases before the court, see s. 9(3) LPA; Rondel v Worsely
(1967) 1 QB 443
Before Rondel’s case
 English courts initially held lawyers non-liable as it was thought that lawyers
were not paid in the sense of there being contract between them and their
clients. Fees were paid as a mark of honour.
 Second, lawyers could not sue clients for their fees
 That their first duty was to the court rather than their clients.
After Rondel’s case:
- That reasons why lawyers were not held negligent were on grounds of
public policy that:
 To attain justice, lawyers were to be fearless and independent
 To retry actions would prolong litigation. There must be an end
to litigation.
 To encourage lawyers to accept briefs of clients and not shy
away for fear of a suit in negligence

Is there liability for negligence of a lawyer in criminal actions?

Attitude in the UK – that it may amount to questioning the decision of the criminal
court by a civil court, thereby asking for a retrial

Exceptions to the cab rank rule

INTERVIEWING AND COUNSELLING SKILLS

The language of the court is English.

Importance of communication skill
It is the means or process of sending, receiving or carrying out instructions in the
course of an interview.
Communication could be either verbal or written.

Written-
This is a way of communicating by placing something legible and capable of
communicating a sense of meaning to the other person – person that you’re
communicating with. The main rule in written communication is to be legible.

Verbal communication.
This is broken into verbal, vocal and visual
A) VERBAL – this refers to utterances. The applicable rules are as follows:
1) Use proper, positive words;
 2) Avoid legal jargons or legalese. Use simple/common words
3) Avoidance of “but” “well” – unnecessary qualifications etc.
4) Use of “open” and “closed” questions, as appropriate. Open questions are
questions that require the responder to elaborate; it has a wide ambit of
responses. While closed questions are questions that require a “yes” or “no” or
restrictive definite answers.
E.g. what is your name? – Closed question; how was your first day of school?
– Open question

Open questions
1) Allows wide ambit/ latitude of answers
2) Used in obtaining general / narrative information in an interview
3) Useful in leading witness in examination in chief/ re-examination

Closed questions
1) Answers thereto are restrictive
2) Useful in eliciting details of a narration or a general answer
3) Used mostly in the form of leading questions in cross examination

B) VOCAL – this refers to speed, pitch, volume , resonance etc.

C) VISUAL – this refers to body language in the process of communication such as:
- Facial expression
- Eye contact
- Gestures
- Touch, etc.

INTERVIEWING YOUR CLIENT

Identify the proper venue of the interview?

Why should there be interview? /What are the functions of an interview?

1) To obtain relevant information – the lawyer obtains relevant information about
the subject matter
2) An avenue to fix the legal and professional fees
3) Enables the client to identify what remedies or solution he seeks to a legal
challenge or problem.
4) Allows the opportunity to learn the goals or intention of the client
5) Allows the emergence of client/legal practitioner relationship – see
implication – s 9 LPA.
6) It provides an opportunity for the client to make an informed choice or
decision
7) An opportunity to ease client’s anxiety/allay clients’ fears/concerns.
8) It is a platform for the client to give his instructions in respect of the matter in
issue
9) Provides an opportunity for counsel to advise the prospective client on various
options at resolving the legal challenge or problem.

Definition and purpose

An interview is an opportunity / platform for a client to retain the services of a lawyer.
The purpose of an interview is to enable the lawyer elicit relevant information from
the client in respect of the subject matter.

Venue
The proper venue for an interview is the legal practitioners office, Rule 22 RPC.
Exceptions include:
1) Inability/ disability of client - Client is disabled or in the hospital. E.g. where
an old woman who is immobile wants to make a will.
Urgent reasons
2) Where the client is restricted: for example a client who is deprived of liberty
who is under detention or is a prisoner
3) Where for security reasons or expediency. Example a state governor or
president

Stages of interviewing
There are different views on the number of stages of an interview
1. THE AVROM SHERR’S 3 – STAGE MODEL
2. THE CHAY AND SMITH’S 7 – STAGE MODEL
3. MIKE WOLFE’S MODEL OF 5 STAGES
4. BRAYNE & GRIMES 11 STAGE MODEL

THE AVROM SHERR’S 3-STAGE MODEL

This is subdivided into 13 tasks

1. Listening stage
2. Questioning stage
3. Advising stage

Listening stage – this involves talking mainly done by the client.

i) Welcome, greet, have him/her seated
ii) Opening question to elicit the narration of the story
iii) The lawyer should listen without interrupting the flow of information. He
obtains basic background information on the subject matter.

Questioning stage
iv) Lawyer fills in the gaps, omissions, ambiguous statement, by information
obtained from client through questions that are specifically directed
(closed questions)
v) The lawyer seizes the opportunity to summarise the impression of the
information divulged by the client. The lawyer through this means seeks to
have the clients agreement or disagreement with the account of the story as
understood by the lawyer
vi) The lawyer takes notes of the interview, especially at the questioning and
advising stage

Advising stage
vii) The lawyer plays the dominant role as he:
- Proffers advice and plan of action on the facts supplied by the client.
 - Discuss the issue of funds needed for the proposed plan of action
including professional fees of the lawyer.
viii) The lawyer repeats the advice and plan of action, and asks for the
agreement or disapproval of the client to the plan
ix) The lawyer states the follow up actions on the part of the client
x) He also enumerates the follow up actions on his own part
xi) The date of the next contact between the lawyer and the client is fixed
xii) Ask client if there is “any other business”.

THE CHAY AND SMITH’S 7 – STAGE MODEL

1. Preparing stage
- Identify venue, the lawyer takes with him all relevant materials.

2. Starting the interview

- Greetings, know the mode of address
- Get the basic information, name, address, phone and email.
- Open questions, but sometimes-closed questions.

3. Agreement on the shared understanding of the clients needs based on the facts:
- Some empathy is needed

4. Identifying & evaluating the alternative courses if actions leading to good

decision making in the part of the client

5. Taking instructions

6. Closing and clarification of relationship

7. Reflecting

BRAYNE & GRIMES 11 STAGE MODEL

1. Preparation
2. Introduction
3. Legal professional charges
4. Allowing the client to tell, the story
5. Identification of legal issues arising
6. Questioning clients on his narration
7. Analysis of facts
8. Summary of the facts
9. Allowing the client to take his decision
10. Closing
11. Filling in the gap

MIKE WOLFE’S MODEL OF 5 STAGES

1. Listening
 2. Analysis of facts
3. Investigation of the facts
4. Decision making on the appropriate way to go
5. Implementation

Model interview in summary

 Preparation of the interview
 Starting the interview
 Let the client tell the story
 Develop a chronology/analyse
 Counselling
 Closing the interview

Counselling
1. Takes place after the interview, when the lawyer has digested the facts and
evaluated same from the point of the applicable laws.
2. Should focus on the client’s best interest.
3. Counselling is the lawyers own legal professional advise based on the facts
stated by the client.
4. State the alternative remedies available at resolving the issues at stake e.g.
writing a letter, exploration of ADR, if for instance the contract provides for
arbitration then advise on the process of getting up such, if need for litigation,
state the cost implication and the processes.
5. Recognise the client’s autonomy in the final decision making – but make him
aware of the consequences
6. Watch your verbal and non-verbal means of communication
7. Proper communication
8. Simple language

Issues arise in counselling

1. Conflict of interest/ declaration of your interest. Rule 17 RPC. Note it is best
to obtain the consent of the client explicitly in writing before accepting the
brief. Read up the whole section
2. Avoid undue self –aggrandisement – rule 38 (2) (C) (D) RPC
3. Communication between a lawyer/client is privileged as a general rule – rule
19 (1) RPC; but see the exceptions in rule 19(3) RPC
4. Don’t advise on a path of action that will cause a breach of the law or bring
disrespect to a judicial officer or corruption of any public officer – RPC 15 (3)
(A)
5. Don’t fail to advice on the option of ADR 15 (3)(D)
6. Don’t participate in the creation or preservation of evidence which you know
or reasonably ought to know it is false – rule 15 (3) (H) RPC
7. Don’t counsel or assist in conduct that is illegal or fraudulent/contrary to the
RPC. RULE 15 (3)(I) & (J) RPC
 15th December 2017

DUTIES OF COUNSEL TO CLIENT 2

Privilege and confidence of the client
- A lawyer has duty to keep his clients’ secrets and matters confidently
discussed safe. Rule 19
- This duty extends to his partners, associates and employees. Rule
19(4); s 193 EA
- It must have arisen in the course of his employment to the client and
continues even after the representation ceases. S 192(3) EA

Why is it best for a client to reveal relevant secrets to his counsel?

- It helps counsel to have a broad view of the matter.
- It prevents the lawyer from getting surprises by an opponent who is
ready to take advantage of such secrets

Are there any exceptions?

- Where the client consents s 192 (1) EA 2011.
- By an order of the court
- Where the RPC or other statutes states so
- Where the revelation would lead to the prevention of the commission
of a crime
- Where it would assist the lawyer in the recovery of his fees
- Where the lawyer has to use such information to defend himself,
associates and staff against accusations of misconduct. Rule 19 (3)
- Where communication is in furtherance of an illegal purpose. S192(1)
(a) EA 2011
- Where the lawyer notices that a crime or fraud has been committed
since he commenced employment s 192 (1)(b) EA 2011

Lawyer as a witness to client

- A lawyer may testify in a matter he is handling for a client more so
that it does not touch on the merits of the case
- He can testify on the form and aspects of the case
- Rule 20 (1); rule 20 (4)
- Rule 20 (b)

Instances where a lawyer’s testimony for a client may be allowed. Rule 20(2)
- Relates to values of services rendered
- Testimony relates to irrelevant matter
- Where evidence cannot be challenged by other party

Responsibilities for litigation

- A lawyer shall accept any brief in relation to which he professes to
practice – rule 24(1)
- He must know which matter to pursue for a plaintiff and that he must
pursue for a defendant. Such actions must be clearly litigious and not
be questionable. Rule 24(2)
 - He shall not pursue matters to harass or injure or oppress the opposing
party. Rule 24(3)
- He is to act honourable at all times and not follow his clients’
instructions slavishly. Rule 24 (4)

Withdrawal from employment – R 21

- Is a lawyer after having accepted the brief of his client allowed to
withdraw from same? Yes they can abandon/ withdraw a case when
there is good cause to withdraw.

What conditions make up “ good cause”?

- Where he has to testify on the merits of the case. R19(4)
- Persistent refusal to pay lawyers fess
- Conflict of interest
- Client insisting on unjust or immoral cause
- Consistent disregard of lawyers’ advice and wanting to pursue a
frivolous case. R 21(2)
- Lawyer going to be joined as a party in the case of his client. R 17(5)

Before a lawyer withdraws there are certain procedures that must be followed:
- Counsel is obliged to give prior notice to client
- Better done in writing and must give client enough time to secure
alternative service. R 21(3)
- No other lawyer in his firm can take/continue with the job
- If it is litigation, the court must be informed
- All paid monies not merited by counsel must be reimbursed to client.
The lawyer can only keep the portion of money which he believes he
has earned while representing the client – so on a quantum merit basis

Dealing with clients property

- How should a lawyer deal with clients’ property?
- In case of monies obtained, how should he deal with this?
- Can he convert clients’ money to his fees in an instance where client
has refused to pay?
- Can he sell the clients house to make up for his fees? R 17(3) (a)

Change of counsel – when the client wants to change his counsel – R 29 RPC
Duties of all parties include:
New lawyer:
- Promptly give notice to the former lawyer
- Ensures that all outstanding bills are paid the former lawyer
Old and new lawyer:
- Inform court of change of counsel if the matter involves litigation

Client is entitled to:

- All letters he got from the former lawyer to write at his instance
- Copies of letter written to other persons at clients instance
- Draft and copies of documents made in course of business
See rule 29 RPC
Old lawyer is entitled to:
- Letter written by the client to lawyer
- Copies of letter addressed by lawyer to client
- A lien on clients document for unpaid fees

Exclusion for liability?

- Are there any exception(s) where a lawyer may not be held liable for
professional negligence in circumstances where he ought to be under
Nigerian law?
- What is the condition for a lawyer to be excluded? s.9 LPA
- Note the distinction between the courts and outside the courts. Lawson
v Matti (1932) on justification for holding the lawyer negligent

12th January,2018
DUTIES OF LAWYERS TO THE COURT,
COLLEAGUES, STATE AND THE PROFESSION
Duty to Colleagues/ fellow advocates
 Must be treated with utmost courtesy and respect. Rule 26(1)
- Whose matter is it? Yours as counsel or for your client?: it is for you
client, so don’t take things personally
- A lawyer could be liable for contempt where he threatens a fellow
colleague on the account of his client. Re Johnson
- A lawyer must be detached from case he handles. Per Tobi JCA in
NTOE ISO V

 Duty to keep promises Rule 27(2)

- Lawyer must always act in good faith when dealing with colleagues
- Must stand by undertakings given, whether reduced in writing or not

 Must avoid sharp practice

- Keep away from acts or conducts calculated to gain undue advantage
against an opposing client
- A lawyer shall not take undue advantage of an opposing counsel’s
predicament or misfortune. Rule 27(2)(c)
Examples of sharp practice/(playing to the gallery):
- Deliberately filing frivolous and irregular applications
- Seeking leave of court to strike out a matter in spite of the previous
knowledge of opponent’s absence
- In general, where counsel plays to the gallery in order to secure cost.
See kwaptoe v Tsenyil. Counsel waited till one to expiration before filing
a notice of appeal.

 Must not covet clients

- Counsel must not take over the employment of fellow colleagues at the
bar.
- However, counsel can proffer advice to persons who are displeased
with the services of their counsel upon his communications with such
other lawyer. Rule 14(5) RPC
  Where a lawyer decides to have communication with the client of a colleague,
such communication must be done before that colleague. Rule 27 (5)(a)

 A lawyer must not give advice to a person not represented by a lawyer. Rule
27(5)(b)

 Counsel to opponents
- Must respect opposing counsel and must not bring a case or defence
merely:
 To harass or to injure or to oppress or to work hardship on the
opposing counsel;
 Actions brought by counsel must be justifiable

 Use of abusive words or statements against opponent must be avoided in or

out of court

 Counsel must not be used as a tool to assuage the emotions of a disgruntled

client

 Equality at the Bar

- Itemise the precedence in court
- Equality at the bar is subject to the above

Duty of a lawyer to a court

A lawyer can be described as a minister in the temple of justice.
Counsel is a helper in the administrator of justice.
In which manner(s) does he exhibit this?

 Punctuality – you’re meant to be in court 30 minutes before the court sits.

 At what time does the court sit?
 Describe the mode of dressing to court

It is important to
- Know your court
E.g. parking, robing, court room temperature
- Know your judge
 Peculiarities of the judge
 Punctuality of the judge, sitting and rising habits, etc.
- Know where to sit in court
- Mode of addressing the court and fellow colleagues.
High court – My Lord, Your Lordship
Court of Appeal – My Lords, Your Lordships

 To exhibit good character and dignity in court

Examples include:
- Not chew gum before the court
- Not read extraneous material
- Not sit with leg crossed before the court
 - Not place hands in pocket
- Not speak rudely to the judge

Other duties to the court include:

- failure to keep promises or undertaken made to the courts rule 31(3)
- Do not discuss a pending case with the judge in the absence of
opposing counsel
- Do not send communication to the judge without the knowledge of the
opposing counsel. Rule 31 (4) & (5)
 Also note that these rules apply to the tribunal rule 35 RPC

Duties to the court

 Must be candid and fair
- Counsel must always place the interests of the court above that of the
client
Note: read the provisions of Rule 32 RPC for conducts that include
Examples include:
- Citing false or irrelevant authority
- Irrelevant questions asked to demean witnesses
- Fail to comply with known local cut
 Trial publicity:
- Lawyers must not make extra-judicial comments via communication
media, whether in criminal or civil cases. R 33 RPC
 Relationship with judges:
- Lawyers must not present themselves as seeking favour form the
judges rule 34 RPC

Query:
What is the difference between the conduct of a case by a lawyer representing his
client and one who is conducting his case by himself?
Give a description as to the appearance of how a lawyer conducts his case? R 36 RPC
Is/are there any exceptions to your answer above.
During the opening of the official legal year lawyers and judges can wear robes.
Burial ceremonies of a colleague. At the call to bar ceremonies – aspirants wear their
robes. Graduation ceremonies, judges can wear their robe.

Duty to the state

 Lawyers as officers of the court must do everything to ensure that respect and
dignity is maintained within the profession
 As such, lawyers
 Note that counsel shall not be liable where he goes on to commit a crime even
after being advised by a counsel
 A lawyer who advises a client

Duties to the profession

 Prevent the admission of unqualified legal practitioners. Rule 2
- Prevent the admission of unsuitable persons to the bar, e.g. insufficient
qualified person or persons of questionable character
 - All lawyers are encouraged to work towards the protection of the legal
profession. They must uphold the honour and dignity of the
professions.
 Prevent the use of intermediaries in the profession. RPC Rule 4
- Lawyers must avoid the use of non-lawyers or agents intervening in
the relationship between his lawyer and client
- An exception to this rule is lawyers

 Prevent the unauthorised practice of law

- by not assisting non-lawyers to practice law
- or persons who have had their names struck of the roll or suspended
from practice
- a lawyer shall also not sign legal documents which he did not prepare
though his name is on it rule 3(2)

 Association for legal practice

- a lawyer shall not associate with a non lawyer in carrying out legal
practice . Rule 5(1)
- Note cases where a partner dies Rule 5(2)
- He must not couch his name in such a manner to make others believe
he is in a partnership when he is not. Rule 5(4)

 Holding brief
- Is a lawyer allowed to hold brief for another lawyer?
Rule 27(3) RPC

 Duty not to instigate litigation

 Employment in criminal cases

Defence counsel shall:
- Shall be present in court throughout the case and on the fixed dates.
rule 14(4)
- Must be seen to ensure substantial justice of his client’s matter
- Cannot stand bail for his client
- Note the grounds that the counsel may stop representing his client.
Rule 21. Not that the reason is for good cause and things like conflict
of reasons just constitute examples of good cause

 A ground of confession of guilt shall not operate as a ground for withdrawal.

- The defence counsel has a duty to discredit the evidence of the
prosecution through…….?
- The accused lawyer shall not bring contradictory evidence, which he
knows to be false in a bid to rid the accused of his guilt. Rule 37(3)

 Prosecuting counsel
- Is not bound to secure a conviction at all cost
- His business is to ensure justice is done
- He shall not suppress facts that would establish the innocence of the
accused. Where he has such facts, he must disclose same on time rule
37(6)
- A lawyer is prevented from bringing before the court charges which
evidence he does not have or cannot establish before the court rule 37
(5)
 12TH January 2018
CONTEMPT OF COURT
Definition – contempt of court is where a person who is a party to a proceedings in a
superior court of record fails to comply with an order made against him or an
undertaking given by him or where a person whether a party to a proceedings or not
does any act which may tend
The wilful disregard or disrespect for the authority of the court.
An action or inaction amounting to an interference with or obstruction to or having a
tendency to interfere with or obstruct due administration of justice. Awobokun v
Adeyemi
Some have posited that the definition may be exhaustive ad have laid down certain
factors as key ingredients making the conduct easier to identify.
Key ingredients have been identified as:
- Failure by a party to comply with order of court
- hindrance of the course of justice
- disrespect to the authority of the court

Conducts that may amount to contempt

 Oral or written comments scandalising or insulting the court
 Newspaper publication containing personal abuse of the court
 Acts of violence before the courts
 Talking in a boisterous manner to the court
 Interfering with court proceedings

Other conducts that’s may amount to a contempt

 Commenting on pending proceedings
 Interfering with or badgering a witness

Note that its not every act of disrespect or discourtesy that amounts to contempt.
Judges may also cite a lawyer for contempt for not dressing properly to court

Purpose of contempt
 To prevent undue interference with the administration of justice
 To protect the dignity of the court

In as much a judge has the power to cite a person for contempt he shouldn’t do so as
he wishes.

Types/classification of contempt
 Criminal contempt
 Civil contempt

Criminal contempt - These are acts that would amount in the interference of the
administration of justice e.g. acts that scandalise the court, acts that interrupt court
proceedings, conduct of trial publicity by lawyers – r v thomas horatio
Civil contempt – acts that constitute wilful disobedience court order, rulings and
judgments of the court. Aiding and betting the above, when failure to carry out
promises made to court. It is also referred to as a private injury.
Nature of contempt
It can be categorised into criminal and civil and the nature of the contempt can be
infacie curie or; ex facie curiae
Infacie curie – means simply acts of contempt done before the court. Usually
witnessed by the judge or those present in court.
Examples include:
 Slapping the judge
 Throwing things at the judge or booing him
 Recordings of court proceedings in video or such devices

Ex facie curiae
Acts of contempt committed outside the face of the court. Examples include:
 Words spoken or otherwise published
 Acts done outside the court intended or likely to interfere with or obstruct the
fair administration of justice

Proof of contempt
How is contempt proved? Civil contempt – beyond reasonable doubt , criminal
contempt – beyond reasonable doubt.
Whether civil or criminal, both types of contempt are proved beyond reasonable
doubt.
- “ a contempt of court is an offence of a criminal character. A man may
be sent to prison for it. The offence therefore must be sufficiently
proved
A civil contempt arising from the breach of an order of Injunction must be proved
beyond reasonable doubt.

Contempt in the face of the court:

- Such is tried summarily
- Can be dealt with by the judicial officer in the presence of whom the
offence was committed. Boyo v A-G
- Contempt outside the face of the court:
Two options.
(1) Offence be dealt with summarily.
 Hearing must however be conducted in accordance with
cardinal principles of fair hearing
 In addition, the facts surrounding the said contempt must be
so obvious such that it is almost incontestable.
(2)
Note that it is however advisable that when a contempt took
place ex facie curie

Jurisdiction to punish
 The power to punish is inherent in all superior courts of record. It follows
therefore

Punishment for contempt

 Civil contempt is punishable for 6 months – halsbury laws of England
 Criminal contempt is punished under s.133 of the criminal
 He may be ordered to be kept in prison until he purges his contempt. Ikalaba v
ojosipe suit no LD/967/71 of 30/3/72
 He may be asked to pay a fine.
 19TH January 2018
BASIC DRAFTING PRINCIPLES
Try and use simple words while drafting. Avoid over legalising words.
Have a good command of English Language. Avoid exchanging English spelling with
American spelling.
 Full stop (.) – It signals the end of a complete sentence when that sentence is
not a question or exclamation. E.g. my father is a lawyer. Other uses of a full
stop include: when there is an abbreviation e.g. Dr. instead of Doctor
 Ellipsis (…….) – it shows there has been an omission in the text
 Question mark (?) -
 Exclamation mark (!) – this is used to show surprise. It is rarely seen in legal
text. Legal drafting doesn’t really accommodate exclamation
 Comma (,) – it shows a small pause in a statement, it is also used to separate
items in a statement or a part of sentence from other parts. Also use it after
nonetheless, therefore. It can also be used in large figures.
 Colon (:) – it is used to introduce a list and to separate a sentence which has a
consequential part and that consequential part expands the substance of the
main clause. It is also used to introduce long quotations which begin on a new
line
 Semi colon (;) – it may be used to introduce two balance statements containing
a paradox. However if the sentence is too long, its advisable to just break the
sentence into two.
 Bracket (()) – they are used in pairs – opening and closing. It is used to state
the equivalent of figures in words
 Quotation marks (“ ”)
 Hyphen (-) – used to show compound words
 Apostrophe (‘) – it can be used to show possession

From – its exclusionary. It excludes the date mentioned unless an intention to depart
from the general rule is shown. S 15 (2)(a) of the interpretation act
Month – this means a gregorian calendar month s 18 of the interpretation act. Note
that there is something called a “clear month”

Structure for legal statements

COODE has proffered a structure for legal statements. He says any legal statement
has the following components:
1. Case – present situation
2. Condition
3. Legal subject
4. Legal action.

Paragraph
It shows a collection of different statements or sentences conveying a particular
meaning or idea. In most legal draft you’re required to do proper paragraphing.

STAGES OF DRAFTING
1) Understanding instructions
 2) Analysing the instructions taken
3) Design the draft
4) Composition Stage
5) Scrutiny stage

These steps would be followed when you’re drafting a legislative bill, deed, letter,
originating processes – statement of claim, written addresses, affidavit, pleadings,
power of attorney.

1. Understanding instructions – the instructions should be written down so no

point would be left out. There must be a clear understanding, by asking
question on areas that are not clear. Ensure that the instructions given are legal
and within the bounds of the law. Without a good grasp of the instruction the
remaining stages of drafting may not be able to be carried out.

2. Analysing the instruction – trying to assimilate the

3. Designing the draft – this gives a frame of what the draft will look like. It
arranges the draft in a logical sequence. This isn’t the final draft it just gives
an outline of what the draft will look like. How many parts, section it will
have.

4. Composition stage - avoid the use of archaic words, ambiguity, verbosity, use
of excessive legal words, plagiarism, tautology. A drafter should be cautious
not to rely heavily on precedents while composing the draft. Problem with
relying too heavily on precedents – it can lead to blindness lifting

5. Scrutiny stage – this entail review of the work done. Ensure that the whole of
the instructions given in the first stage have been abided with and exhaustively
complied with. To show paragraphing techniques have been adopted. Ensure
that you have references and cross-referenced properly and grammatical errors
are avoided. Best way to ensure a work is properly scrutinised is by peer
review. This is giving the work to someone else for their opinion, correction
and contributions. Also it is unlikely that a person who drafted a work will
spot errors easily in it immediately.

Examples of common errors

1. 4g cell phones are a new innovation
2. The evening sunset was beautiful
3. I need a hot water heater
4. Charlie told his mum that he made it for her with his own hand
5. My first priority is to lose weight
6. There is a lot of frozen ice on the road
7. I know it is true because I heard it with my own ears
8. She always over exaggerates
9. In Rome we saw the dilapidated ruins
10. This is totally and completely ridiculous
11. In my opinion I think he is wrong
12. The storm hit at 2pm in the afternoon
13. The student will take turns one after the other
 14. They hiked to the summit on the top of the mountain
15. I'm sorry to hear about your sad misfortune
16. No worries, its all well and good
17. The hotel room wasn’t great but it was adequate enough

Assignment
Write a letter to your client informing him of the matters you’re handling for him,
there were two matters in the same court premises but before different judges and they
were both adjourned. In the same letter he also asked you to conduct a search at the
CAC regarding a name he has sent to you on a company he wants to incorporate, but
that name is not available so you’re advising him on the next step regarding that
matter. Finally you’re reminding him of a meeting you both have with his bank
manager regarding a loan facility that he wants to collect – the bank manager at a
previous meeting asked for certain documentation. The documents are now ready.

Oyewole Gold Legal Practitioners

2 Ikoyi Drive, Victoria Island, Lagos

19th January 2018

Edward Osike
15 Abakaliki Quarters,
Ahmadu Bello Road,
GRA, Ikeja,
Lagos.

Dear Sir,

RE: LITIGATION MATTERS, INCORPORATION MATTER, LOAN FACILITY

The purpose of this letter is to update you on the following matters:

With regard to the above subject matters we write to inform you as follows:
In respect of the matters being held at the High court of Lagos state
i) Action for Defamation: This matter was presided by Justice Supreme
Unukegwo. After an application for extension of time by the opposing
counsel the matter was adjourned to 15th February 2018
ii) Action for forfeiture: This matter was presided by Justice Onome
Kingsley. After our closing submissions were made the matter was
adjourned to 12th February for hearing.

Incorporation matter

Loan facility

Thank you, we look forward

Yours Faithfully,
Tinuade Oyewole
Oyewole Gold Legal Practitioners
 26th January 2018
LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING
Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, students would be able to:
1. Explain the parts of a legislation;
2. Explain and discuss the principles, stages, and formalities of legislative
drafting;
3. Critique a legislation or a draft;
4. Draft parts of a legislation/legislation

What is legislative drafting?

This is one of the stages in legislative process where an idea becomes government
policy, is transformed to legislative shape and ends up becoming a law. It is the
process of drafting a bill/law.

The rules of drafting

The general rules of legal drafting also apply here. E.g.
- Don’t be ambiguous
- Avoid verbosity

Qualities of a legislative draftsman

Not every legal practitioner can be a legislative draftsman, certain skills are needed:
- High Intellectual capacity and stamina
- Ability to analyse problems in-depth and in detail
- Have an imagination that can enable them project themselves into the
situation the law provides for**
- Be dedicated
- Be patient: this is important because the first draft may not be accepted and
various edits will need to be made. Patience is needed to see the draft till
the end

Stages of drafting
1) Understanding instructions – it’s important to go through the instructions to have
an in-depth understanding of the instructions. The document received is called the
drafting instruction.
Note the content of drafting instructions – 1) it should contain sufficient background
information e.g. why do they want the law? 2) It should also make provision for
principal objects – what do you want the law to achieve? and 3) how these objects
would be achieved. 4) It should also contain difficulties that may arise and the
anticipated challenges from the law being enacted – legal, social?
Contents of drafting instructions
1. Sufficient background information about the law
2. Principal objects of the law
3. Ways/mechanisms to achieve objects
4. Problems or challenges envisaged
2) Analysing the Instructions – the drafter should analyse in the light of i) existing
law, ii) potential danger areas/ challenges the law might face and iii) practicability of
the law. i.e. if what is being proposed can be contained in an existing law there
wouldn’t be a need to enact a new law, they would simply amend the previous law; to
ensure the law doesn’t infringe on constitutional rights and doesn’t infringe in any
way; consider practical aspect of the law proposed to ensure it would work.

3) Design stage – this is the planning stage, the drafter must conform his idea to
conventional practices in the jurisdiction the law would apply. At stage, precedents
would be consulted.

4) Composition stage – this is when the idea is translated into a draft. A lot of mental
discipline is needed here, and this is gotten with practice. At this stage precedent
books need to used, however they shouldn’t be blindly replicated into the draft.
Ensure that the precedent hasn’t been repealed.

5) Scrutiny stage – here you just read through the draft. Its good practice to also give
someone else to read through it. Wait for a few days and go back to review the
document.

Formalities and arrangement

Usually statutes are arranged in parts, each part having its own heading. Marginal
notes, marginal references, number of sections standing alone e.g. section 14
Sub-sections are in parenthesis e.g. section 14(1)
Paragraphing technique in laws e.g. section 1(1) (a) (i) (A)

ARRANGEMENT IN PART
Numbering of parts of a statute is in Roman numeral e.g. Part I, Part II etc. i.e. Roman
Numeral

Reasons for arrangements in parts

1. For clarity of presentation, and
2. For ease of reference

Matters to take into consideration/criteria for arrangement in parts

1. Length of the law – a law that is bulky must be divided into parts
2. Where there are several sub things then it may be necessary for it to be divided
into Parts

Headings to parts – they are usually in capital letters. They serve as a signpost. It is
inaccurate to use the heading to determine the extent of coverage of that act, it cannot
give you the entire scope.

Marginal notes (they are also called section heads/section head notes/shoulder
headings) e.g. section 97 1999 constitution (languages) marginal notes
There are also marginal references: sometimes a section would refer to another
section, and the section that is referred to would be cited in the margin – this reference
is known as a marginal reference.

Order or arrangement of sections

A statute is divided into four parts
 Preliminary
 Principal
 Miscellaneous
 Final

Concepts in legislative drafting

1) Long title: every act begins with a long title and the essence is to enable you
know the general purpose of the act. It says the content and essence of the
legislation. It helps an individual identify the scope. Uses: 1) It forms part of
the legislation, if there is a doubt in the body of the law, you can refer to the
long title to aid the interpretation. See Vacher & Sons ltd v London Society of
Compositors (1913) A.C.107 @ 108; OSAWARU V EZEIRUKA (1978) 6 &
7 S.C. 135 @ 149. Note that: Where there is no ambiguity and the text is clear
you don’t have to refer to the long title. 2) It can also be used to limit the
debate or amendment of a bill.
Usually the long title is typed in capital letters and bold prints. The long title
is meant to be ended with “and for connected purposes” to take care of matters
incidental to that law.
This is the purpose of the law
How to draft?
 In an Act – “AN ACT…..
 In a law – “ A LAW”
 Bill sent to National Assembly – “A bill for an act ..”, this is if it is
still at the drafting stage
 Bill sent to House of Assembly - “A bill for a law…”
It must end with ‘and for purposes connected therewith’/‘and for other
matters’ /‘and for related matters’

If a date is given, then commencement would be the next part. If no date but there is a
provision as to when the law would come into force is given then the commencement
would become like a section.

2) Preamble – it can be used for purposes of interpretation or construction. When

used for constructive purposes it can be used to either extend the meaning or
restrict the general language but where the act has specified the meaning to a
particular word, the preamble cannot be used to change that meaning. So
preamble cannot be used to alter the meaning when it has been given a specific
meaning. It helps you know the function of the act, or why the making of that
law is necessary or desirable. Usually a preamble is rarely used, however an
example is found in the constitution. Uses: 1) It is a special feature that is
included in the law if the essence of the law is of international or constitutional
importance. 2) It is also used where the law is of a formal or ceremonial
 nature. 3) Where the essence of the law is to ratify an agreement or treaty
entered into.
This is basically what caused the law*
The use of preamble is no longer in vogue but it still used for ceremonial
statute, international treaties, bye law, constitutional law.

3) Enacting formula – it helps you to know the authority responsible for passing
the law. It gives it jurisdictional identity and constitutional authenticity. “The
national assembly enacts as follows” – it appears just once in the legislation.
Draft
In a federal law
An act: BE IT ENACTED by the National assembly of the federal Republic of
Nigeria and by the authority of the same as follows
OR
ENACTED by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as
follows:
OR
The national assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria enacts as follows:
In a state law
BE IT ENACTED by the house of assembly of …….state and by the authority
of the same as follows:
Everything in the enacting formula would be in block letters except ‘as
follows’

4) SHORT TITLE – it is a substantive provision of the law and it is always

embedded in a section. It must include the calendar year of enactment. It
serves the purpose of a label, for ease of reference – see VACHER’S CASE
(SUPRA). It’s a statutory nickname. Whereas a long title need not be long, the
short title must be short.
How to make the short title distinctive:
- The general way is to include the year of enactment
- By distinguishing numerically between acts of the same name e.g. Finance
Act 1985, Finance (No 2) Act 1985. Numbers are included where there has
been one law before with the same name in the same year and there needs
to be another law within that same year – it is to distinguish the first from
the second.
- To reflect the essence or purpose of the act e.g. (Amendment)
Note how to write the short title: the article “the” should not start with capital
letter but the law itself would be in capital i.e. “ The Companies and Allied
Matters Act 1990” is wrong rather it should be “the Companies and Allied
Matters Act 1990”

5) Commencement – the fact that a law has been passed doesn’t mean it has
commenced. A law will commence when it comes into operation. Presidential
assent may have been given to the law doesn’t mean it has been commenced.
See Obmiami Brick & Stone (Nig) Ltd v A.C.B (1992) 3 SCNJ 1 @ 53
The commencement date is to be considered at the third stage of drafting.
Note the possibilities to consider
- Where no provision is made: In Nigeria where the law is silent on
commencement date then it commences the day assent is given to it
 - Where a date is stated
- An authority is to specify
- The occurrence of an event: where the commencement is tied to the
occurrence of an event
Draft
Could either be written as:
Where it comes before the sections: [ ] commencement

6) Interpretation clause: It could be used to extend the ordinary meaning of a

word e.g. the draft would read “school here includes……” It could also be
used to restrict the meaning of a word
7) Application: May be territorial
8) Duration: every law remains in force until repealed. Effect of expiration of a
law: everything done under the act before it expired still remains valid
9) Schedules: materials that are detailed/technical and would render the
legislation bulky and confusing would be put in the schedule. It forms part of a
law. In the law the relevant schedules are referred to in the sections and the
relevant sections are also referred to in the schedule. See AFOLAYAN V
BAMIDELE
10) Explanatory notes: does not form part of the statutes
11) Establishment clause – what is drafted here depends on the scenario. Don’t go
beyond the powers of the body referred to in the scenario.

Establishment of a corporation
 There is hereby established a corporation
 There shall be established
 There shall continue to be established
Note: the 6 powers that must be provided for – power to sue and be sued, common
seal, to hold property in its name, perpetual succession

QUESTION
To ensure the attainment of free and compulsory education for all Nigerians, the
national assembly recently passed a law to establish the university education council,
which is empowered to provide free and compulsory education for students in
Nigerian universities. The council is made up of 37 members, with each state of the
federation and Abuja having a member.
The law is to come into force on 18th march 2018. Draft the law and reflect the
following parts of the law and in the proper order: the enacting clause, the
interpretation clause, the establishment section, long title, short title and the
commencement
Answer:
First arrange the parts in the proper order
The proper order is:
1) Long title
2) Commencement
3) Enacting formula
4) Establishment
5) Interpretation
6) Short title
Note that when drafting you must make use of marginal notes.

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION COUNCIL AND

TO PROVIDE FOR FREE AND COMPULSORY EDUCATION AND FOR
CONNECTED PURPOSES
[18th March 2018]

ENACTED by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as follows:

There is hereby established a corporation under the which shall exist in perpetual
succession and it shall have the power to sue and be sued , own property in its own
name and sell property, have its common seal ** - confirm draft from someone
There shall be established……a body corporate with perpetual succession and a
common seal, capable of suing and being sued in its corporate name; and capable of
using acquiring, holding or disposing of any property, movable or immovable, for the
purpose of carrying out its functions.

PARAGRAPHING
I. Two layered text
Example
The treasurer shall vacate office if he has completed three years in office,
becomes bankrupt or dies
The treasurer shall vacate office if:
a) He has completed three years in office; or
b) Becomes bankrupt; or
c) Dies

Introductory statement, independent paragraph, concluding statement

Three-layered paragraph text:

If an applicant –
(a) has attained the age
(b) MNN
(c) NN
Bbb………

Numbering of paragraphs
 Paragraphs (a)
 Sub- paragraphs (i)
 Sub –sub-paragraph (A)
 SECTION 120 (4)(a) (ii)(A)

Example 2
Draft - Any person who or hospital or clinic which fails to report as stipulated under
this law shall be guilty of an offence under this law

Answer: Any -
(a) Person who; or
(b) hospital or clinic which;
 fails to report as stipulated under this law shall be guilty of offence
under this law.

Example 3
A person convicted of an offence under this law shall be liable in the case if an
individual to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years and in the case of a
hospital or clinic to a fine of ten thousand naira

A person convicted of an offence under this law shall be liable-

(a) in the case if an individual to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five
years; and
(b) in the case of a hospital or clinic to a fine of ten thousand naira

Assignment 1
The trustees for sale may sell the trust land or any part thereof or make exchange of
the trust land or any part thereof.
Answer
The trustees for sale may –
(a) sell the trust land or any part thereof; or
(b) make exchange of the trust land or any part thereof.

Aids to clarity and accuracy

Note the use of “means”; “includes”
Never use means and includes together

Know the difference between the legislative process and the drafting process. At the
end of a drafting process you have a bill, at the end of a legislative process you have a
law or an act.
Drafting process must be undertaken by expert legal practitioner, but in legislative
process need not be undertaken by lawyers. Legislative process has different stages
i.e. first reading, second reading
 2 February 2018
LETTER WRITING AND CURRICULUM VITAE
This is still part of legal drafting
Letter
Memo
Minutes
CV

LETTER
Functions
1. To give or receive/ clarify instructions
2. To give opinion / advice on legal issues
3. As a pre-action requirement, to seek out of court settlement
4. Preferable means of communication where there is an overwhelming need for
record keeping
5. To give an update/ report on court action/search/ other legal action undertaken;
6. To communicate/correspond with lawyers for the opposite party during the
continuance of a case
7. To communicate with government departments, agencies, foreign missions etc. on
behalf of clients

Classes of letters are:

 Formal
 Semi-formal
 Informal

Types of letters
1. Demand: this when someone is indebted to your client and you’re demanding
the payment to your client. This letter should be written in a firm tone when
conveying the message to the other party.
2. Letter of confirmation: this is used to confirm a person’s application or
request.
3. Status/progress: this is to convey the progress or status of a clients matter/case
in court
4. Opinion
5. Notifying/notice: e.g. evicting a tenant

General consideration
 Plain words/clarity/unambiguity
 Avoid duplicity/abbreviation (especially, the text message lexicon, such as
lol, btw, asap)
 Be polite but firm
 Avoid / reduce sentiment / state facts boldly / use active mood not passive.

PARTS OF A LETTER/CHECKLIST

1) The address and other particulars of the writer including the ref no.
2) The date – use the British style [day-month-year]. Example: 3rd February
2017, rather than the American style of (month-day-year) also avoid using
figures only in writing dates to prevent confusion.
 3) The name and address of the addressee
4) The salutation – dear sir/madam
5) Attention – e.g. in sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company –
where there are more than one person in the office but the attention of the
particular person handling the matter is required
6) Endorsement as to the nature of the letter – e.g. is it “ confidential” “personal”
or “secret”
7) Special endorsements –“ subject to contract” “ without prejudice”
8) The heading/subject matter – should it be commenced with “RE”
9) The body of the letter – divided into paragraphs
10) Closing part – “ yours faithfully” – dear sir/madam; “yours sincerely” “yours
truly” where the opening salutation was friendlier/less formal e.g. dear Rhema
11) Signature and name of the writer. Note the principle in Okafor v Nweke - a
legal document should be signed by a legal practitioner who is known to the
legal practitioner act. Should state his name and that he acts on behalf of the
company
12) Indication of enclosures – at the foot of the letter – left hand side: identify the
documents enclosed and attach same to the letter. “ENCL” or “ENCLS”
13) Indication of person copied
“CC”- to indicate to whom copies were forwarded. It comes at the foot of the
letter, but in most cases it is not shown on the copy going out but shows to the
copies sent to others
May contain further note to that person copied. E.g. In a letter of complaint to
a tenant for nuisance caused by constant emission of gas from his flat, an
indication that the landlord is being copied might be made.
See Ashibuogwu v A.G. Bendel, NBA v Gani Fawehinmi , S.C.O.A V
OLUSOGA (1936) NLR 104

OYEWOLE & GOLD LEGAL PRACTITIONERS

12 Ikoyi Drive, Victoria Island Lagos
oyewolegold@gmail.com, 08123458710
Our Ref: L78169
Date:
2nd February 2018
Joseph Olusegun Lambe
12 Ikorodu Road,
Agidingbi Ikeja
Lagos.

Dear Sir,
DEMAND OF PAYMENT OF LOAN AGREEMENT WITH SKYE BANK PLC
We write on behalf of Skye Bank Plc (“our client") in respect of the loan transaction
agreement executed on the 15th day of January 2016. As agreed in the loan agreement,
the sum of N12,000,000 (twelve million naira) being the loan

The first thing you do in your letter is to introduce yourself – we act on behalf of

Without prejudice
Used in the course of negotiation to facilitate open discussion of matters in issue. If
effected such letter or correspondence properly affixed with “without prejudice” will
be inadmissible in evidence.
See s 26 & 196 Evidence act
Quare: admissibility of guarantee letter marked without prejudice
Normally without prejudice means you cannot admit it , but it can only be effectively
used when there is a negotiation of a dispute going on. The essence of without
prejudice is to allow free interaction between parties.

Subject to contract
Used by parties in the course of a negotiation for contract and the terms of such
contract are yet to be in place.
See UBA V TEJUMOLA & SONS (1988), but see INT. TEXTILE IND. V
ADEREMI (1998).

CV and MEMORANDUM
CV stands for curriculum vitae, which is latin for “course of life”.
It is a summary of your experience, skills and education
In the USA and Canada it is known as a resume- this is the French word for summary
CV’s are a written overview of a person experience and other qualification for a job
opportunity.

Uses of CV’s
 In some countries, a CV is typically the first item that a potential employer
encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants,
often followed by an interview
 Cv’s may also be requested for applicants to post-secondary programs,
scholarships, grants and bursaries.

Types of CV
 Traditional CV
The traditional CV, sometimes known as a chronological CV is used to
match your qualifications and work experience with the requirements for the
job role. The CV is structured in reverse chronological order i.e. the most
recent qualifications and experience are listed first
 Academic CV
Academic CV’s are focused on educational achievements and are used when
applying for lecturing or research –based roles.
Although there’s no page limit
Your academic achievements research interests and specialist skills should be
placed on the first page
Ensure that your writing style is
 Teaching CV
To make your teaching CV stand out you should target it to the post you’re
applying for and highlight your qualifications and experiences you have
gained including: qualifications, particularly details of your teacher training.,
relevant modules form your degree.
Include any other teaching experience e.g. sports coaching, summer camps or
youth groups;
Relevant voluntary experience;
 Interest relevant to teaching e.g. musical abilities or sporting activities
Skills that will be useful in the role e.g. leadership ,IT
 Skill based CV: the skills based CV also known as functional CV, can be
used if you have gaps in your employment history. This type of CV template
is also useful if you have limited experience or are applying for a job

Content of a CV
 Your CV needs to be packed with relevant information to help an employer,
make the decision to hire you. It should include:
 Contact details – include full name, address, mobile phone number and email
address
 Education – list and date all previous education, placing the most recent
highest up the page. Include any professional qualifications;
 Skills – you can also include customer service skills, advocacy skill, IT
skills, negotiation skills, drafting skills, administrative skills, research skills,
communication skills
 Work experience / employment history
 Length – maximum 2 pages, but there is no strict rule against going above 2
pages. In some jurisdictions they are referred to as resume and its allowed to
be as long as it needs to be

Certain things may be left out of the CV- you shouldn’t abbreviate in your CV as it’s
a formal document. Write it out in full – CURRICULUM VITAE. Don’t include your
picture in your CV except you’re applying for a modelling job.

Is the inclusion of profile necessary in a CV?

You don’t have to add a personal profile except in the belief that the CV would stand
out .
What are profiles?
This is a concise statement that highlights your key attributes or reasons for deciding
to work in a particular field. Its also known as a personal statement, career summary,
career aim or simply a profile

Are hobbies necessary in CV?

- Its not compulsory to include hobbies in your CV , but you may want to
mention any that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. An example
might be volunteering as a sports coach, or learning a language

Tips for writing a good CV ?

Grammar - there should be no mistake in you CV. Use a spell checker and enlist a
second pair of eyes to check over the test. Try and include as many active words as
possible to increase the impact of your Cv. Use active verbs to replace passive verbs
and nouns wherever possible. For example, you could include targeted words like “
created, analysed.
Lay out – place your most attractive skills and talents towards the top of your cv to
boost your chances of impressing an employer. The same rule applies to listing grades
– always place your highest grades first
Presentation – keep your CV neat and make sure its easy on the eye. Bullet points
should be used to tidy up any lists.
Style – there are various types of CV you can apply. Think carefully about the style of
CV to suit the position applied for.
Never lie on your CV or job application. Not only will you demonstrate your
dishonesty to a potential employer, but there can be serious consequences too. For
example, altering your degree grade from a 2:2 to 2:1.

Gaps in my CV?
You must always inform a potential employer of a gap in your CV to avoid it being
misinterpreted.
In your cover letter, you can provide an explanation for this career gap.

Do I need to write a cover letter?

You should always include a cover letter unless the employer states otherwise. It will
enable you to personalise your application to the job.
You can draw attention to a particular part of your CV, disclose a disability or clarify
gaps in your cv.

CURRICULUM VITAE
NAME
ADDRESS
TELEPHONE
EMAIL

A) PERSONAL DATA
NAME:
SURNAME:
DATE OF BIRTH:
NATIONALITY:
STATE OF ORIGIN:
SEX

B) EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND/ PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION

SCHOOL CERTIFICATE OBTAINED YEAR
University backwards

C) WORKING EXPERIENCE
COMPANY POSTION HELD PERIOD

D) ASSOCIATIONS

E) REFEREES: one academic and one employment referee

F) SIGNATURE AND DATE

MEMORANDUM
The literal meaning of the word memorandum is a note to assist the memory. Memos
are the written internal communication means for exchanging information relating to
day-to-day function within organisations. They are an internal short note or letter
It is different from a business letter
The style of a memorandum is usually office – specific. It may have a format specific
to an office or institution. See obi-okoye for draft of Memo

Uses of Memo
- To issue instructions to the staff
- To communicate regarding policy changes to the staff
- To give/seek suggestions
- To request help or information or to confirm a decision arrived at on the
telephone, etc.
Note: it may not be appropriate if the matter is of a complex or serious nature
involving lengthy discussion. A memo can be filed for future reference.
Therefore, it acts as evidence in conflicting issues.

Advantages
 Time saving: we can see that many organisation use printed memo. As there
is already a format. It takes less time to draft it
 Less formally: not formality is necessary in drafting a memo. Usually
address, salutation and complimentary closing are omitted in it .
 Maintenance of good relationship: it can help to maintain good relationship
among the boss and subordinates, because the bossing attitude is absent here
 Low cost: the cost of communication is less than those of others as memo’s
are internal
 References: memo is written document, so it can be used for future
references
 Informs decision and actions: the main objective of a memo is to inform
decision and actions. For this purpose, it should be written by the higher
authority.

Disadvantages
 Time consuming: some the information communicated through memo’s can
be communicated orally
 It could be expensive: some institutions use paper to send out memo’s,
sometimes more copies than are needed are printed out and this results in
waste.
 Lack of formality may make it less important to the reader
 Lack of explanation: sometimes the meaning in a general memo may not be
clear to the reader.
 It is not suitable for illiterates
 There can be room for errors: because its templated

Tips for writing a good memo

 Be concise
 Know the audience
 Avoid jargons
 Stay objective
 Use active verbs

Draft
(NAME OF ESTABLISMENT)
MEMORANDUM
FROM: HEAD OF ACADEMICS
TO:
SUBJECT:
DATE: 4th august 2017

All assessors are required to submit a written report of the just concluded portfolio
assessment exercise, on or before 26th of august 2017. This must be signed by both
assessors.
The report must be accompanied by the breakdown of the performance of all
candidates. The evaluation and survey forms as well as the confidential reports of all
unsuccessful candidates must also be included.

Thank you.

(signature)
Head of Academics.

See also obi okoye draft

Draft a CV and a Memo

CV
CURRICULUM VITAE
TINUADE OYEWOLE
1 IKOYI DRIVE , VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS
+234812345821 Taoyelice@gmail.com

A) PERSONAL DETAIL
NAME: TINUADE ALICE
SURNAME: OYEWOLE
DATE OF BIRTH: 4TH MARCH 1992
STATE OF ORIGIN: OSUN
NATIONALITY: NIGERIAN
SEX: FEMALE

B) EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND/ PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

INSTITUTION QUALIFICATION OBTAINED YEAR
1) UNIVERISTY OF EXETER LLB 2014-2017
2) BRIDGEHOUSE COLLEGE A’levels/University Foundation 2013-2014
3) DANSOL HIGH SCHOOL SSCE 2008-2013

ACADEMIC/PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATES
WESTLAW PROFICIENCY CERTIFICATE 2015
PEARSON TEST OF ENGLISH 2014
JUST CITE

C) WORK EXPERIENCE

D)
SIGN

MEMORANDUM DRAFT
COUNCIL OF LEGAL EDUCATION,
NIGERIAN LAW SCHOOL
LAGOS CAMPUS
MEMORANDUM
FROM

Ethical issues in letter writing (RPC)

1) The letter-headed paper should not be flamboyant otherwise it would go
contrary to the rule against advertisement – rule 39, you cannot improperly
attract business by your letter.
2) Rule 15 – the lawyer should represent the client within the bounds of the law
3) Rule 17 –
4) Seal and stamp – any document emanating from the lawyers chamber must be
sealed and stamped
5) Rule 16: Don’t be negligent – if the case is not well summarised, so the
instructions are not properly reflected in the letter writing

Minutes of meetings
Meeting: meaning ; essence of
 One of the different ways of communication for the purpose of
obtaining or carrying out clients instructions
 Useful in instances when other means of communication such as
telephone or written correspondence may not be appropriate
 Assembly of two or more persons in a specified place at a time, with
an aim of achieving a set goal
When is a meeting necessary?
1) A decision or purpose involving several parties or stakeholders;
2) Urgency is required in taking decision and correspondence / telephone may
not be adequate
3) Personal interaction is required to carry out a legal business/ lubricate
negotiation etc.
4) The matter at and is complicated or complex and other means may not suffice

Preparation for a meeting

 Choice of venue: for example a general meeting for a big company cannot be
had in a small hall
 Notices to the participants
 Agenda
 Objectives of each participant – for articulation
 Pre-meeting banters
 Meeting proper – with minutes taken

Minutes drafting
 An essential skill in corporate law practice/property law practice
 As the secretary/ person designated to take minutes, preparation includes
having stationery/ writing materials ready;
  Shorthand note taking skill is useful
 Note it is the summary of the discussion that is recorded and not the verbatim.

Parts of minutes
1. The heading: illustration “minutes of the annual general meeting of … held
at… on ….”
2. List of members present: also indicate those who are represented by proxy
“ATTENDANCE”
3. List of members absent
4. Opening remarks
5. Reading out and adoption of the agenda
6. Reading and adoption of the minutes of the last meting
7. Matters arising
8. Discussion of the matters listed in the agenda
9. Resolutions
10. Reports
11. Any other business – something not mentioned in the agenda but needs to be
discussed
12. Adjournment – the person who moved the motion and the person who seconds
it as well should be mentioned.
13. Closing of the meeting/ prayers
14. Date
15. Signature of the chairman and secretary and if it’s a law firm principal in the
chamber and secretary – note that whoever that signs must be present at the
meeting, so the chairman cannot miss the meeting then later sign on the
document

DRAFT
MINUTES OF EXECUTIVE MEETING HELD AT EKO HOTEL ON 15TH
DECEMBER 2017

ATTENDANCE
1) SUPREME UNUKEGWO
2) KATE ODILI
3) MOTUNRAYO OLOWU
4) EDWARD OSIKE

ABSENT
NIL

OPENING REMARKS
The meeting starting by 9:00am with an opening pray said by Mr Osike Edward SAN.

The secretary read out the agenda for this meeting

 9th February 2018
RULES OF INTERPRETATION OF STATUTE
DEMOCRATIC ARCHITECTURE
The constitution vests the legislative, executive and judicial powers in the national
assembly, the president and the judiciary respectively - S.4, 5 & 6 Constitution

Role of the judiciary

Is to interpret the law, in so doing the judiciary can only lawfully expound the law; it
has no power to expand the law

Why interpretation?
1. Draftsmen use few/ minimal words – every factual situation within the
purview of the statute can hardly be represented
2. There are always ambiguities in the provisions of the statutes
3. Usage and meanings ascribed to words are not static
4. Instances of unforeseeable new factual situations may arise

Words have core and peripheral meanings. Interpretation is the means whereby the
courts ascertain the intention of the legislature at the time the law was made.

Specific rules of interpretation

1) The literal rule (the referential approach)
This is the basic/ primary rule. Literal / plain meaning of words. Postulates
that each word used in any piece of legislation should be interpreted in its
ordinary grammatical sense except (i) where to do so may not yield positive
result or (ii) such interpretation would be unreasonable in the circumstances.
AKINTOLA V ADEGBENRO – the Federal Supreme Court departed form
the literal rule. overruled at the Privy Council.

2) Golden rule (referential)

It is an extension of the literal rule. It says that unless the literal rule will lead
to manifest absurdity, injustice or repugnant interpretation, the literal rule
should be used. In BECKE V SMITH (1836) the following statements
appeared:
“ it is a very useful rule in the construction of a statute to adhere to the
ordinary meaning of the words used and the grammatical construction unless
that is at variance with the intention of the legislature, to be collected from the
statute itself, or leads to any manifest absurdity or repugnance, in which case
the language may be varied or modified, so as to avoid such inconvenience,
but no further”
Example: in AWOLOWO V FED MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
(1966)
Constitutional provisions allowing an accused person to have his defence do
conducted by any counsel of his choice was interpreted to mean such counsel
who is not under any disability to enter Nigeria as of right

3) MISCHIEF RULE (PURPOSIVE)

 Enunciates that the interpretation should aim at curing /suppressing/
remedying a mischief/defect that necessitated the legislation in the first place.
In HEYDON’S case the rule was stated to involved:
- Discernment of the common law position
- The mischief or defect inherent in the common law/ the erstwhile
position
- The remedy proffered by the legislature
- The true reason for the remedy
After the above consideration, it then becomes the duty of the court to accord
interpretation that will suppress the mischief/defect and at the same time advance
the remedy.
Note the activist trend- which sought to give “force and life” to statutes as
advocated by lord denning – that the judge could find the intention of parliament
by “filling in the gaps and making sense of the enactment” was rebutted in the
house of lords as judicial usurpation of legislative function – masquerading as
interpretation.
See MAGOR AND ST.MELLONS RDC V NEWPORT CORPORATION

4) EJUSDEM GENERIS RULE

Where specific words are followed by a general word then the general word
should be confined in interpretation to the class specified in the special words-
JAMMAL STEEL STRUCTURE LTD V ACB
Did the court properly apply the rule?

5) EXPRESSIO UNIUS ESR EXCLUSIO ALTERIUS

Interpretation to exclude a thing that is left out among other things mentioned
in a statute

6) UT RES MAGIS VALEAT QUAM PEREAT

Literally – let the thing be valid – rather than perish
Where two interpretations can be ascribed to a statutory provisions - one that
is compatible with common sense and the smooth operation of the law and the
other by which seeks to defat the purpose of the legislation, then the court
ought to title towards the constructive interpretation.

7) CONTRA PROFRENTES RULE

This rule is applicable when talking about expropriatory laws. Expropriatory
laws are strictly construed against the party seeking to expropriate. There must
be strict compliance with all the conditions stipulated for expropriation.
Such laws are interpreted in favour of the citizen whose proprietary right is at
stake – NDOMA EGBA V CHUKWUOGOR
In Nigeria this is an offshoot of the provisions of section 43 and 44 of the
constitution.

8) LEX NON COGIT AD IMPOSSIBILIA

It presumes that the awl will not authorise doing the impossible. The court in a
dilemma with two alternative interpretations will opt for that interpretation
other than the one that will require carrying out something that is impossible.

9) NULUS COMMONDIUM CAPERE POTEST DE INJURIA SUA PROPRIA

 No party is allowed to benefit legally from his own wrong action.

10) NOSCITUR A SOCIIS

Meaning of a word can be found in the associating /accompanying words.
GARBA V FSC

11) LIBERAL / BENEFICAL CONSTRUCTION

The principle in RAFIU NABIU V STATE (1981) NSCC. It favours
substantial justice over technicalities. Always used in human right cases. No
one should allow justice to be defeated by mere technicalities. So the court
would now look for substantial justice. An extension of the UT RES MAGIS
rule

ADVERTISEMENT AND IMPROPER ATTRACTION OF

BUSINESS

ADVERTISEMENT
What is advertisement? Making the legal work known to the public and wanting
clients to engage us in the process. Advertising is the deliberate act of taking steps to
promote market or public one’s goods or services through media such as television,
radio, newspaper or other channel of communication for the purpose of attracting
clientele.
Is it allowed under our laws? Yes in certain circumstances Rule 39 (1)
Rule 39 (2) spells out the instances that will amount to improper advertisement:
a) Where it is inaccurate or likely to mislead
b) Be likely to diminish public confidence in the legal profession or the
administration of justice, or otherwise bring the legal profession into
disrepute;
c) Make comparison with or criticizes other lawyer or other professions or
professionals;
d) Includes any statement about the quality of the lawyer’s work , the size or
success rate; or
e) Is so frequent or obstructive as to cause annoyance to those to whom it is
directed

In the same vein, a lawyer shall not: Rule 46(2)

- Insert in any newspaper, periodical or any other publication, an
advertisement offering as a lawyer, to undertake confidential enquiries
- Write for publication or otherwise cause or permit to be published, except
in a legal periodical, any particulars of his practice or earning in the
courts or cases where the time for appeal has not expired on any matter in
which he has been engaged as a lawyer; and
- Take steps to procure the publication of his photograph as a lawyer to the
press or any periodical

Soliciting
What is soliciting? This can be defined as the lobbying, begging, beseeching or
prevailing on another to grant the handling of a brief to a lawyer. A situation where a
lawyer has canvassed for a particular job. In other words, if not for the begging, the
lawyer in question, may not have ben granted the handling of the brief
Is it permissible? Not allowed at all, but is very common.

Contrary to the case of advertising, soliciting is prohibited. Rule 39(3)

The following are termed as soliciting

What the can a lawyer do without inhibition in showcasing himself ? r 39(4)

He is allowed to publish in a reputable law list or law directory, a brief biographical
or informative data of himself and include the following:
I. Name (s) of his professional associations
II. Address, phone no, telex no, e-mail address etc.
III. The school
IV. ….
V. …
VI. ….
VII. …

Note-papers, envelopes and visiting cards – R 40

- A lawyer is allowed these with the following oriented on them
- Name and address
- Academic and professional qualifications, title – barrister – at law,
barrister and solicitor, solicitor and advocate, legal practitioner, attorney-
at-law

Signs and notices – Rule 41

- A lawyer is also allowed signs and notices
- These must be displayed either at the entrance of the firm or outside any
building or offices in which the law business is carried out
- These must contain name and professional qualifications
- Must also be of a reasonable size and sober design

Books and articles – R 42

- May include professional qualifications and after his name

Instigating controversy or litigation – rule 47

 A lawyer is forbidden from fomenting strife or instigating litigation.
 He must not proffer advice to pursue a lawsuit without being consulted.
Instances of such include:
- Searches in registries for defective titles
- Seek out claimants in respect of personal injuries with a view to being
employed by the perspective client
- Engage, aid or encourage agents to follow up on accidents with a view to
employment
- Offer or agree to offer rewards to any person who by reason of his won
employment is likely to be able to influence legal work in favour of the
lawyer.
What is champerty? And what is the difference with contingency fee
arrangement S 50 (1)
 In champerty the lawyer is luring the client into litigation, instigating
litigation and that’s not allowed, however contingent fee arrangements is
allowed under the law, the lawyer believes there is something in the case for
him and pays for the administrative fees of the case so the in the event that if
the matter goes in their favour they will get their fees. It’s a more sincere
arrangement on the part of the lawyer.

Draw a complimentary card, signpost, letterhead. Note that sign post doesn’t include
the address or e-mil of the firm, its just the name of the firm.

LAW Dinner
Everyone is sat down, after the malate goes you stand up and the
 Presiding bencher gives opening prayer
 Loyal toast: only when you’re prompted to stand up that you stand up but
usually you sit down
 After dinner speech: you’re sat
 Introduction of members of the BOB: after the malate
 Closing prayer: stand up
 Lawyers and benchers file out
 Students remain standing
 16 February 2018
LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT AND IT
Rule 22
Reasons for establishing a law firm
1) Out of necessity
2) Realisation of ambition
3) For independence reasons
4) Profitable

What are the qualities of lawyers who intend to establish law offices ?
 Honest and integrity
 Hard work and organisation; and
 Determination and commitment
Note that you also have to pay your dues.

For a lawyer to succeed he must have:-

 Knowledge
 Skill

Which type of capital does a lawyer need

 Start-up capital: this would include money used to procure furniture,
machines, premises, equipment etc.
 Working capital: this entails funds for recurrent expenditures like salaries and
wages, utilities and bill, cost of stationery, money that would be used to
replace consumables. It is the money that is used to run the law firm and keep
it going.

How does a lawyer source for capital?

By different means
 Personal funds like savings or funds obtained from family & friends
 Loan or overdraft from bank

What is business plan?

A document containing information about the proposed firm, its goals and the
financial projection

What are the things included in a business plan?

 Name of the law firm/business
 Type of firm
 Goals of the firm
 Business address
 Business start date
 Market competitors
 Capital requirement
 Borrowing requirement
 Security to be provided
 Use of funds

What are the classifications of law office?

  Small law office
 Medium law office
 Large law office

What are the criteria for such classifications?

They are classified based on
 Location of such firm
 Client base
 Available facilities
 Status of lawyers
 Number of lawyers

Law office are grouped into 4 , they are also types of legal/law practice. This is
different from classification of law firms
1) Sole practitionership
2) Sole proprietorship
3) Associateship
4) Partnership

1) Sole Practitionership
Here, there is only one lawyer in that firm and then he has support staff e.g.
secretary, clerk, receptionist, security. But note the important feature is that
there is only one legal practitioner. It is the unit of practice involving a
practitioner practicing alone, but employing supporting staff to assist him in
the office.
Features
i. He provides the capital of the firm and manages it
ii. He does the legal work since there is no other lawyer to who work can
be delegated
iii. It is the smallest unit of organisation of a law firm in Nigeria
iv. It is the commonest one in Nigeria

Advantages
i. It enhances quick decision making
ii. He keeps all the profits realized from the business
iii. It is easy to set up as there is less financial implication and less
administrative procedure to be followed before establishment
iv. He is always more committed in the sense that he knows his failure is
the failure of the entire business
v. He enjoys freedom as he is not under control

Disadvantages
i) A sole practitioner bears all the risk and loss alone
ii) He considers the issue on a brief alone
iii) He can only rely on his own understanding of the law; as a beginner
iv) He has problem of attracting clients as he is alone in the business
v) He has no time for holiday and relaxation and this may affect his
health
vi) Sole Practitionership does not encourage specialization in comparison
with where there are other practitioners
 vii) The practices dies with the sole practitioner

2) Sole Proprietorship
This is a unit of practice involving a Legal Practitioner who established a law
firm and employs other practitioners to work with him. They operate under an
employer and employee relationship. It is usually senior legal practitioners
who have capital to establish themselves as sole proprietors. The relationship
between practitioner-owner and other practitioners is that of employer-
employee. This is a relationship is governed by a contract of employment with
terms and conditions.
Advantages of Sole proprietorship
i. It enhances quick decision making
ii. The sole proprietor keep all the profit realised
iii. It is easy to set up as there is less financial implication and
administrative procedure to follow up
iv. He is always more committed in the sense that he knows that his
failure is failure of the entire business
v. There is division of labour between the owner and other practitioners
vi. He enjoys freedom since there is no boss to control him

Disadvantages
i. He bears all the risk and loss alone
ii. He may not have time for holiday and relaxation
iii. A sole proprietor who is a beginner has problem of attracting client as
he is alone in the business
iv. Upon the death of the sole proprietor the business may die with the
sole proprietor He may die with b

3) Associateship
It is a unit of law practice where two or more lawyers contribute the capital to
provide facilities required for a law firm. They set up their law firm
independently. The capital is used to secure office accommodation and all
other facilities. All the associate occupy the premises and share the office
facilities, he equally contribute to wage sand salaries of supporting staff but
each will remain a sole proprietor because he own an independent practice and
separate
Advantages
- It enhance quick decision making
- An associate keeps all profits realised
- It is easy to set up as there is less financial implication and less
administrative procedure
- He is always more committed in the sense that he knows that his failure
is failure of the entire business
- An associate enjoys freedom since there is no boss to control him
- An associate does not consider issues alone as there are other associates
from who he can seek advice
Disadvantage
- The associate bears all the risk alone
- As associate who is a beginner has problem of attracting clients as he is
alone in the business
 - He has no time for holiday and relaxation
- The practice may die with the death of an associate

4) Partnership
It is a unit of law office where:- two or more persons wishing to establish a
law firm contribute capital to form a partnership
Partnership is rarely set up in Nigeria because:
 Lack of trust/confidence; fear; greed
 Generation gap; indiscipline; ego;
 Inferiority/ superiority complex
 Impatience; and compatibility

Restrictions on the formation of partnership by legal practitioners

The restrictions are:
- It cannot be formed between lawyers and non-lawyers or lawyers who
are not admitted to practise law in Nigeria. See rule 5(1) RPC
- The continuous use o a deceased partner is not unethical, rule 5(2) RPC
- Where a member of a law firm becomes a judge, his name, if it appears
should be removed from the partnership name. Rule 5(3) RPC
- Where a lawyer acts alone he should not act/represent that he works in
partnership with others rule 5(4) RPC
Advantages
- It allows for division of labour and opportunity for specialization
- Risk is shared because more lawyers are involved and this allows for
stability of practice
- More heads are always available to discuss briefs from different angles
- It easier to get clients because of the professional competence of more
people are involved
- There is always time for partners to relax and go on holidays because
duties can be shared among partners
Disadvantages
- Due to the fact that many people are involved in partnership, ‘element of
dishonesty’, greed and fear which will affect level of commitment
- Procedure for setting up is always detailed and cumbersome. This may
slow down the time of the commencement of business
- Each partner, being an agent or principal of other partners, is liable for
the act of another done within the partnership business.

Note that under partnership, under 5(2) RPC, the death of one partner does
not necessarily terminate the partnership, the name can still be retained as
long as it is not used to cause deceit

Types of premises for law office

There are three types of premises:
- Purpose built office accommodation: there are many purpose –built ,
office accommodations in metropolitan cities, state capitals and semi-
urban areas
- Existing building
 - office in the home: a law office may be located in the home. There is no
practice, convention or rule which prohibits setting up a law office in the
home. There are many reason

LAW OFFICE STAFF

Legal work is carried out in a law office by its staff. There are two types of staff and
they are:-
 Fear earners: these are the practitioners in the law office who earn fees for the
firm. The number of practitioners is in the law offices depends on the size and
type of office
 Support staff:

Methods of employing and selecting staff

Staff can be employed by:
 Advertisement in newspaper
 Invitation from staff **
 Recommendations by agencies and consultants
 Inviting applicants from previous interviews

Procedure for selection of staff

Selected based on Interviews, test, assessment of your CV.
Then Letter of employment contains job title, terms of service

Office machine, equipment and supplies

Equipment includes
- Vehicles and generators
Equipment (machine) includes
- Computers, photocopy machines, telephone, facsimile machine, rubber
stamp, document shredder

Supplies include
- Letterhead, file jackets

Office manual for effective administration

It contains:
Working hours, absence or lateness; attendance register; assignment of staff;
provisions of office supplies; salary increment

Time management in the firm

- To manage the time, the firm needs to draw matters that are prioritized
into “ things to do” or “ important” or “ urgent”.
This is usually accomplished with use of reminder systems such as:
- Personal reminder system: personal diaries, tablets, laptops, phones etc.
- Firm wide reminder system: office diary; office computers, pre-printed
forms etc.

Filing system
 Documents are filed in either paper form or filed by electronic means
 Movement of files must be controlled.
 They can be controlled by:
- Registering incoming and outgoing files
- Devising methods of requesting and returning files
- Determining time and whether or not to dispose files

Law office records

Law firms keeps records of various items
Records required in a law firm are:-
 Office manual
 Staff registers
 Equipment
 Close file register
 Referral register
 Internal telephone directory
 Incoming and outgoing correspondence book
 Incoming and outgoing telephone call book
 Visitors book

Notification of law office

LP’s must notify the NBA branch in its location of its establishment
Such notification must be made within 30 days of its establishment
The notice should contain:
- Name of lawyers
- Date of call to bar and enrolment
- Address of the law office
The information is entered into the register of the NBA
Change of information, if any is communicated to the NBA – rule 13 (1)

Law firm for SAN

To be conferred with SAN, the office must meet certain criterion
These are GCSCA 2017
Sketch

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN LAW OFFICE

MANAGEMENT

You can use biometric devices

Five ways you can deploy IT in law office

Computers – online legal research e.g. law pavilion, communication i.e sending
official emails, sending memo’s,
Camera’s – for security reason and monitoring work done in offices
Printer and scanner
Face recognition cameras – for security and to gain access into the office
Hard drive – to back up system.
USES OF IT IN LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT
I) Administrative legal work
II) Solicitors financial transactions
III) Law library
IV) Case management
Advantages/ disadvantages of IT;
Challenges and solutions to the challenges of IT in Nigeria.

1) Computer – storage of clients information, typing; printout

2) Spread sheet – for data presentation/ computation of accounts
3) Electronic/virtual library – connection to libraries all over the world; legal
pedia; lexis/nexis
4) Instant messages
5) SMS
6) Social media
7) Different software/apps relevant to the practice of law
8) Hosting of a website
9) Video conferencing
10) Storage devices – flash drive/USB
11) CLOUD COMPUTING – SOFTWARE AS a service (SaaS)
12) Telephone
13) Modem for transmission of information on the electronic platform
14) Optical disc

Advantages
1. Quick storage and recovery of information
2. Better organisation and co-ordination of the law practice, the Legal
Practitioner and the support staff. In illustration the PDA or the electronic
diary can be used in the co-ordination
3. Facilitate easy communication with clients and receiving of instructions
4. Keep track of the transactions on the client account. Data on such account can
be stored and retrieved easily

Note: in exam you can be asked to cite/name devices that can be deployed in law
office management, you can also be asked about the advantages of the use

Disadvantages
1. Creativity and growth of professionalism is impaired as precedent is heavily
relied/depended upon without major change/innovation
2. Without a back-up, all information on client/practice may be lost to
hacking/virus
3. Loss of jobs for the paralegals

Challenges
1. Electricity
2. Cost of acquisition
3. Cost of maintenance
4. Computer illiteracy
5. Virus
6. Hacking
7. Weather
8. Poor service by the IT service providers
9. Adherence to the conditions for admissibility under the evidence act
10. Information may be interfered with/erased/lost
 23 February 2018
DISCIPLINE OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS
Why must discipline be instilled ?
For us to maintain the value and ethics in the profession.

How many professional offences are there?

The law has set out 4 categories:
1. Infamous conduct in a professional respect
2. Fraudulent enrolment in the legal profession / obtaining enrolment by fraud
3. Conduct not amounting to infamous conduct, but which is incompatible with
the status of a legal practitioner. (Conduct incompatible with the status of a
legal practitioner)
4. Conviction by a court in Nigeria of an offence which is incompatible with the
status of a legal practitioner

1) Infamous conduct in a professional respect

It has to do with those things that the law will not tolerate in the course of his
profession. There is no guide
“ if it is shown that…..in the pursuit of his profession, he has done something with
regard to it which would be reasonably regarded as disgraceful…. Then it is open…
to say that he has been guilty of infamous conduct in a professional respect”
per lopes , LJ in Allinson v General Council of Medical Education and Registration
(1894)
Also see NBA V ALABI (2006); OKIKE V LPDC (2005); NDUKWE V LPDC
e.g. misappropriation of clients money
If it is not done in a professional respect i.e. in the course of carrying out the duties,
then it is not infamous conduct – Re Idowu
How do we know which offences that will amount to infamous conduct and those that
will not? Any yardstick ? Does the RPC determine; this or not? See R 55(1) – the rule
doesn’t define infamous conduct in a professional respect.
What happens where misconduct amounts to a crime?
Where an offence has a criminal element and also something the LPDC should try,
the criminal matter should be tried first before taking it back to LPDC so as to avoid
conflict of decisions and also it has to be proven that the person committed the crime
because that accusation has to be proven beyond reasonable matter.
However where a person admits commission of crime, then there is no need to try the
criminal matter first it can go straight to the LPDC
The way an offence is coined can be an offence for the LPDC to try e.g.
embezzlement of clients fund – this is not coined in this way in the criminal code, it
would be refereed to as conversion
The tribunal would stay action until the person has been tried and convicted in a duly
constituted court of the offence. Reason is MDPDT
The person charged must however deny the allegation. Where he admits the tribunal
need not await the outcome of the court.
Where the wording of the charge is couched in such a way that it does not exhibit a
criminal element, the committee can go ahead to try the misconduct as charged
without waiting for the outcome of the court. See again NDUKWE’S CASE. (failure
to handover proceeds of judgement debts and
 2) Obtaining enrolment by fraud
Where a person has gained admission into the legal profession based on a
misrepresentation such that if not for that misrepresentation he would not have
been admitted into the legal profession.
Examples: forgery of certificates, misrepresentation of personal data etc.
The nature of the offence is criminal
Obtaining enrolment by fraud is where there is a fraudulent act or a
misrepresentation of material facts as to the status of a person to an authority
to secure his enrolment in the Supreme Court.
Would it make a difference if the representation arose from a mistaken belief?
Yes because it wasn’t a deliberate act so it wasn’t by fraud.
It is the intention at the time that matters even if the information subsequently
turned out to be correct.

3) Conduct not amounting to infamous conduct, but which is incompatible

with the status of a legal practitioner
The fact that it didn’t happen in the course of the person acting as a LP doesn’t
make it any less of a misconduct.
Defined as offences done outside the pursuit of an LP’S profession, one which
tarnished or is capable of tarnishing the image of the profession. This standard
is borne out of the statutory need for a legal practitioner to be of good
character at all times.
What happens if it contains a criminal element? Same as infamous conduct
e.g. habitual drunkard, notorious fighter, incessant shoplifter, brothel
patroniser, notorious gambler, bigamist, coveting client’s spouse.

4) Conviction by a court in Nigeria of an offence which is incompatible with

the status of a legal practitioner
What are the pre-conditions?
1) There must be a conviction
2) It must be by a court in Nigeria
3) The offence must be incompatible with the status of a LP
Abuah v Legal practitioners Committee (Re Abuah) – forgery by LP to
appropriate, he stole
What shall the committee consider? The committee shall consider the
nature of the deed that was incompatible with the status or position of a
legal practitioner. See Re Abuah
Argument: that punishment by the LPDC after the conviction by a court
amounts to double jeopardy – Discuss. See Re Abuah
Cf provisions of s.36(9) of the CFRN 1999.
Can the LPDC still punish where criminal offence and conviction was
struck off on technical grounds? Re King (1845) 15 LJQB 2. Yes, it looks
at the substance, so its possible that on technical grounds for want of
diligent prosecution the matter was struck out but it doesn’t mean the
matter cannot be tried by the LPDC, the matter that was struck out can still
be determined by the LPDC and the LP can still be fined.

Procedure
Proceedings before the LPDC:
Possible persons (s) under the LPDC rules to which the matter can be reported – R3 of
the LPDC Rules

 The Chief Justice

 President of NIC, chief judge of the state high courts, chief judge of
federal high courts, chief judge of high court of FCT
 Attorney General of the Federation
You can return to one of the categories of people

 To where is the complaint forwarded? NBA, And what happens at this stage?
R 4 LPDC Rules
The complaint is forwarded for investigation and to see or establish if there is
a prima facie case. This is the only function of the NBA at that stage, they
don’t determine the matter, they are not the body that determines the matter
they only establish if there is a prima facie case. If there is no prima facie case
that is the end of the investigation. If there is a prima facie case they write a
report and forward it to the secretary of the legal practitioners disciplinary
committee. NBA only investigates. They hand over the report the documents
that were considered to come to conclusion and a copy of the complaint or
petition. So - the complai, nt, document considered and report.

Procedure
NBA sends to
- Documents of
- Copy of original complaint
- The report

Standard of proof? R 10; NBA v ALABI

Note that the outcome of the committee must be gazetted. R 20
NBA, the LP and any other person with leave of the committee are usually parties to
the charge as it is the NBA lawyer that is the prosecutor
Argument: that it is a legal breach for the NBA to take legal action against persons or
in defence of them. Comment

Punishment
What possible punishment may be suffered by a guilty legal practitioner? R 17
- The LP will have his name struck of the roll of LP’s in the Supreme
Court
- Admonition/ caution or warned
- In a case of embezzlement the LP will be ordered to refund the monies
embezzled or document
- Suspension of the LP from practice for such a period as may be specified
in the direction

Note that the punishment meted out must be commensurate with the nature of the
offence committed e.g. , an LP’s name can not be struck off the roll in a case of
habitual drunkenness.

Appeal.
Where do these lies? Appeal Committee of the body of benchers - There is no such
body. So appeals lie to the Supreme court. The court erred in the cases of
ALADEJOBI V NBA (2013) ; and AKINTOKUN V LPDC (2014) by stating that
appeals should lie to the Appeal Committee of the body of benchers as this body is no
longer in existence.
Within what time duration can an affected LP appeal? 28 days

Restoration
Can there be a restoration of struck off name or cancellation of a suspension? Is it
automatic? No it isn’t automatic, the person has to apply
They will consider the following grounds before restoring his name to the roll of LP
of the Supreme Court
1) Gravity of the offence
2) The concerned LP must have shown remorse
3) Applicant has become a fit and proper person and generally of better
behaviour over time

To whom is the application made? – it depends . who punished?

- The LPDC
- The Supreme Court: the supreme court has two powers 1)original
because they have the power to punish and 2) appellate because appeals
lie to them. It must be an offence of infamous conduct in a professional
conduct, they cannot punish for the other 3 grounds.
Can a matter that has been decided by a Supreme Court be re-decided by
the LPDC? No , the LP is estopped over going such a matter

CJN
Disciplinary jurisdiction of the chief justice of Nigeria. S 13(2)
What sort of offence does it consider? Charge must be one pending before the LPDC
Lawyer must make representations in defence
What punishment can be meted out to the LP in question? Suspension pending the
outcome of the LPDC.

APPOINTMENT AND DISCIPLINE OF JUDICIAL OFFICERS

Judicial officers
S 318(1) constitution – restriction to holders of judicial offices
Qualification for appointment as judicial officers
1) Supreme court:
At least 15 years post call experience. Appointment is by the president on the
recommendation of the national judicial council subject to confirmation by the
senate – s231 Const.

2) Court of appeal:
At least 12 years post call. – s 238

3) Federal high court

4) High court of the FCT: appointment by the president upon the

recommendation of the NJC . s 256 const.
 5) National Industrial court: 10 years post call and must display considerable
knowledge in the law and practice of industrial relations and employment
conditions in Nigeria – S 254B. The head of the court is known as the
president and his appointment is by president on the recommendation of the
NJC and subject to the confirmation of the senate

6) Sharia court of appeal – s 261. Qualification: 10 years post call and obtained a
recognised qualification in Islamic law from an institution which is approved
by the NJC

7) The customary court of appeal of the FCT Abuja – appointment of the

president and judges of the court us made by the president upon the
recommendation of the NJC. The appointment of the president of the court
however requires confirmation by the senate:
S266 (3)
Legal practitioner of at least 10 years standing + in the opinion of the NJC he
has considerable knowledge and experience in the practice of customary law:
or
Where he is not a LP, if in the opinion of the NJC he has considerable
knowledge of and experience in the practice of customary law.

Bodies/ organs involves in the appointment of judicial officers

1. The federal judicial service commission/ state judicial service commission / FCT
judicial service committee
2. The national judicial council
3. The governor/president
4. The national assembly/ house of assembly of a state

FEDERAL JUDICIAL SERVICE COMMISSION

It is on the federal executive bodies established pursuant to s153 constitution
Functions/ powers include:
Advising the NJC in nominating persons for appointment to the judicial offices listed
in par 13 in the third schedule of the constitution;
And recommending to the NJC the removal from office if any such judicial officer
See par 13, part 1, 3rd schedule to the const.

STATE JUDUCIAL SERVICE COMMISSION

It was established as an executive body for each state pursuant to s197 constitution
Composition – se s197(2) & para 5, part II, 3rd Schedule cont.
Functions/powers
See ps

NATIONAL JUDICIAL COUNCIL

A federal executive body established by virtue of s153(1)(i) constitution.
Composition as stated in par 20, part 1 . – Study the membership

Appointment procedure
See the revised NJC guidelines and procedural rules for the appointment of judicial
officers of all superior courts of records in Nigeria, 2014
1. Notice to the governor by the chairman of the state JSC (for appointment into a
superior court of a state)
Where it is federal court, then the head of the court who proposes to embark on
appointment of judicial officers gives notice to the CJN/Chairman NJC.
Where it is the appointment of a judicial officer in the FCT is involved, then it is
incumbent on the chairman of the JSC of the FCT to give notice to the NJC

2. At the same time the notice is being served ,m a copy of the notice must also be
forwarded to the secretary of the NJC so that he can see whether form the budget
of the NJC
3. The secretary NJC advises the CJN/chairman as regard the number of the judicial
officer that can be accommodated by the budget of the council for the year
4. The CJN/CNJC notifies the chairman, SJSC or the head of the court to proceed or
not proceed with the exercise. a copy of the notice to the governor + the governor
response thereto is served on each member of the JSC
5. On the receipt of the CJN/CNJC decision the relevant JSC:
i. Call for expression of interest by suitable candidates placed on the
website, and notice board of the courts and the NBA
ii. Write to every other head of superior court of record in Nigeria and to
every judicial officer of the court in issue asking for nomination of
suitable candidates
iii. In the case of appointments into a federal court, write to the chairman,
NBA or in the case of a state court, then to the chairman of each
branch of NBA in the state asking for nomination – Rule 3
iv. In the case of appointment of a JSC or JCA, then the CJN or the PCA
shall write to the heads of courts, serving JSC/JCA and president NBA
asking for nomination
v. Any nomination must be in writing with details of the
personal/professional knowledge of the nominee.
Upon the close of nomination, the chairman JSC makes a provisional shortlist
on the merits of not less than twice the number of judicial officers required to
be appointed. The shortlist is circulated among:
i. all serving and retired judicial officers of the court in question
ii. all serving and retired heads of the court in issue (and in the case of
the appointment of head or court, on the retired CJNs and PCAs)
iii. the NBA branches in the state, in the case of federal appointment ,
then to the PNBA
iv. every member of the JSC(judicial service commission) concerned

6. The provisional shortlist is placed by the chairman JSC before the JSC for
approval as the final list
7. Factors to be considered:
a) Professional expertise + competence- evidence of contested cases in the last 5
years in case of a LP ( 5 years preceding the nomination)
b) Sound knowledge of law
c) Seniority at the bar
d) Federal character or geographical spread.
Note: no one with tarnished reputation or a judicial officer whose
performance is low should be shortlisted
8. The chairman or the secretary JSC on the CJSC direction forwards to each of the
shortlisted candidate NJC FORM “A” for completion and submission with all
necessary attachments
9. The Chairman of the judicial service commission tables before the JSC
memorandum in respect of each shortlisted candidate with:
i. The completed NJC FORM A with attachments
ii. The comments received on the candidate
iii. Any petition or protest
iv. Detailed medial certificate of fitness
v. Report by the DSS

10. Recommendation to the NJC by a memorandum addressed to the CNJC to be

accompanied with:
i. Minutes of the meeting of the JSC where a decision was made on the
nomination
ii. All the material placed before the JSC
iii. Proof of establishment prescribed by the legislation
iv. Proof of available capital
v. Proof of available capital vote
vi. Real + verifiable proof of availability of court hall, residence, car , library
vii. A chart which shows at a glance the essential particulars of the candidates
shortlisted

Note: Also check the disqualifying factors

Things that must be attached to application:
- 4) Proof of available capital
- 5) Proof of available capital vote
- Real + verifiable proof of availability of court hall, residence, car, library
- A chart which shows at a glance the essential particulars of the
candidates shortlisted

Interview by the NJC – once the interview is passed the person is announced as a
judge

DISCIPLINE OF JUDICIAL OFFICERS

1. Note the code of conduct of judicial officers 2016
2. Note the code of conduct of public officers 5th schedule const.
3. Note the role of the JSC and NJC in the discipline of judicial officers

Grounds for removal

1. Misconduct
2. Breach of code of conduct: the two codes - code of conduct of judicial officers
2016, code of conduct of public officers 5th schedule const.
3. Inability to discharge functions of office

Removal of office
Generally a judicial officer cannot be removed before his age of retirement except
under the conditions stated in s.292 constitution.
Note the retirement age in s 291 constitutions – in any other court at age 60 they can
retire, by age 65 they have to retire s291(2); in the supreme court or court of appeal
they may retire at age 65 and shall cease to hold office when he attains 70 years of age
s291(1).

Can the state governor/ SHA discipline or remove a CJ without the input of the NJC
ELELU-HABEEB V NJC (2012) 13 NWLR PT (1318) 423 – read the case
And Read the codes
 2 March 2018
NEGOTIATION; MEDIATION; MULTI-DOOR COURT
HOUSE
In the recent past the trend was dispute litigation. However in recent times ADR has
occupied a pride of place due to its advantages over litigation and also because most
civil procedure rules and even some criminal legislation now encourage ADR.
Enable provisions
1. Lagos rules objective if the rules – to promote efficient and speedy
dispensation of justice – see preamble 1(B) Lagos
2. Amicable settlement of disputes by way of ADR (Preamble 1 (C) Lagos civil
procedure rules)
3. All originating processes are screened for suitability for ADR and accordingly
referred to the Lagos multi-door court house or some other ADR institution –
Order 3 rule 11 Lagos
4. Every claimant in actions begun either by writ if summons or originating
summons is required to front load the protocol Form 01 – see the format of the
form
5. One of the purposes served by the case management conference is the
promotion of amicable settlement of disputes: O 25 R 1
6. The agenda for a judge at the CMC – making referrals to the Lagos multi-door
courthouse – O25 R 2
7. The ADR judge may give directives on matters referred for ADR; failure to
comply attract sanctions O 25 R 6 Lagos

Negotiation
Process whereby parties to a dispute seek a solution to their difference, in a voluntary
and direct manner
It may take nay o the forms of communication, e.g. oral or written
i. Direct communication in a meeting
ii. By telephone
iii. SMS
iv. Email
v. Correspondence – letter

Features
Direct, limited to the parties, without the intervention of any third party.
May take place before an action is filed or even after the filing of such action
A “term of settlement” is agreed upon and filed in the latter case.

Roles of lawyers in negotiation

Will negotiation process not render the services of the legal practitioner unnecessary?
Lawyers are involved in negotiation as
1. Advisers – order 3 rule 2 Lagos; see the pre action counselling certificate in
the FCT rules
2. Legal experts and evaluators
3. Direct negotiators – see order 13 rule 34 Lagos
4. Drafting of settlement agreement
Factors that affect bargain in negotiation
1. The legal rights of parties under the law, contract, customs, etc.
2. The interest sought to be protected – the desire, needs, concern of each party, a
party in a defamation case may be interested in his reputation
3. The power/influence of the parties: coercive power; e.g. NUPENG may withdraw
their drivers causing dislocation

Strategies in negotiation
Note that with the absence of safeguards e.g. the rules of evidence and procedure,
strategies of parties play a major role in the negotiation process.
There are two main broad styles – manner of delivery, negotiation
1. The co-operative: this is like a win-win strategy
2. The competitive / confrontational
However a third approach is the collaborative/ principled/ problem solving
Note: Distinguish between strategies and tactics

Stages of negotiation
1. Preparation/planning – know the claim of your client: e.g. in the accident case
identify the heads of damages especially special damages - including future
loss; if it involves a claim for injunction: how will this be addressed – an
agreement? Does your client want an apology in a defamation case – can this
be negotiated?
2. First contact stage – preliminary/exploratory; “ without prejudice” during
negotiation – NBA v FAWEHINMI; But note that upon an agreement, parties
are bound without prejudice” will no longer apply – CFAO V OLUKOGA
3. Agenda setting – parties agree on the agenda and the ground norm for the
negotiation
4. Bargaining stage
5. Conclusion – preparation of the agreement; note the areas where no agreement
was reached
6. Execution stage
Is it court assisted ADR or ADR on a matter already in court? - Terms of
settlement to be made part of the court judgement – consent judgement (note:
an appeal to a consent judgment is not by right, leave of court has to be
sought) – preparatory to its enforcement

Tactics/ styles adopted in negotiation

1. Win – lose
 Winner takes all approach
 Aggressive
 Adversarial
2. Win- win
 Something for every party
 Concession easily made
 Goodwill preserved
3. Nibble/ piecemeal
 Issues or matters are negotiated piecemeal
 No wholesale litigation
 Resolution of an issue before taking on another
4. Package deal
 Wholesome dealing
 No agreement piecemeal unless all issues/ matters have been discussed
5. Putting price last
 All aspects of negotiation will be undertaken before price is discussed
 e.g. in the accident case , the issue of liability may be resolved before the
monetary damages payable will be discussed
6. Leap frogging
 Jumping or leapfrogging from one issue to the other without a resolution
 A style that displays panic
 Used as a default position by a party that cannot hold its own in
negotiation
7. Puff
 Puffing up on BATNA
 Deception on the actual BATNA
 Can however backfire
8. Plea of lack of authority after negotiation and before commitment
9. Plea of limited authority
10. Flattery
11. Deadline: illustration – accident case we offer 1 million naira in full and final
settlement. You have between now ns tomorrow 6pm to accept or it is withdrawn
12. Take it or leave it
Similar to deadline
13. Threats
14. Hit and run – selfish, concerned with the interest of the party deploying such
tactic
15. Humour – can be used to “disarm” the opponent”. Useful in coop / problem
solving strategy
16. Freeze out – tends to outwit opponent ech point, thereby making him not to be
competent or know what to do about the issues
Competitive

Preparation
- Identify the issues
- Choose the strategy
- Decide your BATNA - best alternative to negotiated agreement – your
fallback or the bottom-line; the least point at which the party walks way;
develop the BATNA with your client

Mediation
1. A voluntary ADR method which involves a neutral third party who uses his
good offices to assist the parties achieve a negotiated settlement of their
dispute
2. The mediator may be selected by mutual agreement, and he assists the parties
as the facilitator of the amicable settlement of the dispute

Why mediation?
1. Mediation is similar to negotiation with the major difference that mediation
involves a neutral third party – the mediator
2. Mediation is available where negotiation is impossible or ineffective due to:
i) Hostility and bad blood existing between the parties;
ii) Lack of food faith/ distrust;
iii) Undue rigidity/ uncompromising/ adamant attitude of either or both
parties

Qualities of a good mediator

1. Impartiality, independence, neutrality, integrity – he must be insulated
2. Ability to get parties talking, trusting, especially where ego is at play
3. Ability o convince the parties to give mediation a trial
4. Ability to control the mediation process
5. Flexibility and adaptability
6. Experience

Contrast negotiation & mediator

1. Mediator – faster – 3rd party intervention
2. Parties are easily committed to dispute resolution
3. Mediator uses his good offices and expertise to assist in achieving resolution
4. Flowing from 2, brick walls are broken down; effect of ego minimised
5. Enforcement is easier; 3rd party is a potential witness

Disadvantages
1. Costlier
2. Want of privacy/ confidentiality
3. Possibility of bias/ partiality on the part of the mediator
4. Where the mediator is not trusted parties may be reluctant to discuss/ disclose
information
5. Lack of expertise on the part of the mediator may be fatal to the process

Stages of mediation
1. Preparatory stage
- General preparation
- Venue, pre mediation agreement
- Informing the court and taking a long date
- But note as with all ADR – the limitation act does not cease to run
2. The opening stage
- Introduction
- Non-disclosure agreement: this is necessary because there’s a third party
- Opening statement: each party states their grievances
- Privilege – FAWEHINMI V NBA
3. Agenda setting/ issue identification stage
4. Bargaining stage
- Mediator may suggest solution
- Persuasive tactics
5. Agreement
– Concluding agreement
– Enforcement

MULTI-DOOR COURT HOUSE

Historical background
The first multi-door court house in Nigeria – the Lagos multi-door courthouse was
established in Lagos in 2002.
Being a public-private partnership project between the High Court of Lagos state and
a non-profit organisation, the negotiation and conflict management group (The
NCMG)
Legal backing was provided through the enactment of the Lagos multi door
courthouse law 2007.
Several jurisdictions have replicated the idea. Thus for example there is now the
Abuja multi-door courthouse.
Court connected, although nothing stops parties approaching the MDCH of their own
volition. Independent, non-profit corporate body, with perpetual succession
- Overriding objectives are listed in s. 2
1. Enhancement of access to justice by the provision of alternative
mechanism to supplement litigation
2. To minimize frustration on the part of citizens by preventing delays and
providing a standard legal framework for fair + efficient ADR solutions
3. Envisaged as a focal point for the promotion of ADR in Lagos state
4. Dedicated to the promotion, growth and effective functioning of the
justice system through the ADR methods
Note the provisions in s. 4(1) & (2); s 19 (1) of the Lagos law – for the
enforcement of any settlement agreement under the SCPA
Note the Abuja multi-door courthouse mediation and arbitration rules do not
provide for enforceability

Ethical matters in negotiation

1. Lawyer /client privilege – R19 (1)- (3) RPC
2. No direct negotiation/ compromise with a party who is represented by a
lawyer – R 19(5) RPC
3. Where a party is not represented don’t mislead him; also don’t undertake to
advise him as to the law – R . 19(6) RPC
4. Duty of disclosure of the lawyers interest - such interests may be financial,
proprietary, business, or personal – r 17 (1) – (3) RPC
5. Duty of dedication and devotion of attention, energy and expertise. R 14 (1)
RPC
- Keep client informed of the progress of the negotiation
- Advise him as to the BATNA and WATNA
- Draft the agreement and ensure the execution thereof;
- Take all the steps necessary for the process of making the agreement
the court judgment
- If the negotiation is in the course of a court action ensure the terms of
settlement are drafted and adopted as the judgment of the court.
6. Instructions and briefing should not be at the clients residence or place of
business – R 22
7. Duty to promptly deliver to the client any money paid or property received as
a result of the negotiation – r 23(2) , see also r 23(1) RPC
8. No threat of false or non-existent evidence
9. No unnecessary threats e.g. to get the information obtained out on the social
media or even to the relevant law enforcement agencies
10. No misrepresentation / false information
 11. Duty of representation with competence – RPC 16
Ethical matters in mediation
1. Don’t misrepresent facts knowingly to the mediator
2. Duty to act with integrity. Mediation or any ADR should nit be used purposely
to delay eventual litigation; or only to obtain information of the opposite
party’s case – RPC

Draft of terms of settlement

Scenario – if the scenario is in court , then you have to start with the court heading,
including suit no, you don’t need a brief statement of facts
IN THE HIGH CORUT OF LAGSO STATE
IN THE LAGOS JUDICIAL DIVISION
HOLDEN AT LAGOS
SUIT NO:
BETWEEN
MR JOHN UDOKA ……………………………….DEFENDANT
AND
MR UBONG ETIM
Terms of settlement
The parties to this suit have agreed that the dispute be settled with the terms agreed
below
- The sum of N500,000 will paid to cover the cost of medical bills
- The sum of N2,000,000 as compensation to the my client (Mr John
Udoka)

2) The parties have agreed that the terms be made the consent judgment in this case

DATED THIS 4TH DAY OF JULY 2017

 9 March 2018
INTRODUCTION TO ADVOCACY PRACTICE
ADVOCACY – connotes speaking out in defence or in aid of a cause or interest
 Reference to vocal skills which a legal practitioner uses in proceedings
before a court or other bodies
 This may involve examining, cross examining witnesses or generally
addressing the court in respect of an application or the entire case
 Advocacy will involve marshalling relevant law and facts to claim or
defence; conducting cases so as to convince the court
 Oratory or advocacy skills?

 Any relationship between oratorical skill, eloquence and advocacy skill?

 Oratory and eloquence only a part. The advocate must have knowledge of
the law and practice and procedure in the courts, when to apply that
knowledge

 Is there any difference between knowledge and skill? – IWEKA V

SCOA(NIG) LTD (2000)
 Oratory, interrogation, strategy and tactics – there are three stages of
advocacy: oratory – to the extent that you’re communicating, and can
pass a message across. It can also be called good communication;
Interrogation – this important for examining your witness, cross-
examination and even re-examination; strategy and tactics – without
knowledge and skill you cant be a good advocate. These 3 areas are
crucial for advocacy.

Qualities needed by an advocate

 A good voice
 Good Command of the English language – this is the language of the court
 Confidence
 Persistence: a good advocate will have the mind-set that this matter will get to
the Supreme Court. A good advocate that researches well on his case and
believes in it would be able to move the application even if the judge advises
against it.
 Practical judgment: this comes from experience, this will teach an advocate
when to change tactics and when to go on

Skills an advocate must possess

- Mastery of facts and ethics of advocacy
- Mastery of law & practice (especially in the core area concerned0 –
background knowledge
- Adequate preparation
- Good communication – (verbal and non-verbal) eloquence, clearly, listen
carefully and accurately, body language, body posture and facial
expression
- Addressing the court properly – Lordship, My Lord, My Lady, Honor,
Worship
 - Ability to conduct exam/ cross exam/ re exam of witness
- Presentation of addresses- open, close, allocutus etc
- Good interviewing and counselling skills
- Research skills
- Analytical skills
- Drafting skills

How do you prove previous conviction?

 S. 82(4),(5),(6) EA
 S.180 (g)
 S.248, 249, 250 EA (Part XIII)
 S.16 ACJA – Central Criminal Registry
One of the key foundations to be laid, is the memory- can he remember that event
happening.
You can’t go to s 248 alone, it may not be relevant to the present case.
Can a lawyer object to production of the CTC?
Any objection at that stage should be an objection of law and not one of fact, so the
lawyer can objet to it if it not properly signed and so not a CTC as known to law
S248 (1)(a). The objection cannot be one of fact because they would need to call
evidence and they cannot have trial within trial for admissibility of evidence. Trial
within trial is only for confessional statement. In s 248 (1) there are 3 modes – signed
by the registrar, or in a customary court by clerk of court; or signed by the director of
prisons or officer in charge of the records.
S 248(2) is an offshoot of (1) and relates to the Ibori case
Another foundation that ahs to be laid is the source of record

Opening statement draws the attention of the court to the charge before it, the witness
you intend to call and the means you will do that without calling evidence.

Ethical issues in criminal matters

Rule 37 – this is the first point of call. Duty of prosecutor 37(4) – you’re not a
persecutor but a prosecutor. This rule must be mentioned when discussing ethical
issues of a prosecutor.

The fact that a confessional statement was made voluntarily but was obtained through
deception would not render it inadmissible – s 31 EA

Oral evidence must be direct. Even in refreshing memory he must peak directly and
not read from the book
Note that powers of police to issue a search warrant is circumscribed, so not just
above the level of cadet ASP but also location**.

Leading questions
What is? – s.221(1)
Any question suggesting an answer
Generally not allowed in examination in chief – s 221(2)
When allowed? S. 221(3)
 Introductory, or undisputed, when sufficiently proved
 Admitted facts
 Hostile witnesses – s 230
  When allowed by the court
 Cross examination

Note who’s giving counsel

 16 March 2018
INVOLVEMENT IN CORRUPTION BY LAWYERS
Corruption is not only about exchange of money.

Role of lawyers in corruption

Corruption between lawyers and their clients
1. Helping clients siphon money between banks & out of the country through
money laundering. Unethical conduct. See rule 15 (3)(a),(i) &(j)RPC
2. Helping clients to evade tax
3. Payment of kickbacks to clients to get briefs e.g. from banks & other
companies.
Check for the aribotin case
4. Payment of huge sums of money in cash to lawyers by clients as fees outside
the banking system (Money laundering)
5. Payment of huge sums of money to lawyers as legal fees which is not
commensurate with the legal services rendered can be seen as a corruption.
See Rule 48(1) &(2) RPC 2007

Lawyers must always report suspicious, unreasonable & unjustifiable money

transaction to EFCC & other regulatory bodies. See s 6, 7 & 8 Money Laundering
(prohibition) Act 2011 as amended.
s. 6 – seek information from the customer as to the origin and destination of the fund,
the aim of the transaction and the identity of the beneficiary.
Write a report on the suspicious and unjustifiable money transaction & about the
identity of the principal and the beneficiary and forward same to EFCC.
s. 7 – the record of the customer’s/client identification and nature of the transaction
carried out shall be kept and preserved for a period of at least 5 years after the closure
of the account or the severance of the relations with the customer
s. 8 – the records referred to in section 7 of this act shall be communicated on demand
to the central bank of Nigeria or NDLEA or EFCC and such other regulatory
authorities, judicial person as the commission any from time tot time by order
published in the gazette, specify

Corruption between lawyers and the judiciary

1) Lawyers bribe judges to pervert the course of justice
2) Lawyers encourage their client to bribe judges
3) Lawyers discussing matters with judges outside the court with a view to
overreaching the courts decision. Refer to the pending case of EFCC v Some
SAN (Unreported); EFCC v Some Judges.
See generally Rule 15 (3) (a), (i) & (j) RPC; Rule 30 & 34 RPC

Corruption between lawyers and other parties

1) Lawyers bribe witnesses of opposing parties to get judgement
2) Bribery of government officials to get things done for their clients
3) Bribery of court registrars, clerks and other court officials

Sanctions against corrupt lawyers

See generally s.8, 9 & 10 of the corrupt practices & other related offences act 2003 in
laws of federation of Nigeria
Sanctions under s.15-19 money laundering act. 7 years imprisonment for both the
person who gives and receives bribe.
Disciplinary measures & sanctions by the legal practitioners disciplinary committee.
See s10 & 11 LPA
Disciplinary measures & sanctions by Supreme Court & chief justice of Nigeria. S 13
LPA

ARBITRATION
What is arbitration?
Private judicial determination of a dispute between two or more parties by an
independent third parties known as an arbitrator.
What is an award? At the end of the hearing the arbitrator gives a decision and this
decision is known as an award
Arbitral Tribunal – where proceedings are heard. The proceedings are heard in
privacy

It is judicial because it has some features of litigation but because of its privacy its
often considered as an alternate means of dispute resolution
Arbitration is a special type of ADR because usually ADR is voluntary
- Possess some attribution of litigation
- Informality and voluntariness of process
- Statutes governing arbitration in Nigeria
The main statutes that govern arbitration in Nigeria is the arbitration and conciliation
act Cap A18 LFN 2004 which governs arbitration in all the states in Nigeria. However
in 2009 Lagos state enacted its own law, Lagos state arbitration law 2009.
S 2 provides that all arbitration shall be governed by the provisions of this law except
the parties have expressly agreed that another arbitration law shall apply. So,
arbitration matters in Lagos state are governed by the Lagos state arbitration law
2009.

Types of arbitration
1. Customary arbitration. This is usually not binding because it is not written.
The decision of the arbitrator is not put into writing. The arbitrator
based on oral agreement and proceedings not recorded. OLINE V OBOD
(1958). Not governed by the ACA or LSAL.
Judgement not usually enforceable. See OHIAERI V AKABEZE (1992) – it
was held in this case that judgment is usually not enforceable because the
agreement and judgement are not written but however for a customary
arbitration decision to be valid and binding certain conditions must met.
a) Parties must have voluntarily submitted dispute to arbitrator
b) There must be a prior agreement between the parties that the arbitral
decision will be accepted as final and binding
c) None of the parties withdrew from arbitration mid-way
d) It was conducted in accordance with the custom, trade or business of the
parties
e) A decision must have been reached and published as a final decision i.e.
award
 f) Award/decision must be accepted by the parties at the time it was made.
See AGU V IKEWIBE 91991); OKEREKE V NWANKWO (2003);
OHIAERI V AKABEZE
2. Domestic arbitration
- Parties are resident in the same country
- Dispute and transaction which gave rise to the dispute, must have
occurred in the same country where parties reside and obligations of the
parties are also to be performed in that same country
3. Institutional arbitration
- Arbitration done by bodies or institutions
- May be private or attached to courts e.g. Lagos multi-door courthouse,
Abuja multi-door court house
e.g. London court of international arbitration, chartered institute of
arbitrators
4. International arbitration
- Involves parties from different countries
- Disputes involves transaction or business which are carried out in
different countries
5. Adhoc arbitration
- Not done by institution or bodes
- Parties themselves are required to select arbitrators and make rules &
laws to govern their proceedings

Not all matters can be settled by arbitration

Matters that can be settled by arbitration: breach of contract, torts, disputes arising
real property transaction, issues of compensation, matrimonial causes (some subject
matters are arbitrable, however they still need to go back to court to make a decree
nisi, or decree absolute)

Disputes that cannot be settled by arbitration: election petition, criminal matters,

declaratory reliefs, Injunctive remedies, Interpretation of the constitution, any dispute
on illegal or immoral transactions.
How to resort to use of Arbitration process
There must be an agreement between the parties in any of the following ways:
1) Inserting an arbitration clause in their contractual agreement or by
executing an independent arbitration agreement. The arbitration
clause /agreement will be independent of the contract so even if the
court says the contract is null and void the arbitration clause would
survive.
- Agreement must be in writing and not oral. See s 3(3) LSAL
- Arbitration clause which forms part of a contract agreement is
independent from the other terms of the contract. S 12(2) ACA; S. 19(2)
LSAL
- Cannot be revoked except by the express or written agreement of the
parties or leave of court. S. 2 ACA ; S 4 & 5 LSAL

2) Statutory arbitration clause

 - Arbitration clause can be included in the statutes creating some bodies or
institutions e.g. S. 26 Nigerian Investment promotion act Cap N117, LFN
, 2004

3) Post Dispute agreement

- Where the parties did not execute arbitration agreement before a dispute
arises they can execute one after dispute has arisen

4) Court referral
- Court can refer matters to arbitration after matters are commenced before
it.
- Can be done suo motu or on the application of the parties. See Or 3 R 11
Lagos; Or 17 r 1 Abuja. The court can refer to any of the multi-door
court houses or to an independent arbitrator

Power of court to stay of proceedings

 Agreement of the parties to resort to use of arbitration is a bar to them
commencing an action without first using arbitration. See scott v Avery
(1856)
 Where action is commenced in court instead of submitting to arbitration, the
other party can apply to the court for stay of proceedings
 When to apply for stay of proceedings. See s. 5(1) & 2 ACA ; s 6. (2) LSAL;
Carlene (Nig) Ltd. V university of jos. A party must do so immediately after
entering appearance in the matter but before taking any further steps in the
matter. The method of applying is motion on notice supported by affidavit
and written address

Composition of arbitral Tribunal

 A tribunal must be validly constituted before it can give a valid decision
 Determining the number of arbitrators. S 6 ACA
- Parties can agree on number of arbitrators or else statutory provisions of
three (3) arbitrators will prevail

Appointment of arbitrators:
a) By the parties:
- Where one arbitrator is required parties must jointly agree on who to
appoint as arbitrator
- Where three arbitrators are required, each party shall appoint one
arbitrator and the 2 arbitrators appointed shall jointly appoint the third
arbitrator. s 7(2)
- Parties can appoint holders of specific professional office
It is possible for the parties to state expressly that they want holders of
specific qualification or offices to be their arbitrators
b) By the court:
- Where a party fails to appoint an arbitrator within 30 days of request form
the other party …..
if the 2 arbitrators appointed by the parties
c) By the arbitrators already appointed:
 - Where there are 3 arbitrators, arbitrators can be appointed by the
arbitrator already appointed s 7(2)(a)ACA
d) By holder of a specific professional office or an institution:
e) – the arbitration agreement may specifically name a third party or an
institution as the person to appoint the arbitrator. E,g
Appointment of an umpire
The umpire doesn’t sit throughout the arbitral proceedings, it only sits through that
area of deadlock and gives a decision on that matter
- Where 2 arbitrators cannot agree on a decision/award a 3rd party may be
appointed known as an umpire
- Gives a unilateral / sole decision which is binding.
- Not provided under ACA
- Provided for under LSAL. See s.9(1) & (2) LSAL

Challenge of an arbitrator
 Duty to disclose any circumstances that may give rise to any doubt as to his
impartiality or independence
 Duty to disclose shall continue throughout the arbitral proceedings. S 8 (1) &
(2) ACA
 Grounds for challenging an arbitrator. See s 8(3) ACA; s. 10(3) (a)-(d) LSAL
 Parties can decide on the procedure to use to challenge the arbitrator; where no
procedure is agreed upon, the party who wants to challenge shall within 15
days of becoming aware of the inadequacy send a written statement to the
tribunal stating reason for the challenge. s 9(2) & (3) ACA.
- Tribunal can rule on the challenge to its jurisdiction s. 9(3) ACA this is
known as competence-competence
 Termination of Arbitrators mandate:
- See grounds stated in s. 10(1) ACA & s.12 (1)(a-d) LSAL
 Removal of an arbitrator: this is different from terminating his mandate
- Where he has misconducted himself
- Any party can apply for removal. S. 30(2) ACA; Schofield v Allen
(1904)
 Appointment of substitute arbitrator. S.11 ACA; S. 11(4) LSAL

Jurisdiction of arbitral tribunal

Has power to give a decision on any questions raised regarding its jurisdiction or any
objections raised to the validity of an arbitration agreement. S12 (1) ACA
Grounds for challenging jurisdiction of tribunal:
a) Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear the dispute.
b) The tribunal has exceeded his scope of authority. See s. 12(3)(a) & (b) ACA
c) Arbitrator does not possess the necessary qualification

Time for raising objection on jurisdiction.

a) Ground of total lack of jurisdiction:
- Not later than the time given for the submission of the his points of
defence. S. 12(3)(a) ACA; S. 19(3)(a) LSAL
b) Ground that it has exceed its scope of authority:
- As soon as the matter which is beyond the scope of authority is raised
during proceedings. S 12(3)(b) ACA; s 19(3)(b) LSAL
Ruling on the objection
- May consider the objection raised as a preliminary issue and give his
ruling before going on with the proceedings; or
- May take the objection together with the arbitral proceedings and then
give his ruling on the objection in his final award.
Ruling on the objection is final and binding on the parties. S. 12(4) ACA

CONDUCT OF ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS

Governed by the arbitration rule in the 1st schedule to the ACA
- Where there is a lacuna, tribunal will conduct proceedings in such
manner as it deems fit to ensure that parties are given fair hearing

Parties can agree on place for conducting proceedings. But in the absence of such,
venue shall be fixed by the tribunal. Art. 16 AR

Commencement of proceedings:
- one of the parties will notify the oetrh party in writing i.e. “ declaration of
dipute”
- arbitral proceedings is deemd to commence on date the other party
receives notice of request to go to arbitration. S 17 ACA ; Art . 3(1) & (2)
AR

Contents of notice of arbitration. Art 3(3) AR. They include:

- a demand that the dispute be referred for arbitration
- Names and addresses of the parties
- Reference to the arbitration clause in the agreement or independent
arbitration agreement if there is one
- reference to subject matter of the dispute
- general nature of the claim and
- relief or remedy sought
- a proposal as to the number of arbitrators if there was no rpevisous
agreement as to the number
There may be a preliminary meeting. The arbitrator may then decide to have a
preliminary meeting with the parties, where they agree on some terms and procedure.
E.g. they can agree on time within which nay document is to be served on each other
or be exchanged
Parties may agree on language to use. S. 15 ACA

Submission of points of claim and defence

- Claimant to file and serve point of claim on respondent within the time
agreed by the parties or within time stipulated by tribunal
- Contents of point of claim. S 19(1) ACA ; Art 18(2) Arbitration rules
- Respondent to file point of defence after receipt of point of claim but
within time agreed by the parties or as stipulated by tribunal. Parties are
allowed to attach all the documents they want to rely on to their point if
claim or point of define
- Content of a point of defence . s 19(2) ACA ; art 18(3) & 19(2) AR
 - Party can amend or supplement his claim or defence but claimant may
not amend to make his claim fall outside the scope of arbitration s19(3)
ACA
Hearing of proceedings: proceedings will be conducted in private and in the
proceedings each party must be given equal opportunity to present his case,
witnesses and documentary evidence.
It is the law that the evidence act does not apply to arbitration proceedings. S
20 (5) ACA the arbitrator is allowed to apply rule of evidence to proceeding
e.g. an arbitrator can issue subpoena to compel witnesses to come to the
arbitral tribunal, can make an order for writ of habeas corpus to be issued s.
23 ACA, can also administer oath or affirmation on the witnesses at the
arbitral tribunal.
The parties may agree on procedure to be followed in hearing evidence in the
absence of which the arbitrator may decide on how the matter may be heard.
S 20 (1) ACA

 Parties may present their case personally or through LP’s or a third party who
is knowledgeable in area of subject matter in dispute.
 Address by legal practitioners after hearing
 Where any of the parties fail to attend hearing the tribunal shall continue
hearing
 Where claimant fails to state or file his claim within time given – tribunal shall
terminate proceedings unless respondent intends to present a claim. Art 41 (1)
(a) LSAL
 Where respondent fails to file a defence the tribunal shall continue with the
proceedings unless he shows a good cause for the default. s 21 ACA; art 28
AR
 After address tribunal fixes a date for award but can recall parties to re-open
hearing in exception circumstances either suo motu or on the application of
any of the parties. Art 20 (2) AR

Making of award
 After hearing tribunal gives its decision i.e. a written award
 Decision of tribunal shall be majority of all the members. S24 ACA
 Determine the rights of the parties with finality
 Contents of the written award. S.26 (1)-(3) ACA
 Copy of award to be given to each party. Once the award has been served
proceedings is deemed terminated. S 27(1) ACA

Termination of arbitral proceedings

- Can be terminated before award is made
- Instances for termination. S 27(2) ACA
i) Where the claimant withdraws his claim or ii) where the parties agree
on the termination of the arbitral proceedings or iii) where the tribunal
discovers that it is unnecessary or impossible to continue with the arbitral
proceedings

Application to set aside arbitral award

 - Application is made by an aggrieved party to the high court within 3
months from the date of award
- Grounds for setting aside. S29(2) & 30 (1) ACA; SALIBA V
LABABEDI (1972)
i) Acting outside the scope of ….
ii) Where the arbitrator has misconducted himself
iii) Where the award has been improperly procured by any of the
parties e.g. presence of fraud, bribery, undue influence
- Further grounds see s.55 (2) LSAL –Lagos has made further grounds of
insanity, incapacity, wher the tribunal is not properly constituted , where
the arbitrator has received bribe, or where the award is contrary to public
policy etc.

Procedure for challenging award

- Originating summons or originating motion supported by affidavit
together with
i) CTC of award
ii) Copy of the arbitration agreement
iii) Copy of contract in respect of which arbitration was conducted.

ENFORCEMENT OF AN AWARD PROCURED IN NIGERIA

Legally binding on the parties and enforceable in court
Procedure:
- Application to the High Court by way of originating summons or
originating motions supported by affidavit.
Accompanying documents:-
1) Duly authenticated original copy or CTC of the award
2) The original arbitration agreement or a CTC of the agreement . s 31(2)
ACA
3) Where the award or arbitration is not made in English, a translation in
English. s 56 (2) (c)LSAL
- Upon grant of application, award can be enforced on the same manner as
a judgement/ order of the court. S 31(3) ACA
- The court can refuse to enforce an ward on the application of any of the
parties
Grounds for refusal to enforce an award. – same grounds as

CONCILIATION
What is conciliation? Whereby a this party neutral called the conciliator is used to
prevail on the parties to settle their disputes out of court. It is similar to mediation but
they have their differences.
Law governing conciliation. - Arbitration & conciliation act (part II) Cap A18 Laws
of fed. of Nigeria. However there is no federal act governing mediation in Nigeria.
Interventionist in approach and the conciliator may deliver his opinion as to the merits
of the case. Mediator is not interventionist, the mediator only creates options for the
parties and facilitates their settlement but at the end the parties are the ones that
choose their decision, whereas in conciliation the conciliator is called upon to decide
on the matter for them. The conciliator heard the parties but gives the decision.
Parties can choose to settle disputes between them by conciliation. S37 ACA.
Initiating conciliation
- By agreement of the parties
- A party who wishes to initiate conciliation shall send to the other party a
written request to conciliate
- The request shall contain a brief statement setting out the subject of
dispute. S 38 ACA

Conciliation proceedings shall be deemed to commence on date request to conciliate

is accepted s. 39 ACA

Appointment of conciliators
- Consists of 1 or 3 conciliators
- Where the parties agree on suing 1 conciliator he must be jointly
appointed by the parties
- Where they choose 3 , each will appoint 1 and the 3rd shall be appointed
by the parties jointly. S. 40 ACA

Hearing of proceedings and terms of settlement

 Parties may appear in person or by their legal representative
 Conciliator shall examine the case of the parties and hear their evidence
 Conciliator shall submit terms of settlement to the parties. S.42(1) ACA
 Where parties accept terms of settlement, conciliator shall draw up and sign a
record of settlement. S42(2) ACA . (Parties can either agree or disagree with
the terms of settlement)
 Accepted terms will be binding on parties and can be enforced by an action in
court
 Where the parties do not agree on terms, they have two options
1. Submit the dispute to arbitration
2. Take out an action in court . s 42 92) ACA
It must be noted that nothing done by the parties in conciliation proceedings
shall affect their legal rights in arbitration or court actions. S 42(4) ACA.
 23 March 2018
REMUNERATION OF LEGAL
PRACTITIONERS
Pro bono doesn’t mean that the client would not pay anything at all, it just means that
the lawyer is not charging the client for the service he’s rendering. So the client would
pay for filing fees and all other documents.

- A legal practitioner must be paid for work done

- Note that it is unprofessional to over/under charge see rule 48 (1-3)

Types of fees
- Contingent fees R 50
- Percentage fee
- Appearance fees
- Scale fees
- Fixed fee
- Hourly rate

Contingent fees – R 50
- Which areas of legal practice is it applicable
- Can only be used due to certain conditions. What are these? A lawyer has
no right to impose a contingent fees, it must be done in accordance of the
prescription of the law.
The contract should be reasonable in all circumstances of the case including the
risk, not contrary to public policy. If the problem involves litigation then its
evident that there’s a bonafide cause of action.
In the case that a matter is successful
Contingence fee arrangement or contract is Success based fee, so only if the LP
is successful that he would be paid. The LP would only be paid upon the success
of the matter.

- What is the ethical duty required of a lawyer desirous of applying the

contingent fee principle?

 Retainer fee (General and special) rule 49

 Appearance fee – (an appearance for proceedings). This is a fee charged by
lawyer for his appearance at court and everything that pertains to that e.g.
transportation
 Hourly fee – not very common in the clime as a result of delays in courts;
usually employed in solicitors work)
 Percentage fee – (some transactions that warrant that clients be charged on
percentage – usually Conveyancing transaction)
 Fixed fee

How are LP fees determined?

There are two issues a LP must consider before determining his fees?
1. Contentious – this are matters that involve litigation
 2. Non - contentious

Contentious – no scale of charges provided:

Usually litigious and such related work
Note R 52(1) on commensurate work vis a vis fees earned. Who or what determines
commensurate?
There is no proper template. However, R52(2)(a) provides an insight. Scale 3 is the
relevant scale in this instance.
Considerations include:
 Value of the subject matter
 Time expended
 Novelty and difficulty of the issue involved of the matter
 Skill and labour
 Opportunity cost of accepting client’s case
 Customary charges at the bar – an idea
 Certainty of compensation
 Amount of money involved
 Accruement to the client
 Is the transaction a one-off or a constant i.e. retainership

For non-contentious
The fees shall be determined in accordance with the scales provided in the legal
practitioners (remuneration for legal documentation and other land matters) order,
1991. These scales are fixed and stipulate the amount a LP can charge based on the
transaction done. See scale I & II**

RECOVERY OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS CHARGES

A legal Practitioner who has rendered his professional service ought to be paid except
where the service rendered is pro bono in nature.

Recovery of professional fees

 S.16 (2) LPA makes the service of a bill of charges a condition precedent to the
recovery of professional fees in court

Bill of charges: A bill of charges is a written statement by a Legal Practitioner to his

client containing principal items of work done by the Legal Practitioner and specific
amount of fees charged against those items by the Legal Practitioner.

Conditions that must be fulfilled for fees to be recovered

1. Draft a bill of charges
2. Serve the bill of charges
3. Wait for a period of one month to elapse
4. Bring an action to recover the charges

Essentials of a bill of charges

1. Principal items of work done by the legal practitioner;
2. It must be signed by the legal Practitioner;
3. It must be served on the client personally or left in his last known address;
 4. Must be served for a period not less than one month before the
commencement of an action in court.

Contents of a bill of charges

1. Principal items to be charged
2. Particulars of the principal items
3. Date on which the principal items were incurred
4. Signature of the legal practitioner issuing the bill on behalf of the firm.
5. Date on which it was issued
6. Matter to which it relates; and
7. Name of client to whom the bill is being issued.
RE A SOLICITOR (1955) 2 ALL ER 283; NATIONAL ELECTRIC POWER
AUTHORITY V OYEKANMI (1992) 4 NWLR (PT. 237) 636

Sample draft of bill of charges

• Nature of Professional service:
• Name of Case:
• Details of work done
• Total:
• Date:
• Signature:

RETAINER
A Retainer agreement is of two types namely:
1. General Retainer;
2. Special Retainer.
The Legal Practitioner should avoid conflict of interest while carrying out his duties
under a retainership agreement.

EXCEPTIONS.
A legal Practitioner can commence an action to recover his fees before the expiration
of the one month period after the service of a bill of charges in if:
1. The Legal Practitioner has delivered his bill of charges to the client;
2. The bill of charges appear proper;
3. There are facts to prove that the client is about to do some acts to prevent or
delay the payment of the bill.

Quantum meruit cases

• This occur where a legal practitioner though not directly briefed by the client
renders some services which has benefitted the client. In such a case, the court
may direct that the client pays the Legal Practitioner his Professional Fees.

Pro bono legal services

Pro bono legal service can be rendered to the following person:
1. Indigent clients
2. Friends
3. Family members
4. Clients with long standing relationship with the Legal Practitioner
Contentious work
Professional Fees charged by a Legal Practitioner carrying out contentious work must
reflect the following.
1. Time and labour required to carry out the work;
2. Skill and expertise required to carry out the work;
3. Novelty of the case;
4. Difficulty of issues involved in the case;
5. Opportunities foregone.
6. Customary Charges of the Bar for similar services.
7. Contingency or certainty of the compensation.
8. The amount of money involved in the suit.
9. The benefit accruing to the client from the cause.
 The maximum or minimum fee chargeable by a Legal Practitioner cannot be
fixed in a contentious matter as there is no statutory provision with respect to
same.

Non-contentious work
Non contentious work that can be carried out by a legal practitioner include the
following:
1. Drafting of instruments;
2. Rendering professional advice
3. Writing of letters;
4. Solicitors work in a general sense.

Non-contentious work carried out by a legal practitioner is governed by the provisions

of:
1. Rules of Professional conduct;
2. Legal Practitioners (Remuneration for Legal Documentation and other land
Matters) Order.

Scale of charges
• Scale 1: Remuneration of Legal Practitioners for sale of land and mortgage
transactions;
• Scale 2: Remuneration of Legal Practitioners for Leases
• Scale 3: Other transactions not covered under Scales 1 and 2.

Scale 1
• A legal Practitioner representing both parties in a sale of land transaction is
entitled to the full fees from both the vendor and the purchaser.
• In a mortgage transaction, a Legal Practitioner representing both parties is
entitled to the full fees from the Mortgagee and Half fee from the Mortgagor.

Scale 2
• Where a legal Practitioner represents both the lessee and the lessor in the lease
transaction, the legal practitioner is entitled to the full fees of the lessors legal
practitioner and half of the fees of the lessees legal practitioner.

Scale 3
This deals basically with non-contentious legal work.
• Instances in which a legal Practitioner may charge under scale 3 are:
 1. Where the services rendered is not provided for under scales 1 and 2;
2. Where he elects to charge under scale 3. He must serve a written notice of his
intention to do so to his client.
3. Where the work done is not a contentious one.
When a legal Practitioner wants to charge using scale three, he must not
charge exorbitantly.

Task based billing

This billing system is hinged primarily on the nature of work carried out by the legal
practitioner.

Recovery of LP’s charges

Bill of charges:
What is?
It is mandatory in the process of recovery of fees?
See OYEKANMI V NEPA (2000); FBN V NDOMA EGBA (2006) cf s16(2) LPA

Steps to ensure s 16(2)

Contents of the bill

 Heading – may include: nature of the work done, name of the case (where
litigation) or name of transaction; name of client
 Body – s/n, date, particulars, amount charged
 Summation
 Account details
 Date – it must be dated and it must be signed
 Signature

1a) Recall the case of royal exchange limited and chief Lambe in the subject of civil
litigation, it is assumed that the matter has finally come to an end. As a junior counsel
in the office of Okumagba & co that handled the matter your principal chief
Okumagba has directed that you prepare the bill of charges based on the work accrued
out on behalf of your client chief Lambe. Prepare a bill of charges on behalf of your
office with the assumption that the office is located in Lagos and the matter came up
in Benin, Edo state.
b) Assuming Chief Lambe having lost in the matter that your law office is
handling on his behalf is not responsive to the bill of charges you sent to him,
what action can your office take to ensure it gets remunerated for the work
carried out on his behalf.

Debate - In charging of fees do you think the provision of rule 52(2) gives
leeway for excessive charging of clients by LP particularly considering the
provision of 52(1). Group 3 v 8. We are for

Answer

OKUMAGBA & CO
12 Durosinmi Etti Street
Victoria Island, Lagos
 08124569876, Okumagbaandcolaw@gmail.com

OUR REF: YOUR REF:

23 March 2018

Chief Joseph Lambe,

15 Amber Crescent
Benin, Edo state

Dear Sir,
PROFESSIONAL FEES IN REPSECT OF ROYAL ESTATE LIMITED V CHIEF
LAMBE SUIT NO: LS/324/5688
The above subject matter refers.

I Tinuade Oyewole write on behalf on Okumagba & Co and on instruction of Chief

Okumagba to inform you of our professional fees after the conclusion of the case
Royal Estate Limited v Chief Lambe, Suit no: LS/324/5688 before Justice Olowo at
the Edo State High Court, Edo state.
Please see below for the breakdown of our legal fees for your kind consideration.

Amount (Naira) Amount

Particulars of work done (Kobo)

1) Skill and Labour (taking into 500,000 00

consideration length of the case)
2) Transportation cost (incl. flight, 125,000 00
accommodation as matter was
out of residence) 95,000 00
3) Professional disbursement (incl.
court fees, witness fees, filing
fees) 25,000 00
4) Out of pocket expenses
Total
745,000 00

ACCOUNT DETAILS
NAME: OKUMAGBA LAW
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 012334890
BANK: ZENITH BANK

Thank you for choosing Okumagba & Co to represent you.

Yours Faithfully,
Tinuade Oyewole
Junior Counsel

Table should be: Particulars of work done / amount .

b)
Revision
Draft bill of charges, serve bill of charges, wait for 1 month, then can institute
proceedings. Can a legal practitioner recover his fees before the expiration of 1
month? Generally a legal practitioner ought to wait for the expiration of 1 month
before proceeding to the state high court. However there are certain exceptions
Must start with the general rule, then go with the exceptions and link it to the
exception

Is it every time that a bill of charges would be taxed?

Generally taxation doesn’t apply to every bill of charges. But taxation is an exception
to the general rule.

Contingency fee
This is a fee that is based on the success or outcome of the case. Before this fee is
applicable, a contingency agreement must be made. This must be executed by both
parties, and it must have a particular arrangement. Learn to draft this agreement.
Contingency is based on %. Contingency fee is taxable.
Is this arrangement allowed in criminal matters

Percentage fee can be used for tax recovery.

Fixed fee for land registration

 4th April 2018
BILLINGS
At what point is legal fees finalised: it is finalised before the interview stage, at the
briefing stage
BILLINGS is a way in which a LP can charge for his fees. Billing is called the scale
fee. Billing is regulated by scale and provided for by statute.
 Scale 1 deals with mortgage and sale of land.
 Scale 2 deals with lease transaction
 Scale 3 deals with matters not covered under scale 1 & 2 and where
both parties elect to charge under scale 3
Scale fee is used for non-contentious matters.

Mortgage Transaction
Mortgage transactions and sale of land is calculated in thousands. Note the stages
applicable, have a good/appropriate heading, date. You don’t need to memorise the
scale, it would be provided for you.
Stages applicable
 Stage 1 – for the first one thousand = 1000/100 × scale/one
 Stage 2 – For the second and third thousand = 2000/100 × scale/one
 Stage 3 – For the 4th to the 20th one thousand = 17000/100 × scale/one
 Stage 4 - Remainder without limit = Consideration – 20,000/100 × scale/1
(note on mortgage the consideration is the amount of the loan not the value of
the property)
 Stage 5 – sum up your answer in stage 1,2,3 and 4
This applies when a solicitor for one party.

When you’re acting for both parties your fees would be Full fees of the mortgagee +
half fees of the mortgagor. The rationale is that the richer pays more. So you’ll have
11 stages when acting for both parties. Go through all the stages for the mortgagor
and the mortgagee. Then divide the answer for the mortgagor solicitor fee by 2, then
add it to the mortgagee’s solicitor fee to arrive at the final charge.
e.g. so if the fees for the mortgagee is N20, and the fee for the mortgagor is N10, the
solicitors final fee for acting for both parties would be N25


 = 50 circles (Each circle represents a thousand naira)
Mr Ijesha retained your services as a solicitor in a mortgage transaction of N50,000.
Calculate your fees for perfecting the mortgage.
17000/100 × scale/one. Imagine if scale is 2. It would then be 17000/100 × 2/1 = 340

LEASE TRANSACTION
The opposite of mortgage applies to lease. Lease transactions when a solicitor is
acting for both parties the solicitor charges full of lessor and half of the lessee. For
sale of land = full assignor and full of the assignee.
Lease transaction is calculated in hundreds (100). For sale it is the amount of purchase
that would be considered, for lease transactions it’s the rent amount that would be
considered. For lease check the rent and duration/term of years.
Appropriate heading
 Step 1: For the first one hundred = 100/100 × scale/one , so for step one the
answer would always be the scale.
 Step 2: for the next hundred to the first one thousand = 900/100 × scale/one , it
would then b 9×scale
 Step 3: remainder without limit = consideration – 1000/100 × scale/one
 Step 4: sum your answer in stage 1, 2 and 3
 6th April 2018
BOOKS OF ACCOUNT
A Legal Practitioner is expected to keep the following books of accounts:
1. Cashbook: this is the daily, weekly and monthly entry of transactions that
take place in a law firm. It is temporal form of record keeping, its not a
permanent one. This deals with the record of the entries relating to the income
and expenditure in a law firm.
2. Ledger: This is a permanent form of record keeping
3. Journal: This is like a diary, it’s not mandatory for a Legal Practitioner to
have a journal. It is a form of temporary book keeping method. Daily entries
are recorded into the journal before they are permanently transferred into the
Ledger

CASH BOOK
Legal practitioners are expected to have their income and expenditure recorded in a
Cashbook. A Legal Practitioner is means to keep three types of cashbook:
i. Client cash book
ii. Trust cashbook, and
iii. Personal cashbook.
Debit the receiver, credit the giver.- it is more blessed to give than to receive. So for
everything they receive they debit the account, and for everything you give you credit
your account
Always include the date at the top of the page. Title of the document and date
Date, particulars, debit and credit
You have to put the transaction in the proper order according to the date it occurred,
so earliest transaction first. If there is more than one source of capital, separate it and
itemise them in the order they occurred.
The date at the top can be the date of the last entry or date of exam, preferably last
date of last entry.

Classwork
Mr John Dada was called to the Nigerian bar after three attempts in 1999. On the 9th
day of January 2000, Mr. Dada’s villagers contributed the sum of N100, 000.00 and
gave him for the establishment of his law firm, his fiancé Susan gave him
N500,000.00 to seal her love for him and Mr. Dada withdrew N500,000.00 from his
zenith Bank account all on the same day.
On the 10th February 2000, Mr. John rented a one room apartment for his law office at
the rate of N30,000 per annum. He paid for two years.
On the 13th of March 2000, Mr john bought a pair of Italian suit, table and chair,
refrigerator and law reports at N100,000.00, N100,000.00, N40,000.00 and
300,000.00 respectively.
On the 16th of May 2000, Mr. John bought an office printer and a laptop at
N50,000.00 and N150,000.00 respectively. He also gave his secretary Chinaza the
sum of N20,000.00 as out of pocket expenses for the office.
Draw up Mr. John’s cash book.

Mr JOHN DADA’S CASH BOOK – 6TH APRIL 2018

DATE correct PARTICULARS correct DEBIT (N) CREDIT
 (N)
9/1/2000 Capital (villagers contribution) 100,000.00
9/1/2000 Capital (Fiancé - Susan) 500,000.00
9/1/2000 Withdrawal (Zenith Bank account) 500,000.00
10th Feb 2000 Rent for law office (two years) 60,000.00
13th March 2000 Wardrobe (Italian suit) 100,000.00
13th March 2000 Furniture (Table and chair) 100,000.00
13th March 2000 Electronic appliances (Refrigerator) 40,000.00
13th March 2000 Books (Law reports) 300,000.00

16th May 2000 Electronics (Office printer) 50,000.00

16th May 2000 Electronic (Laptop) 150,000.00

16th May 2000 Out of pocket expenses (chinaza) 20,000.00

16th May 2000 Balance c/d 720,000

16th May 2000 Balance b/d 1,320,000 1,320,000

Mr Ijesha was called to the Nigerian bar in 2000. On the 10th of January 2018 Mrs
Adebiyi the DDG gave him 1 million naira as a take up grant. On the 1st of January
Mr ijesha collected a loan of 1 million naira from zenith bank. On the 2nd of January
Mr ijesha bought a plot of land in Epe at N500,000, he also printed some file jackets,
complimentary cards and bill board at N50,000 , N100,000 and N100,000
respectively.
Draw up Mr Ijesha’s cashbook

MR IJESHA’S CASH BOOK – 2ND JANUARY 2018

DATE PARTICULARS DEBIT (N) CREDIT (N)
1/1/18 CAPITAL (Loan) 1,000,000.00
2/1/18 Purchase of land 500,000
2/1/18 Stationery (file 50,000
jackets)
2/1/18 Stationery 100,000
(complimentary
cards)
2/1/18 Advertisement (bill 100,000
board)
10/1/18 CAPITAL (take up 1,000,000.00
grant – Mrs
 Adebiyi)
10/1/ 18 Balance c/d 1,250,000

10/1/18 Balance b/d 2,000,000 2,000,000

Balance c/d = Balance carried down = sum of everything on the credit column – sum
of everything on the debit column, then add it to the deficient column.
Balance b/d = balance brought down = addition of your balance carried down to all
that is up. They have to be the same thing

LEDGER
 Permanent form of record keeping
 Contains entries of individual items on the cash book
 Each account has an appropriate heading and it is adequately categorised
 FORMULA: LEDGER = COMMON SENSE.
 The giver is debited and the receiver is credited
 Particulars under ledger is either cash or cheque. If its a loan it could be either
cash loan or cheque loan.
 It is in a closed box
 You use your cash book to draw your ledger

Classwork
Mr John Dada was called to the Nigerian bar after three attempts in 1999. On the 9th
day of January 2000, Mr. Dada’s villagers contributed the sum of N100, 000.00 and
gave him for the establishment of his law firm, his fiancé Susan gave him
N500,000.00 to seal her love for him and Mr. Dada withdrew N500,000.00 from his
zenith Bank account all on the same day.
On the 10th February 2000, Mr. John rented a one room apartment for his law office at
the rate of N30,000 per annum. He paid for two years.
On the 13th of March 2000, Mr john bought a pair of Italian suit, table and chair,
refrigerator and law reports at N100,000.00, N100,000.00, N40,000.00 and
300,000.00 respectively.
On the 16th of May 2000, Mr. John bought an office printer and a laptop at
N50,000.00 and N150,000.00 respectively. He also gave his secretary Chinaza the
sum of N20,000.00 as out of pocket expenses for the office.

DATE correct PARTICULARS correct DEBIT (N) CREDIT

(N)
9/1/2000 Capital (villagers contribution) 100,000.00
9/1/2000 Capital (Fiancé - Susan) 500,000.00
9/1/2000 Withdrawal (Zenith Bank account) 500,000.00
10th Feb 2000 Rent for law office (two years) 60,000.00
13th March 2000 Wardrobe (Italian suit) 100,000.00
13th March 2000 Furniture (Table and chair) 100,000.00
13th March 2000 Electronic appliances (Refrigerator) 40,000.00
13th March 2000 Books (Law reports) 300,000.00

16th May 2000 Electronics (Office printer) 50,000.00

16th May 2000 Electronic (Laptop) 150,000.00

16th May 2000 Out of pocket expenses (chinaza) 20,000.00

16th May 2000 Balance c/d 720,000

16th May 2000 Balance b/d 1,320,000 1,320,000

MR JOHN DADA’S LEDGER – 9/1/2000

CAPITAL ACCOUNT
S/N DATE PARTICULARS DEBIT (N) CREDIT (N)
1) 9/1/2000 CASH 100,000.00
2) 9/1/2000 CASH 500,000.00

BANK ACCOUNT
S/N DATE PARTICULAR DEBIT (N) CREDIT (N)
S
1) 9/1/2000 CASH 500,000.00
(Withdrawal)

RENT ACCOUNT
S/N DATE PARTICULAR DEBIT (N) CREDIT (N)
S
1) 10/2/2000 CASH 60,000

WARDROBE ACCOUNT
S/N DATE PARTICULAR DEBIT (N) CREDIT (N)
S
1) 13/3/2000 CASH 100,000

FURNITURE ACCOUNT
S/N DATE PARTICULAR DEBIT (N) CREDIT (N)
S
1) 13/3/2000 CASH 100,000

ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES ACCOUNT

S/N DATE PARTICULARS DEBIT (N) CREDIT (N)
1) 13/3/2000 CASH 40,000
2) 16/5/2000 CASH 50,000
3) 16/5/2000 CASH 150,000

BOOK ACCOUNT
S/N DATE PARTICULAR DEBIT (N) CREDIT (N)
S
1) 13/3/2000 CASH 300,000

OUT OF EXPENSES ACCOUNT/ IMPREST ACCOUNT

S/N DATE PARTICULAR DEBIT (N) CREDIT (N)
S
1) 16/5/2000 CASH 20,000
 LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ACCOUNT
All Legal Practitioners shall keep proper books of account in relation to their
practices. Legal Practitioners account is governed by:
1. The Legal Practitioners Act 1975;
2. The Legal Practitioners Account Rules 1964;
3. Rules of Professional Conduct 2007.

Types of account
A Legal Practitioner is expected to keep the following types of banks accounts.
1. Client account
2. Trust Bank Account
3. Personal, Individual or Partnership Account – the running account, day-to-day
account.
All these accounts can either be savings or current in nature
You can have one trust account for all your trust or individual trusts accounts.

Reasons for keeping books of account

1. It enables the Legal Practitioner to assess the value of his practice at any given
time;
2. It enables the Legal Practitioner to know his debtors and creditors at a glance;
3. In the case of a partnership, it enables each partner to know the exact financial
position of the partnership;
4. It makes for easy assessment of the individual or partnership tax liability at the
end of the financial year.
5. It enhances business efficacy.
6. It enables the Legal Practitioner to effectively plan for the upcoming year
7. It also enables the Legal Practitioner to be able to distinguish between his
personal money and client money

Definition of terms
• Who is a client? These shall include any person on whose account a Legal
practitioner holds or receives client money.
• What is client’s money? This is the money held or received by a legal
practitioner on account of a person for whom he is acting in relation to the
holding or receipt of such money either as a legal practitioner or in connection
with his practice as a Legal Practitioner, as agent, bailee, stakeholder or in any
other capacity.

Clients’ money excludes the following

1. Money held or received on account of the trustees of a trust of which the legal
practitioner is a solicitor trustee, or
2. Money to which the only person entitled is the practitioner himself.

CLIENT’S ACCOUNT
• CLIENT ACCOUNT - Shall mean a current or deposit account at a bank in
the name of the legal practitioner, the title of which the word "client" appears.

TRUST MONEY
 • Monies held or received by a legal practitioner which is not client's money and
which is subject to a trust of which the Legal Practitioner is a "Solicitor -
Trustee" of such trust.

CLIENT BANK ACCOUNT

• Any account (whether savings or current) where clients money is kept.
• A solicitor might open a separate clients account or a joint client’s account.

TRUST BANK ACCOUNT

• This is the account (whether savings or current) where Trust monies are kept.
• A solicitor might open a separate trust account or a joint trust account.

CLIENT BANK ACCOUNT

• A Legal Practitioner that HOLDS or RECEIVES money on behalf of a client
must open a client account and deposit same into such account.
• This can either be a savings account or a current account.
• The Legal Practitioner may open ONE CLIENT ACCOUNT for all his clients
or a specific account for each client.

Sources of client’s money

1. Conveyancing
2. Executorship and trusts
3. Investment management
4. Agency work
5. Litigation
6. Mediation/arbitration
7. Fees on account
Client’s money received must be banked without delay UNLESS otherwise
directed by the client in writing.

Monies payable into clients account

1. Trust money
2. Money meant to replace any money which the Legal Practitioner mistakenly
withdrew from the clients account
3. Money used by the LP to open or maintain the clients account
4. Any cheque or drafts which contains both trust money and clients money
which the lawyer did not split.
See Rule 3 & 4 Legal Practitioners Account Rules.

 No personal money of the lawyer must be paid into the clients account except
money used in opening or maintaining the clients account.
 The clients’ account must be opened in the name of the Lawyer but he can
designate it with specifics to differentiate it from other clients account.

When can a lawyer withdraw money from a clients account?

1. Payment to the client
2. Payment on behalf of the client
3. Any money which the client authorised its withdrawal.
4. Reimbursement of the lawyer by the client where the client owed the Lawyer.
 5. Reimbursement of the lawyer over expenses made by him on behalf of the
client.
6. Money for payment of costs incurred by the Lawyer in the course of acting for
the client.

When can trust money be withdrawn from the client’s account

1. Money for payment in the execution of a Trust.
2. Money mistakenly or accidentally paid into the account by the Lawyer.
3. Money to be transferred to a separate trust bank account.
4. Trust money contained in a cheque or draft which was not split by the lawyer
which

Clients money which may not be paid into the clients account
1. Cash received by the lawyer which he paid directly to a third party or the
client.
2. A cheque or draft, which he received on behalf of the client which was handed
over to the client directly.
3. Monies paid directly into the clients account.

Clients money that shall not be paid into clients account

1. Any money which the client in writing directs the lawyer not to pay into client
account.
2. Any money which the client pays to the lawyer in settlement of a debt owed.
3. Reimbursement made to the lawyer by the client in respect of expenses made
on behalf of the client.
4. Any other money belonging to the Legal Practitioner which is not permitted
by the rules to be paid into the clients account.

TRUST BANK ACCOUNT

• Where the Lawyer is a Solicitor Trustee and he holds or receives any money
which is subject of a trust, the lawyer is expected to open a trust bank account.

Monies payable into a trust bank account

1. Money subject to a trust.
2. Money used to open and maintain the account by the Lawyer.
3. Money used to replace any money which the solicitor mistakenly or
accidentally withdrew from the trust bank account.
4. A cheque or draft containing partly trust money and client money where such
has not been split by the solicitor trustee.
5. Any money which the court may order to be paid into the trust account.

When a Legal Practitioner is not mandated to pay trust money into a trust account
1. Cash received and immediately paid out in cash in execution of a trust.
2. Cheque or draft received and endorsed to a third party in execution of a trust.

When a legal practitioner can withdraw money from a trust bank account
1. Money required for the execution of the trust.
2. Money mistakenly paid into a trust account.
 3. The Legal Practitioners money used to open and maintain the trust account.
4. Lumped money to be transferred to a client account.
5. Any other money, which the General Council of the Bar may authorise in
writing.

PERSONAL/ PARTNERSHIP ACCOUNT

• A Legal Practitioner must keep his PERSONAL MONEY in an account so
designated. Such should not be deposited into a Clients account or a trust bank
account.

Mode of withdrawal from a client or trust bank account

1. Written declaration to withdraw by the client.
2. Issuance of cheque by the client to the lawyer.
3. Transfer to the clients accounts or any other account so directed
The client must authorise all this.

Preservation of book of account

 Books of account should be preserved for a minimum of six years from the
date of last entry.

Inspection and enforcement

It is the responsibility of the Bar council to inspect the Legal Practitioner Books of
account.
The Bar Council can do so:
1. On their own motion; or
2. On a request by any branch of the NBA;
3. On a request by a third Party.
The Legal Practitioner will produce the books and such will be inspected.
 July 10, 2017
LEGAL RESEARCH AND CLOSING OF FILES
For a lawyer to remain relevant he needs to be able to do legal research.
A lawyer must know where to find the law. Finding relevant law reports and statutes
is a necessary prerequisite to preparing any legal advice.
To achieve success in practice you must be able to know you way around a law
library and be able to navigate legal databases on the internet. You must know how to
use physical law library and electronic sources.

WHY LEGAL RESEARCH

 As the law changes daily it is important that you know how to keep abreast of
the changes
 You must change with the law else you will become out-dated
 You start to loose clients if you fail to improve.
 Law governs conduct of individuals, firms and organization’s activities
 The law is dynamic and it keeps on changing
 Hence, legal practitioners must find the current law
 The only way to find the appropriate current law is to have good research skill

Establishing facts of a matter

Before going into research, the legal practitioner must know the facts of a matter he is
to research on.
Facts of matter can be gathered in the following ways;
- Client
- Witnesses
- Documents
- Physical items/inspection

Legal classification of a matter

- The analytical skills acquired during the course of legal education will be
used to classify the matter into a legal category
- Thus matters can be categorized as either international or domestic law
- It may further be categorized as either criminal or civil
- It may be classified under specific area of law
- It could be substantive or procedure, and
- It could be specific area like pre-trial, trial or post trial matter

Sources of Nigerian law

It is important to the sources so you know the law that is applicable. E.g Received
English law, customary law
There are primary, secondary and tertiary sources of law.
Examples of tertiary sources digest of Supreme Court cases, index of legislations,
index of cases and encyclopaedia of laws in Nigeria. Note: you should be able to
distinguish between the 3 sources and examples of the 3 sources

Hints and aids on legal research

Practitioners must carry put effective research and to ensure this ,the following hints
are desirable
  Array of dictionaries
 Note taking or jotting of key points
 Photocopies of vital documents
 Consultation of colleagues and court officials
 Make it a habit to read case law and pay more emphasis on ratio
instead of obiter
 You cannot rely on obiter as ratio
 Learn to distinguish cases
 You just learn to set aside time each week to look at current legal
development

CLOSING OF FILES
Preliminaries……
 There must be an end to litigation
 Files must be opened at the commencement of a matter. Once a lawyer takes a
brief a file must be opened. This is necessary so the lawyer doesn’t lose
certain important information or material that relates to that matter
 Files must be closed at the end of a matter
 Closed files are stored at a location

Types of file
1. Electronic file/soft copy
2. Hard copy

Whose property is it?

 It remains the clients property
 It should be returned to him
 If client fails to collect the file after a reasonable notice has been given, it may
be destroyed
 Before destruction, the firm may elect to store the content electronically

Merits of returning the file to the client

- It gives the client opportunity to appraise the work you have done
- Opportunity to appreciate cost of the work done
- Law firm is saved the responsibility and cost of preserving the file

DESTROYING A FILE…….
- Firms are empowered to destroy a file after being retained by them for a
reasonable period
- There are different interpretation of what amounts to a reasonable period
e.g 20 years , statute of limitation

Modes of destroying a file

- Burning
- Shredding
- Any manner adopted by the law firm
Note that some files may not be destroyed by the firm. It depends on the contents of
the file .
Factors that may lead to retention or destruction
 The nature of the materials in the file
 Whether there is the need to return such materials to the client
 Whether the file contains special papers which ought to be retained
indefinitely

When to destroy…
1. After a period of two or three years
2. Relevant date may be form the date of close of the case or notification
3. Closed files may however be retained for a maximum period of seven years.
4. The time the matter becomes stature barred may be sued as a model to
determine when to destroy a close file.
5. The file may be retained indefinitely