By Bartholomew Madukwe
Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, has advised young lawyers to improve on their business skill and not legal skill alone. Stressing the need for a quality legal education, the Attorney General, who was represented by Mr Akintunde Esan, at the Young Lawyers’ Mentoring Programme Launch in Lagos, organized by NBA Lagos branch, noted that young lawyers need quality legal education.He described the event as one that would educate young lawyers on the need to be professionals in business skills in order to improve in their quality of legal service. “In order to improve in the quality of service, we need quality legal education. Young lawyers need to develop their business skill. It is expected that this programme will educate our young lawyers, not just on legal skill, but business skill as well,” he explained. Lagos Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Martin Ogunleye, called on the lawyers to ensure that they serve in their committee or branch and key in to the young lawyers forum. Keynote Speaker of the event, Mrs Priscilla Ogwemoh, managing partner of Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL), maintained that a lawyer must run a law firm first as a business to make profit. “They don’t teach business skills in law school, all they teach us is how to be professionals. As a lawyer, you must run your law firm as a business. Structures must first be put in place. I also like to encourage young lawyers to always go for training,” she stated. One of Nigeria’s oldest lawyers, Pa Tunji Gomez, who celebrated his 88th birthday, on his part, called on senior lawyers to teach the junior lawyers on how they can come together to form a law firm and how to get money. “Times are changing, we must change. Young lawyers need to know how they can come together and apply for fund to start-up. When we came, we were compulsorily attached to senior members- we could not go to the Supreme Court until five years. Development has shown that business lawyers are growing fast,” he added. Former Director General of the Nigerian Law School, Mr Tahir Mamman SAN, lamented that young lawyers ignore pupillage, adding that most senior lawyers spent at least five years learning from their senior colleagues. “After I left service, I contested for governorship election in my state and it didn’t work out. So I met JK Gadzama and he made me a senior partner. The law practice has moved as business. While in JK firm, he talked about mentoring for young lawyers. “The practice of law has become so diverse. It is our plan to sit down with young lawyers and look at a new area they can follow. This is the time for young lawyers to be creative because it is all about the future and your future is the future of the Bar,” he stated.

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