No wonder my lawyer friends in the oil, telecomm n financial industry have sworn never to wear d gown n wig again. That pay is most frustrating. I dont envy them, Never did anyway. That means I can just hire like 30 lawyer n pay them 15k n still have some change in ma pockect. Come to think of it, I can float a firm n just put a figure head there while i call d shots.

Tho i`m more humane, its goin to be target driven n we`ll split profit 60:40.

Interested lawyers, Pls apply within.

switch47:

@snowdrops
   The average salary of lawyers is a delicate topic. mind you it is not the average income, and the average salary of lawyers that are new wigs is certainly different from those with many years of experience. i am a Lawyer and my first salary was 25 thousand (Abuja)  Lawyers get corporate briefs, those that know their way in land matters get briefs as well and earn EXTRA PAY (talking about average income now) so what you earn as a salary depends on the firm, location and level of experience and also your capacity to be very effective and market your self.

@ LAWYERS in the house

here is a list of Law firms/offices in nigeria , Lawyers in Nigeriaand it is left for you to decide where to go.
http://nigerianlawforum.com/index.php?topic=9.msg37;topicseen#msg37

@ breathless
this is no thread to attempt to make amorckery of the legal profession, there are many firms that pay very well, and take note that sevral lawyers who earn 10 - 15 thousand as salary can get up to 150 - 500 thousand or more from corporate briefs and millions from a single property deal.

from what is gathered so far, an average lawyer in nigeria falls in the middle to upper middle class bracket

all these woos and somebody has not started thinking out of the box. Imagine there are so many class action looking them in the face and young brains cannot pick it up. what is land case to class action.

i told my fiancee who works as a legal secretary in a large chamber to go study law. my target if she can coperate, is class action on nigerian weak labor law. SEE MONEY WEY BIG COMPANIES FOR DON PAY TIRE.

megastu:

I dont know what you guys are talking about. I Was called to bar in 2004. As a corper my first salary was 30k per month. After service, the same law firm was paying me 75k a month. I went abroad and did my masters and came back to that same law firm and was earning 125k per month. Now i am a legal adviser to a firm and i earn over 300k a month. It all boils down to your qualification and what you set out to achieve.

I remember after making a 2-1 in university and law school, i told my self that i would work in one of the best law firms in Nigeria. I went to the internet, got names and started applying. I ended up in the one i like. Even now i am still writing a UK professional course, because in the next 2 years i want to be earning like 600k per month. Some lawyers run away from mathematics, even though the world is evolving towards risk management awareness and financial permutations for corporate survival.

So, as lawyers, you have to be hardworking, determined and spend a fortune on your education and personal development. That way you wont end up earning peanuts. Recently, i wanted to employ a lawyer for my company and during the interviews, i was shocked at the level of performance and wondered if some even went to the same law school i passed through. How can i pay that person even 50k. Its waste of company funds.

@megastu Hello guy,I just want to know if you are the same person i guess i know.Were u in abuja law school in 2004 and ur first name starts with 'M' and ends with' A ' U also did ur masters in the Netherlands?if yes, let me know cos what u highlighted about lawyers pay is really true.Pple outside the legal profession might actually not understand you and the fact that u stated what truthfully happens in the system.Pple are just so eager to comment here hence the venom poured in one of the replies to your comment.
The wages of a lawyer is tied to the number of years in practice and your level of networking.I have a colleague that hasnt been under anyone since coming out of Law School and he is comfortable.He started practice from day one on his own.It may be tough but you will get thru.

hectorswag:

I have a cousin that wants to be a lawyer here in Nigeria, he's currently in senior secondary school one! This thread is enough to discourage him, infact i myself am already irritated

Pls dont misdirect your innocent cousin.

Allow him to follow his dream. Acchieve it first, money will come after

The average salary of a lawyer in Nigeria is btw 10k and 50k. 150k and above is an exception to the rule and u dont just walk into such law firms 2 get a job. Your connection must be solid. As a lawyer, i know wot i am talking about. i am now on the bench and men the pay is it when compared with wot seniors as they are called want to pay u. You dont just get a job in Aluko and Oyebode, ajumogobia and co and the likes of such firms, u must have solid connections or ability to bring solid briefs. Seniors say the juniors are learning but they seem 2 forget that it is a mutual thing as it is not possible 4 d seniors 2 d legal work alone especially all the jackie work . Its not the average junior who can afford a uk masters and such like qualification that this highbrow law firms are in love with. Think about it guys after ur parents have struggled to train you and expect that you can at least fend for yourself, u would still be relying on them big time.

@passion up. I am the one oh. I am only saying that we as lawyers should strive for the best.  @olljay, thanks oh. I am wondering why that poster is doubting. I was only trying not to be arrogant. So i dont get why the poster is doubting.

.

megastu:

@passion up. I am the one oh. I am only saying that we as lawyers should strive for the best. @olljay, thanks oh. I am wondering why that poster is doubting. I was only trying not to be arrogant. Infact now i will state the fact the way it is. I earn 300k per month gross. I have an official car (with free repairs and servicing), driver, medical for myself+wife+4 children (though i dont have four children). Recharge card of 15k per month, Total fuel voucher of 18k per month. HMMM, What else, productivity bonus for this year was , i cant even remember the rest.

OK, the law firm i worked and did my youth service in was Banwo and Ighodalo, 98 Awolowo Rd, Ikoyi, Lagos. My masters was International Trade and Investment Law. My colleaugues i left there still earn around the same 300k a month. So i dont get why the poster is doubting.

Let me tell you how i got this Job. I saw an advert in the papers, applied, did interview with about 21 other lawyers and i came out tops and got the job.

@megastu,Nice to hear that you are the one .We were mates then at Abuja law school and i got to know u through one M-i-k-a-n-g that was in Lagos campus but had a thing with your buddy who was in abj then.How things?Hope you are doing well.Am happy for you guy.just take care and keep the flag flying.No mind all these guys that does not understand stages of rewards in the Legal profession.A lawyer needs to sow by collecting peanuts most times but receive training from seniors thereby accumulating experience to get to the big bucks later in life. A lawyers training is skill based for life and his/her earnings are at most times tied to the number of years he/she puts into the profession as a practisng professional.

snowdrops:

Pls dont misdirect your innocent cousin.

Allow him to follow his dream. Acchieve it first, money will come after

ok, thanks for the advice. . .

I need to speak again because I dont know young ones who may read some comments here and be misled. All I will say is the truth and nothing but the truth.

First, "average salary" of a lawyer in Nigeria is just difficult to determine. In any event, lawyers in Nigeria usually earn more than their salary as income. A lawyer may earn 15k per month salary but may earn 500k per month income. Only one land perfection brief is enough. You can wake up without a dime as a lawyer, and go to bed on the same day as a multi millionier.

I know one of my friends, he works in a very "small" firm compared to mine, and I earn more salary than him, but his income for the past two years was far higher than mine. Simply because he has the time to do more work on his own. Last year he donated N1m to his church without blinking.

In every profession anywhere in the world, we have very well paid and very poorly paid. But for Nigerian lawyers, that is usually a temporary thing. They usually, make money after few years, by far more than going to the banks etc. For example, I earn a dissent salary but I was not able to make good money on the aside until this year after 6/7 years as a lawyer. But my salary is good enough to take care of my needs. I bought my first care after only 2 years as a lawyer. But this year, i began to make some good money in addition to my salary. Only yesterday, I got instruction from a UK firm (But with subsidiary in Nigeria). The work is worth US$25,000. I should be able to make between 1.5m to 2m just on this one brief. I have a couple of other ones in the pipelines. This is in addition to my salary.

I have so many lawyer friends and colleagues who are doing even better. Please do not deceive yourself thinking lawyers earn "like your drivers". Yes, some, for now, may not earn well, but that will soon change. the legal profession is the highest fee earner in Nigeria. Some firms, (like mine) with just about 10 lawyers, make N1 Billion per annum. You can make part of that money too if you position yourself well. It is no magic, you just have to key into it.

@Passionup: Please allow your guy to follow his dream. It will amaze you what he can become if he became a lawyer.

@Poster: I have been through small and big firms in Nigeria for almost 7 years, in my view the average salary of lawyer in Nigeria should be N40k to 50k, but average income of an average lawyer in Nigeria should be N120k per month.

Wishing you all the best!

@ollajay. Thank you for your write up. What you have just said makes law profession one of the best in the world. The same way you are expecting the brief of 25,000 dollars, another lawyer could also get 250,000 dollars brief. So the opportunities for us are actually limitless. Goodluck to us all. Please encourage younger ones to go into the profession. Apart from making money, we contribute a lot to the society.

sorry if i sounded venomous,however,there was pride in megastu which i needed to de-wing.we dont brag about what we earn and at an average,lawyers earn noble fees.the only lawyer who earns lil like those who earn 10k to 30k are choiceless lawyers.they dont want to improve,move ahead,stay in private practice and wither the storm.my first hit was a corporate brief,and presently i and my two lawyers who are paid better than lawyers in ganis' (may his gentle soul rest in perfect peace)firm.so mr megastu,if u feel u earn enuf, hook some new wigs up, i have friends i cud refer to u with gud results, earning as low as has been the subject of debacle.best wishes, TAKE NOTICE THAT THIS HONOURABLE COURT OF NAIRALAND SHALL BE MOVED TO HEAR A NOTICE OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION TO STRIKE OUT THE TOPIC "AVERAGE SALARY OF LAWYERS IN NIGERIA IN THE FORENOON OR SO SOON THEREAFTER ON THE , DAY OF, 2010.

@ MEGASTU
UR SIMPLY BEING ARROGANT. If u don't know what d average lawyer earns in a law firm then ur also ignorant. I know banwo & ighodalo pays corpers N30k & more but, that's one of d few exceptions. U were only lucky to have beat 20 others to clinch a job in d firm & be retained. A classmate of mine who beat 5,000 others to win d co. Law award in law sch was picked 4 nysc by a bank but, after service it took him a yr to get a job of N50k. I once attended an interview @ keyamo's law firm where i met a colleague @ d law sch who made a 1st class. He told us that he had worked in 2 law firms @ a salary of N30k each. Ironically d 1st guy to make it on his own from that set was a guy who became famous when he made a grammatical error in d ls auditorium. I beg u stop this attitude of portraying other lawyers as dullards simply because ur just lucky. Gani made a 3rd class in sch. Many of those ppl u condemn will surely surpass u in future. No dullard can pass thru law sch

What annoys me most is the kind of 'HYPE'and ''FORMING beigh displayed by the law students who refer themselves as 'LEARNED GENTLEMEN AND LADIES'when we were in the university, expecially the ladies, 'who are you to chyke a female law student if you are not from the law faculty?

Most of us at the Engineering faculty disliked them with a passion because of the arrogance, rudness and their dont touch me áttitude. I never new that profession is nothing to write home about until after graduation.'

'Lawyers in the house please do not prosecute me, i take God beg una!!!!

My advice, immediately after graduation, begin to think outside the box as quickly as possible.

as ignorant as ur name sounds ZE what is that?a code for some completely knocked down engine?or zebra?dont u get it?some are made and others are born, some like those that earn a psaltry sum, were made for the lower chain of earnings, some have food but cannot eat, some can eat but have no food, we that have food should thank God and then eat.imagine ur analogy,

ZE:

What annoys me most is the kind of 'HYPE'and ''FORMING beigh displayed by the law students who refer themselves as 'LEARNED GENTLEMEN AND LADIES'when we were in the university, expecially the ladies, 'who are you to chyke a female law student if you are not from the law faculty?

Most of us at the Engineering faculty disliked them with a passion because of the arrogance, rudness and their dont touch me áttitude. I never new that profession is nothing to write home about until after graduation.'

'Lawyers in the house please do not prosecute me, i take God beg una!!!!

My advice, immediately after graduation, begin to think outside the box as quickly as possible.
, just imagine, cos of females, it shows lack of good moral upbringing within and around u. meanwhile i still move the motion that this topic be scrapped before some arrogant engineer or welder like ZE creates an assassin in me.

@ pete
on the no of lawyers in d profession; the council of legal education publishes the no of lawyers admitted to the bar each yr & the total no up to the current yr in the bulletin given to new lawyers. NBA secretariat also publishes the number of their members. I don't know of their websites

I am not a lawyer but i feel compelled to add a few lines to this debate.

I think the problem of low pay after many years of hard studies in school is not peculiar to Layers. The problem really is about "one man business" where the motto is to maximize profit as much as possible. They advance all sorts of argument like "you are learning", "get more experience" etc.

Sharing from my personal experience, I studied Civil Engineering and only bagged my B.Sc after 7 yrs (5 academic yrs plus ASUU strike). I studied hard to make a 2.1. During my undergrad days I did my mandatory 6 months IT with one notable Civil Engineering consulting firm in Ibadan. In fact I joined that firm because of their reputation. They were paying 2,000 naira per month (in 2003) and that was just about how much the principal partner of that firm spends on recharge cards in a day. I was sent to an out-of-station site in Ogun State without site allowance and was left to the mercy of the contractors I was supervising. This was a project that raked in N59m in 2 weeks and our budget for execution was just N18m. When the principal partner came to site and I complained, he said "It is a privilege to be doing IT with his firm and that I should consider the experience and forget about much reward". After that IT, I made up my mind that if I'm ever going to practice engineering, I would never do so working for a consulting firm (glorified one man business). The unfortunate thing is that the Principal Partner of that firm is the current President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers. The highest paid staff in his firm as at 2003 was one 15yr experienced Engr who was earning 18,000.00 naira a month! Can you imagine that this man still had the gut to complain at one forum sometime ago that he doesn't know why intelligent, young and bright Engineers are dumping the profession for banking?? I have lost count of how many people I have convinced to forget about that profession and use their brains to get to the top. Today, I am a banker and I have no regrets about dumping that profession.

So guys, the wicked salaries and wages are not peculiar to lawyers, it is about how Nigerians run a one man business. They make you work hard for less while they maximize profit.

u guys aren't serious. wot do u expect? u expect your employers to make u rich.

ojesus:

u guys aren't serious. wot do u expect? u expect your employers to make u rich.

you must be one of those crooks who just found themselves in a position to enrich urself thru connections. We're talking of highly trained professionals trying to earn a honest livin in their own country. These employers are simply stealing the fruits of their employees' labour by underpaying them simply because these employees r helpless. Its unfortunate nigeria's govt has no law on minimum wages. In civilised countries govts regulate d minimum wage for every single profession. If they remove those laws their economies would crash like nigeria's. So,go get an education u little minded fool

I've just been cautioned not 2 entered in2 argument wit an obnoxious idiot like OBIFLEX who beats others wit experience

ojesus:

I've just been cautioned not 2 entered in2 argument wit an obnoxious idiot like OBIFLEX who beats others wit experience

ur simply an uneducated retard.
@forum: see this slowpoke wants to "entered" an argument with me. He can't even speak english! Can someone pls send this fool to school?

now if it pleases you @obiflex may i take this brief?well,considering the nature of this forum and the time within which replies get to the screen,it wud be pointless waiting for such order or orders to be certified before i step in as a party willing to be joined in this arguement.@ojesus, quite a pity u found ur infertile litany in a swarm of lawyers.anyways,know ye that a roach cannot nd wud never be innocent in the gathering of fowls especially hybrid ones like eagles.if it were ur secretary that typed that rubbish,u wud blame her, now u av committed the same offence, room wat do u think?crucify him or hang him?think that is waste of government funds and tax payers money.he is hereby sentenced to 6months imprisonment with hard labour like making soap,carpentry work and or anything that wud add value to nigerian economy.now is the turn of the defendant/respondent, in case u dont know what to do next,enter a memorandum of appearance, uve been served by the law,

he does not make sense,he wont know any law, if there is a lil law left in him,its the one he uses to manipulate figures and run his firm down.lawyers are not proud pple.megastu is ment to be remanded in kuje for contempt of the legal proffession.guess u are a youngling,a fraud or something.seniors ive met re not arrogant save for those that drink alot, guess megastu was not a master of his mind at all times when he started his unrelented arrogance in this thread.however,megastu,oblige us ur real name so we can accertain the veracity of your truth.affirmanti non leganti incunbis probatio i guess.

Thank you solomonjay, megastu like some senior lawyers is bringing the legal profession & d law sch to disrepute by insinuating that some lawyers are incapable of discharging their duties as lawyers after having been duly certified by the law sch. As for ojesus, he needs to go back to sch. His connections have given him easy money but Obviously, money cannot buy knowledge.

english teacher,I dont know if u realise dt u've blundered in2 a trap "your simply" consider temparament test, Obi_idiot

You're still blundering. Its not easy coming down to your level so that you can understand

Havin gone tru all d posters I saw dt It's a pity havin these 2 unfortunate&wretched guys here @solomonjay &obi_idiot

and u all ursef senior, permit me to note,ur litany and short temper is only found amongst welders,taxi drivers and lay abouts.u simply cant find any blemish in us, u cant even stay online for long.i noticed u browse once in a week, too poor for someone who earns as much as u say u do. wats ur name, ojesus, as in oh! jesus,

my life has meaning(s) and i guess obiflex and other nairaland users too.wat u lack is peace, decorum and manners.calling a gentle man wretched is an act worthy to get u derobed rather stripped nude.i love this, maybe u shud be put to test, THE REASONABLE MANS TEST.

u know that choosing to ignore me as a lawyer, ultimately means u accept all i have traversed.i do becon on you dear sir, to join issues with me on ur degree of reasonability and shud there be any gentlemanliness in u,come and save ur name as SENIOR COUNSEL. c i posted this at my spare tym, guess ure out there drinking now and making mouth bout the fact that ure a pocket lawyer.or ure browsing for the type of english u wud use to reply, no u aint browsing.u cant buy airtime for ur laptop or desktop this weekend.its an office system u use, owww, tooooooooo poooooooorrrrrrrrrrrr man/!

@solomonjay_pervert am sorry I dnt knw it wud hit u so hard. u aint wretched bt poverty-stricken. I think is approprate