The Challanges of Young Lawyers in Nigeria By Ofodum Chukwunonso Charles African Law Journal

Abstact

This research work titled the challanges of young lawyers in Nigeria reviewed the various literature affecting new wig in legal field related to the subject matter.Injustice, poor salary, finance, unemployment, unable to follow the procedure,computer litrate, lack of client, unable to carry out research and not knowing the law. These are factors that affect the young lawyers have been itemized. We succeded in assessing and discussing them in this research paper.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

This research work titled the challanges of young lawyers in Nigeria will review the various literature in legal field related to the subject matter.
The aim of any research is to fill the lacuna in the research for the obvious reason that knowledge is cumulative and developmental. However, it involves a progression from the known to the unknown. That is, in a conscious effort to fill this vacuum, we decided to embark on relevant literatures that related to the subject matter. To address the basic concept under this study as raised above, we will thematically reviewed related literature to the legal fied that is related to the work.
Even though the challenges of young lawyers are so common in Nigeria, thinking about challenges in theoretical terms only became an illicit act since time of Adam and Eve. The advent of the British to the entity today known as Nigeria different rules regulated the lawyers operated in the different parts of the country named Nigeria .In recent decades, theories have emerged to describe the phenomenon of law in our society.

Mainbody
Injustice: The act of of being unjust; inequity. The quality or fact of being unjust; inequity. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, INJUSTICE: The withholding or denial of justice. In law, almost invariably applied to the act, fault, or omission of a court, as distinguished from that of an individ. According to TheLaw.com Law Dictionary & Black’s Law Dictionary 2nd Ed. That which is opposed to justice.

2. It is either natural or civil. 1. Natural injustice is the act of doing harm to mankind, by violating natural rights. 2. Civil injustice, is the unlawful violation of civil rights. The question of social justice is a question of what is a proper social order, which can guarantee human equitable and equally distribution of benefits and burdens in a society, which will lead to a flourishing state where individuals are treated equally by the state regardless of society status or creed. A just social order cannot allow for a society of slaves, where for some people, resources external to them are been subjected entirely to communal control, such that they having no control or very little control of means of life, thus leading to their autonomy been undermined. With regards to the Nigerian situation, the Nigeria’s socio-political conundrums stem from numerous complicated tides. Some judges are biased in Nigeria , it results injustice and demoralise young lawyers. Injustice or bias in any case doesn’t encourage anybody let alone of young lawyers or lawyers.

Poor Salary: The average low income earn by a worker either annually, monthly, or hourly as a wage for the work done. Most young lawyers are paid very poor. What most young graduated lawyers(new wigs) are paid are not up to their life demand. There is a broad consensus that low government wages in developing countries result in a decline of public sector efficiency and productivity and create both incentives and opportunities for corruption and misuse of public resources. However, most studies also agree that increasing salaries without establishing effective control and monitoring systems as well as enforcement of appropriate sanctions is unlikely to have an impact on corruption. Underpaid staffs develop a wide range of coping strategies to top up incomes, such as teaching, consulting for development agencies, or moonlighting in the private sector. One of the most frequent and effective strategies consists of concentrating on activities that benefit from donor funded per Diems and allowances. In addition to great potential for abuse, such practices have a number of undesirable side effects such as distorting the incentive structure of public servants, encouraging specific forms of corruption and patronage, creating situations favourable to conflicts of interest, competition for time and brain drain. Greater transparency and accountability are needed to address the perverse effects of such practices. Low income is not limited to wages and salaries, it involves total emolument such as other incentives like transportation, housing, health, entertainment, feeding, educational allowances and tax rebate given to staff of an organization on either weekly or monthly or yearly basis. Diminishing productivity takes different stages in the organizations. The remuneration of low income to workers in the working sector has psychological, economic and social implications on their attitudes towards work in a workplace.
Lack of Employment: this connotes unable to be employed after graduaution. Some lawyers studied law to be acquiented with law not to practice but after graduation they find dificult to be employed in the society. Lack of employment is one of the major issues affecting Nigeria and its society. Nigeria’s population is said to have reached about 167 million people in 2012 (National Bureau of Statistics). The National Population Commission (NPoC, 2013) states about half of the population is made up of youth, defined as individuals between 15 and 34 years of age. Unfortunately, as the youth population grows, so does the unemployment rate. In fact, unemployed youth numbered about 11.1 million in 2012.
Finance: Merriam Webster Dictionary defined Finance as 1 finances money or other liquid resources of a government, business, group, or individual .2 : the system that includes the circulation of money, the granting of credit, the making of investments, and the provision of banking facilities . Whatever thing organization, business that lacks finance can result clossing downor stop functioning. A lawyer who doesn’t have money will find it difficulty to start or establish his own office or chamber as case may be. A legal office can closed if lacks finances.

Computer Illitracy: is the inability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with a range of skills covering levels from elementary use to programming and advanced problem solving. I am sure everyone has heard (or maybe said it themselves) someone utter the phrase computer illiteracy at some time. Usually, it is someone who is older that simply was not exposed to computers until recently. The term has been around since the 1970’s. It is a much more important term in today’s world. Most lawyers are not computer literate. We have been adviced in our jurisprudence to learn computer as a lawyer. If you are a lawyer that knows computer you never regret itvin life.

Unable to follow the Court Precedures: Broadly speaking, procedure consists of the rules by which courts conduct trials or litigations.We have criminal and civil. “Civil trials” concern the judicial resolution of claims by one individual or class against another and are to be distinguished from “criminal trials,” in which the state prosecutes an individual for violation of criminal law. Procedure usually takes the form of a series of rules and judicial practices. Unable to follow legal procedure can make a lawyer to loose his or her case in law court.

Unable to carry out Research: is generally the process of not finding an answer to a legal question or not checking for legal precedent that can be cited in a brief or at trial. Sometimes, legal research can help determine whether a legal issue is a “case of first impression” that is unregulated or lacks legal precedent. Legal research is “the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. In its broadest sense, legal research includes each step of a course of action that begins with an analysis of the facts of a problem and concludes with the application and communication of the results of the investigation.” Some lawyers are lazy to research for the purpose of wining cases.
Lack of Client: A client is an individual or group that uses the professional advice or services of a lawyer. (lawyer)’s client, i.e. someone who employs a lawyer to defend them in court. Some lawyers’ lack clients and prospective clients. As a lawyer you need many clients to survive.
Unable to know the Law: A good lawyer should know the Law, know where to get it and where apply the Law. A good lawyer knows the law, a better lawyer knows the law, knows how to find it and a best lawyer knows the law, knows how to find the law and knows where to apply it.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Young lawyers are to be encouraged by doing justice by judges, to be paid hand salary, to be financed,to be employed, to be taught computer practical, to have clients. We encourage society at a large to support young lawyers as much as they can and we encourage the lawyers to do their best for the best of the profession.

CONCLUSION

This research work titled the challanges of young lawyers in Nigeria has reviewed the various literature in legal field related to the subject matter. We have succeded in discussing the challenges of young lawyers in Nigeria in this paper.