Young lawyers charged to imbibe integrity, hardwork

Nigeria’s first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Folake Solanke, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Mr Layi Babatunde (SAN) and many others have admonished young lawyers to imbibe the virtue of integrity and hardwork in their practices. The senior lawyers said this during the maiden mentoring session for young lawyers themed; ‘time out with the masters’ organised by Lawbreed Foundation.

Senior lawyers who attended the session include: Prof. Abiola Sanni; Mr. Wale Adesokan (SAN); Mr. Wemimo Ogunde (SAN); Olusola Idowu (SAN); Mr. Niyi Onipade (SAN); Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN); Mr. Lekan Yusuf (SAN); Mr. Dotun Makinde (SAN); Prof. M.T. Abdulrasaq and Chief Akinwande Delano (SAN) amongst others.

The chairman of the event, Chief Solanke in her opening remarks, called on the young lawyers to imbibe virtues such as integrity, honesty, courtesy hard work, good appearance and punctuality in other to succeed in their profession.She said that it worrisome that the standard of the bar has deteriorated and urged the young lawyers to make strenuous effort to elevate the standard.

In his address, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) admonished young lawyers to resist the temptation of always relying on artificial intelligence saying the best gift is what one puts in his or her brain.“Law is not for lazy people. It is not a part time profession. You cannot be trading and at the same time be practicing law. You must be focused, cultivate good idea and habits,” he said.

The organiser of the programme and Editor-in-Chief, Supreme Court Report, Mr. Layi Babatunde, in his presentation admonished them to avoid the ‘fast food’ mentality in the use of case law.He lamented that young lawyers are now averse to reading judgments but rather rely majorly on head notes on law reports.

“As young lawyers, you must be wary of ‘fast food’ advocacy. Fast food is quick and available, but most times it is not quite healthy. Over indulgence in it could be disastrous health-wise,” he said. Former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Section on Business Law, Mr. George Etomi taught the young lawyers pathways to becoming a successful commercial lawyer, while past chair, Nigerian Branch, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Mr. Tunde Busari coached the lawyers on pathways to becoming a successful Arbitrator.