QC advocates external regulation for legal profession in Nigeria

Queens Counsel, Harry Matovu of Brick Court Chambers, London, has advocated for external regulation for the legal profession in Nigeria, saying the profession has been on self-regulation for too long. The silk who has a wide-range of experience in general commercial litigation and arbitration, insurance, banking, professional negligence and Public and Private International Law, was the guest speaker at the 8th SPA Ajibade Annual Business Luncheon which took place in Lagos last Thursday.

Speaking at the event, Matovu who lectures on arbitration in Africa, including the OHADA arbitration regime, advised that external regulation would enhance the profession, as self-regulation could at some point hamper open competition for the supply of legal services and fasten the development of a closed shop. He urged the profession to open its door to statutory regulation.

“In a world where consumer rights are recognised as an increasingly dominant feature of service industries, a system of self-regulation in which members of a profession act as prosecutors, judge and jury over their own may, unless carefully managed, lead at best to a loss of confidence in the profession by the consumers who use those services, or at worst a sclerosis in attitudes within the profession, a complacency about standards and a loss of the habit of rigorous self-examination,” he said.

According to him, consumers should be involved in the regulatory process to question and drive up standards.

“I do not see why the situation should be any different in a mature legal market such as Nigeria”, he posited. He also suggested the consideration for an imposition of a duty on legal professionals to report misconduct by their fellow professionals.

However, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mahmud Mohammed, who was represented by Justice John Inyang Okoro, took a different standpoint on the issue, stating that it was important for lawyers to regulate themselves.

“And we can achieve this by ensuring that we report erring lawyers without fear of repercussions. The issue of reporting is key. If you are aware of senior lawyers involved in misconducts, you have a duty to report these acts to the legal practitioners disciplinary committee (LPDC).

“Every profession must be able to set standards for itself and for the dignity of its profession. The legal profession is an honourable one and our members should conduct themselves in upright manner”, he said,

Okoro, who chaired the occasion on behalf of the CJN, added that where profession failed to do this, then there might be need for statutory regulation, from the outside.

“In this light, the National Judicial Council (NJC) has been doing its best to rid the bench of errant judges,” he said. Referring to the recent compulsory retirement of a Federal High Court judge in Rivers State as a classic example of this attempt.

Supporting this position, Folu Oguntade, SAN, added that it was very important for judges to also report erring lawyers in order to help sanitise the profession. “The courts are the first port of call,” he noted.

Another speaker at the luncheon and Partner at Aelex, Lawrence Fubara Anga, called for a systematic approach in tackling the lack of discipline in the profession.

“Our current approach to discipline in the legal profession “has to be reviewed,” he said.

Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN, however maintained that self-regulation was generally ineffective. “We need an independent regulator for the legal profession,” he said.

He urged members of the profession “to fight for” statutory regulation, arguing that the Disciplinary Committee may not be independent enough as it is made of lawyers who may have vested interests or against whom complaints are made.

Speaking earlier, the managing partner of the firm, Babatunde Ajibade, SAN, stated that the annual business luncheon was part of the firm’s contribution to the development of legal practice in Nigeria and “our own little way of contributing our quota to the profession that has done so much for us.

“As lawyers, we need to address the problems we create in trying to attain justice and service delivery for our clients. Note that these challenges are not peculiar to us, only that practitioners from more developed jurisdictions have learnt how to deal with theirs.”

Agreeing with the positions taken by the speakers, Ajibade noted that judges indeed had crucial roles to play in assisting lawyers towards building a better profession.

The CJN in his closing remarks commended leadership of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) for introducing the Stamp and Seal project, urging all legal practitioners to embrace the project, as it would help to weed out quacks.

Theodora Kio-Lawson