Many a client have running battles with their attorneys on
what and how their funds have been expended on their briefs or if your like,
cases. They often say, "Where is my money?" Some clients raise alarm
that lawyers have cheated them of their monies, with nothing to show for it. The
complaints are varied from person to person and from case to case.
Why do lawyers charge their clients so much and yet deliver
little? How do lawyers expend the monies of their clients in their care? What are the reasons for this 'fraud' or
misappropriation, as some may term it? Let's reason together on this one.
1. Frankly speaking, lawyers are not trained in money
matters. From the course outlines as one is admitted into any university to
study law, the basic management of financial resources are never part of the
learning process. A lawyer may be very skilled in matters related to the
'rightness' or 'wrongness' of a money transaction, but never in the management
of same.
The average lawyer may charge for services to be done for a and
on behalf of a client, but what remains to be seen if he/she has a financial
advicer or an accountant that can assist him/her in managing the funds. Its a
tough job for a lawyer in handling money and matters at the same time!
2. Lawyers are also members of society. What this means is
that whatever happenes in the country also happens to them. So it follows that
there may be a few deviants who do trade as legal pratitioners. There are
abound a number of lawyers that are cheats and swindlers. Lawyers are humans
too. What is expected, however, is that they live above board in terms of
character developement and moral standing, and as such lawyers never placed on
the same pedestal as other members of the society. It is only unfortunate that
these incidencies of financial recklessness is still found in the legal
profession.
3. Another reason why a lawyer may not be forth-coming with
his delivery on a client's case after collecting the required fees is that a
lot of delays take place in the practice of the law. A lawyer who is not very
versed with the goings-on in the Nigerian legal system would be trapped in
thinking that he/she can give a definite time within which to bring results for
a client.
The lawyers that fall victim of these delays are those who
have not really dealt with the practice and procedure of the legal system in
Nigeria or new wigs (lawyers just newly called to the bar).
This delay is about the first shock that all lawyers are
confronted with in practice. Delays emanating from secretaries, clerks,
registrars, judges, other lawyers, unforseen holidays and so on. So it would be
counter-productive for any lawyer to assure his/her client that his/her case
would be resolved in so-and-so time and with so-and-so outcome. In fact, its
highly unbecoming to give assurances in law and not deliver! The best any
lawyer can do for a client is to be open about the progress of matters at all
times.
Some of these reasons why lawyers default in their services
may sound like excuses to many, but the truth is they remain the reality. Most
times, these issues go beyond the control of the victim-lawyers. A client may
do well do to seek a second opinion from another lawyer or simply exercise lots
of patience, and trust that his/her money has not been misappropriated.
Let's have another talk time ... A trillion thanks!
Alice O. Odibo is a legal practitioner and
the principal partner at Odibo O. A. Co., a firm of legal practitioners &
solicitors. a graduate of university of Nsukka,She has 8 years experience in corporate and criminal litigation
practice. She resides in Lagos.
Contact details. 08057474161. aliceodibo@yahoo.com BB:26474A85
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