1.0 INTRODUCTION
The only constant thing in life is change; while some changes are gradual, giving all involved the opportunity to adjust; some changes are drastic giving less time to plan and leaving no choice but to find effective means to adapt or cope. The latter was the case of the Covid 19 pandemic about 3 years ago; one minute we were able to move around freely and conduct our business; the next we were holed up in a place; wondering, what was happening and scared as to what next.
The pandemic affected all areas of human life as we knew it including all aspects of the social an economic fabric of society. The legal profession was not left unscathed. All facets of the profession and all categories of practitioners were affected including; the judiciary, law firms, the public sector and corporate practice. Legal Practice was no longer business as usual. It was either adapt or drown. In Nigeria, the impact was hard felt because of the pre-pandemic economic recession. Law firms and corporate organizations were shut down; courts and public institutions activities were put on hold. This led to a number of issues; law firms could no longer make money from legal practice as they could neither go to court nor service their corporate and individual clients. To cope, many employers owed salaries, retrenched workers, put compensations and benefits on hold. Lawyers faced a number of challenges during that period including loss of opportunities and access to work; Reduction of Income, Mental Health Issues, Adaptation to Technology as the new normal, for lawyers, health emergencies among lawyers and their dependants and of course rising responsibilities and increased financial burdens
To survive, there was a need for introspection and innovation not only on the part of individual lawyers and businesses, but also the regulatory authorities at the national and the transnational levels. Their efforts to ameliorate the prevalent hardship culminated into various innovative policies with varying degrees of success. It is against this background that I set out to attempt a critical appraisal of the regulation of the legal profession and covid emergence measures, pitfalls and lessons. My discussion is structured thus; first to understand the regulatory bodies in the legal profession and their functions; second, to find out the innovative measures taken by these regulatory bodies to cushion the effects of the pandemic on legal practitioners; third, to undertake a critical analysis of these policies and efforts by the regulatory bodies to determine the pitfalls, lessons and the way forward.
2.0 THE REGULATORY BODIES IN NIGERIA AND HOW THEY REGULATE THE LEGAL PROFESSION IN NIGERIA
There are a number of regulatory bodies governing different facets of the legal profession; they include; The Body of Benchers which is responsible for the call to bar of practitioners and discipline of erring members (Section 3 Legal Practitioners Act - LPA), the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (Section 10 LPA), the General Council of the Bar (Section 1 LPA), The Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (Section 5 LPA) and The Nigerian Bar Association (Rules 9 to 13 Rules of Professional Conduct 2007 – RPC and Constitution of the NBA 2015 as amended in 2021 - NBA Constitution). In this presentation, the Judiciary is also regarded as a regulatory mechanism. There are no international bodies for the regulation of the legal profession in Nigeria; what we have are membership organizations like the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association, International Bar Associations (IBA), Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), among others. The focus of this presentation will be the Nigerian Bar Association (at the National and Branch Levels) and the Courts as they are the regulatory bodies with direct interface with legal practitioners.
I will speak briefly about the functions of the NBA where I have been a part of the leadership from the Branch to the National levels. The NBA is the body responsible for ensuring the highest standards of professional conduct, maintaining the integrity and independence of the Bar in its relations with the judiciary, and promoting good relations among members of the association. It is responsible for ensuring the general welfare, development and security of members of the Association. Section 3 (13) of the NBA Constitution provides for the establishment of schemes for the promotion of the welfare, security and economic advancement of members of the Legal Profession. Â Other functions include issuance of annual practicing license upon payment of Bar Practicing Fees, issuance of stamp and seal which must be affixed to all legal documents in Nigeria, ensuring the continuing legal education of members, supervising and regulating establishment and dissolution of law firms by lawyers in Nigeria (as contained in the RPC made pursuant to the LPA). The NBA is also accorded with representative status on the boards and governing council of various statutory bodies and committees within the legal profession (Section 1, 3, 10 LPA) and the Nigerian macro-economy; for example, in Section 2 Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, the NBA must be represented in the Governing Board of the Corporate Affairs Commission. It is the key regulatory mechanism with direct, one on one interface with all legal practitioners in Nigeria. All persons called to the Nigerian Bar are automatic members of the Association.