NBA Told To Sanction Lawyers Chasing Briefs In Courts
Some lawyers on Saturday urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to sanction lawyers undermining the ethics of the legal profession by chasing briefs in court.
The lawyers said in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the act was unethical, adding that there was need to strictly observe the ethics of the profession.
A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Spurgeon Ataene, said that it was annoying the rate at which some lawyers pursued briefs in court.
He said that these lawyers engaged in the habit of following accused persons brought to court in a bid to undertake their representation in court.
According to Ataene, such practice should be alien to the legal profession, especially as there is a code of conduct regulating the attitude of lawyers.
``Ambulance chasing in the courts is very discouraging and it undermines the high standing of the legal profession.
``These lawyers even charge paltry sum from the accused persons just to undertake representation, and this creates an impression that lawyers are hungry people.
``People tend to look down on the profession which they had thought was noble because these lawyers virtually beg them to be represented and undermined the high standing of the legal profession,’’ he said.
Ataene, therefore, called on the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) to put in place measures to check the excesses of lawyers who flout the legal code of conduct.
Another lawyer, Mr Mike Dugeri said that lawyers should always obey the rules governing their professional conduct.
Dugeri said, `` when an accused is charged to court for a crime, he should have legal representation and this entails securing the bail of such accused person.
``But for a lawyer to now convert the court premises to his office and specialise in `charge and bail’, is disgraceful,’’ he said.
He described the act as totally unethical and demeaning.
Dugeri urged the NBA to be more proactive in going after this group of lawyers and punishing them appropriately.
He said that the rules of professional conduct for legal practitioners particularly made it an offence for lawyers to chase briefs in court.
The lawyer said that such practice portrayed the profession as ``cheap and of low standard''.
Another lawyer and social critic, Mr Ogedi Ogu told NAN that the situation was shameful, adding that the practice was unethical.
``I think it is now a recurring decimal in the profession, but as shameful as it appears, it can, however, not be entirely eliminated in the profession.
``The level of economic situation in the country is a contributing factor to this regrettable phenomenon.
``Poverty has found its way deep into the noble profession and the result is what we now have at hand.
``It is out of the quest for survival that you see lawyers engaging in this unethical conduct,’’ he said.
Ogu urged the NBA as the apex body of the profession to work out modalities on how to assist up-coming lawyers with funds in form of soft loans to set up their law firms.
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