Globalisation and internationalisation of legal and judicial activities have in the 21st century gathered steam, making the traditional law firm outmoded in some parts of the world and seriously stress tested in others. This poses serious challenges to legal education in Nigeria, which needs to evolve in lockstep with changing global standards.
In response to this changing landscape of legal practice, the IE Business and Law School recently organised an Executive Breakfast Session, to create awareness.
McLaren Moray, chair of the Strategy Group of the International Bar Association’s Law Firm Management Committee in his presentation pointed to the fact that “since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, it is the client and not the law firm partner who is in the driving seat. And what clients are now asking the law firms for services which are: “better, quicker and cheaper”. This is happening as much in Nigeria as every other part of the world…To some extent we are in unchartered territory and feeling our way in the dark. At the same time, we could say that the current generation of lawyers will be able to build the future they want.”
The challenge for legal education is therefore what should be taught the future leaders of legal services while we figure out what the future will be. Everything is up for grabs. Legal education and future leaders of legal services need to be global.
One of the participants, Ebele Ebeleju, related that “she is happy about what she learnt during the event, because law school was theoretical, huge volumes of material to read and replicate, and principles to memorise. Graduating from law school was a big relief to me. We learnt speed, accuracy, hard work and discipline. This session has broadened my view of legal practice in the 21st century.”
Oluwole Kehinde, another participant and editor of Nigeria legal review said “Nigerian law firms must learn to build professionalism, prepare for the future and build law firms that outlive their founding partners. This session is aligns well with this necessity.”
To compete favourably on the global stage, law schools in Nigeria need to create global partnerships with other leading law schools, organise exchange programmes, attract international faculty and students and vigorously integrate technology into teaching and learning processes.
Law schools these days need to provide students with a competitive edge, of which entrepreneurship training seems to be a common choice. This is because “law has always needed entrepreneurs – the concept of partnership was built around joint risk-tasking in order to build a sustainable business – even if that was less obvious during the boom years. The sole emphasis of law schools on delivering good technical lawyers was perhaps always off target” Moray explained.
Nevertheless, “as law is looking for new approaches, we can assume that a generation of young lawyers who grew up texting friends with one hand, writing a thesis with the other, while playing on-line computer game with friends – will not be running to the law firm library. As law looks increasingly for new business models, we have a younger generation who are open to new approaches. Law Without Walls helps them deliver on that” he continued.
On the most important skills a law school can teach its students today over and above basic law Moray added “we just have to read the recruitment adverts to see how rapidly those requirements are changing. This year we have seen a higher demand for legal project managers, plus of course the ongoing struggle to find technologists within legal services. IE already has an optional course on Legal Project Management for students, with some more exotic classes coming next year”.
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
