Lagos: Some Lagos-based lawyers have described the recent ban by the Supreme Court on the use of ‘Barrister’ as a prefix in legal documents as a welcome development in line with legal rules. The lawyers told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the word ‘Barrister,’ often used as a prefix by Nigerian lawyers, is unprofessional and not in conformity with the standard of legal ethics.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, had, by a circular dated July 13, signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Mr. Kabir Akanbi, directed lawyers and court officials to stop using the title ‘Barrister’ as a prefix to their names in all official engagements at the Supreme Court. The circular addressed to litigation staff, legal practitioners, court registrars, and lawyers, stated that the order took immediate effect and formed part of efforts to uphold professional standards within the apex court.
Reacting to the directive, the immediate past Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ota Branch, Mr. Wale Adegoke, stated that by the provisions of Section 24 of the Legal Practitioners Act 2004, every person called to the Bar in Nigeria is a ‘barrister and solicitor’ of the Supreme Court. However, he noted that this title has become a ground for professional discipline following unethical usage of the prefix.
Adegoke explained that for decades, it was normal to see the prefix on letterheads and signposts, but the position changed with the Supreme Court judicial pronouncement in the case of Nigerian Bar Association vs. Ofomata (2017) 5 NWLR (PT. 1557) 128. In that case, the court held that prefixing ‘Barrister’ is unprofessional and improper for lawyers. The honourable court in its ratio stated that the use of ‘Barrister’ as a title is unknown to Nigeria’s legal tradition and smacks of self-aggrandisement.
He further noted that the Supreme Court rooted the prohibition in the common law tradition as well as NBA regulations and treated compliance as a requirement of professional ethics. The apex court’s decision in Ofomata was followed by the disciplinary case of LPDC vs. Chief Ladi Rotimi-Williams (2019) LPDC/2019 where the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee reprimanded a senior lawyer for persistently using the title ‘Barrister’ as a prefix. The court held that it violated Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, 2007.
Adegoke, consequently, called for public and professional education, adding that the NBA should run campaigns on proper name forms at NBA Annual General Conferences to keep all abreast with current practices.
Also reacting, founder of the Makolo Anthony Empowerment Foundation (MAEF) for indigent inmates, Mr. Anthony Makolo, described the directive as a welcome development. According to him, the word ‘Barrister’ was a term introduced by virtue of the received English law, referring to lawyers who appear in court for litigation. He noted that a more appropriate word is ‘Solicitor,’ which captures the entire essence of a legal practitioner from their duty of legal drafting to litigation.
On her part, a member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Mrs. Elizabeth Chiozor, said Rule 1[2] of the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for lawyers requires them to avoid conducts unbecoming of a legal practitioner. According to her, it amounts to professional misconduct to prefix ‘Barrister’ before a legal practitioner’s name, adding that the position of the Supreme Court is entirely supported.