Every year, as part of the rituals of commencement of new legal year, the Privileged Committee, reels out number of lawyers who had excelled in practice, conduct and bar leadership, to be honored with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
With this honor, comes privileges far beyond wearing Silk. Responsibilities also follow the Silk.
While the fortunate celebrate, many lawyers twitch their noses at the sighting of some names on the list of SAN designates. Some openly complain that so and so are not known within the court circuit within the jurisdiction under which they sort the Silk.
Despite these murmurs, the complainants lack courage like Pa Gomez, but take solace in the fact that it is a Privilege and the Committee, headed by the CJN, chooses whomsoever they want to bestow the honor on.
It is now liken to Chieftaincy title, where the King may choose to knight his palm wine tapper as the Chief Palm wine tapper of the kingdom, granting him the privilege to sit in the council of other noble lords. Rebel against the King’s decision and risk excommunication or deliberate deprivation of the goodies in the kingdom, with stunted professional growth guaranteed.
Another thing opponents of the rank find amazing, is the rate, at which newly adorned Silks, abandon their original jurisdictions, to seek office in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and other thriving political-commercial state capitals.
They argue that, the essence of considering zoning in the award of the Rank, is to aid development of legal practice (court room litigation mostly), in areas without a local boy made Silk.
This they further claim informs why Office Inspection is key component in considering who should be awarded the Rank.
A SAN’s office with modern library facilities located in Emekuku, will attract young lawyers within that jurisdiction to use the office for research, get necessary mentoring on how to improve themselves and their practice.
But where a local boy, becomes SAN and relocates, it starves his his locality the opportunity to grow.
Another common observation is that, after taking the Rank, most Silks, stop court appearances. They run after Attorney General’s briefs, retainers with Multinationals, and any other arm of the law, including political appointments that will keep them faraway from the Court rooms.
The same courtrooms that birthed the needed cases for them to show as evidence of advocacy.
This is disheartening as the Silk, is akin to the Cardinal of the Church.
It will be a disservice to the Holy Order, for a Cardinal, to take up appointment to serve as a Catchiest or an Altar Boy to a Parish Priest.
The Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee as well as Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, should periodically re-examine those who have taken the Rank, to see if they have fallen below the standard of measurement that warranted their receipt of such honor.
Where one is found to have fallen, he should be encouraged to rise or be stripped of the Rank.
