Overview of Professional Ethics & RPC

- PART I: Scope & Course Overview -

5 Areas Within the Scope of Professional Ethics & Skills

1. Knowledge of ethics of the profession;
2. Knowledge of professional responsibilities required of a lawyer;
3. How to set up, furnish, and manage law offices (including staff);
4. Elementary accounting procedures for keeping and managing the statutory account;
5. Relevant legal skills for practising in Nigeria and abroad.

4 Divisions of the Course

1. Professional Ethics & Responsibilities of a Lawyer - drafting, diligence, honesty, duties to court (as minister in the temple of justice), duties to colleagues, duties to the State;
2. Legal Skills - ADR, drafting, communication;
3. Law Office Management - getting staff, equipment;
4. Legal Practitioner Account & Remuneration.

Topics Under Professional Ethics & Responsibilities (18)

1. History of the legal profession;
2. Regulations;
3. Regulatory bodies - BOB, Council of Legal Education, NBA, LPDC, LPPC;
4. Exclusive rights of legal practitioners + restrictions;
5. Dressing and comportment;
6. Court room decorum and etiquette;
7. Role and duties to court - punctuality, guide and not mislead;
8. Contempt of court - in/outside court, what amounts, remedies;
9. Duties of court for counsel;
10. Duties of counsel to client (e.g. confidentiality);
11. Professional negligence by lawyers;
12. Relationship with + duty to colleagues;
13. Duties to community (pro bono);
14. Qualities of a good advocate;
15. Duties of counsel in special circumstances;
16. Improper attraction of business - advertising and soliciting;
17. Professional discipline of legal practitioners;
18. Appointment + discipline of judicial officers and removal.

Topics Under Legal Skills (11)

1. Interviewing and counselling;
2. Arbitration, conciliation, mediation, negotiation - differences and advantages;
3. Multi-Door Court House (MDCH) and Online Dispute Resolution (ODR);
4. Legal writing - adjournment letter, stand-down letter, letter of demand, application for employment;
5. Curriculum Vitae (CV);
6. Minutes of meetings;
7. Memorandum drafting (and how it differs from a letter);
8. Legislative drafting - legislative process, drafting skills, stages, long/short titles, enactment clauses, commencement;
9. Legal research - primary (law reports), secondary (textbooks, articles), tertiary (index sources);
10. Examination of witnesses;
11. Communication and drafting skills.

Topics Under Law Office Management (6)

1. Establishment of law firm;
2. Classification and organisation;
3. Law office layout and administration;
4. Use of IT;
5. Management functions and skills;
6. Case management.

Topics Under LP Account & Remuneration (4)

1. Overview of LP Account Rules;
2. Types of account;
3. Inspection and enforcement of account;
4. Remuneration and recovery of fees.