We have heard of programmes such as the MTN Project Fame which seeks to identify raw musical talents with the view to polishing them to stardom, we also heard of the Bank PHB’s Intern, which was aimed at sharpening business skills in young enterpreneurs, but such was novel in the Nigeria legal profession. Recently however SimmonsCooper, a Lagos-based Law firm came up with what it called SimmonsCooper Advocacy Initiative.
Headed by a former Attorney General of Lagos State and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), SimmonsCooper Partners said they put up the SCAD Initiative in order to prevent strong advocacy skills among Nigerian lawyers from going into extinction.
“There is always palpable excitement when one of the old, reputable wigs makes an appearance in court. The breath of fresh air that characterises a trained advocate in his element is a wonder to behold. But one cannot but wonder where the eloquent, astute lawyers of the next generation are.
“So we began to think of how to preserve posterity and then we came up with SCAD, an initiative designed to identity, develop and hone the advocacy skills of trainee wigs,” CSP said.
The firm explained that the decision to target Law students followed its belief that the culture of good advocacy could only be sustained where the theory taught in the classroom is immediately matched with practice.
“Beyond prestige and esteem, the practice of Law is closely associated with eloquence, advocacy and sound arguments. This necessarily means that an aspiring lawyer must develop a set of skills ranging from ability to identify and build up arguments through thorough research as well as an eloquent presentation of such argument before an audience. These set of skills are prerequisite for any serious lawyer looking forward to achieving professional relevance.
“But sadly, we always wonder whether the Nigerian lawyer, at the point when he is permitted to don the ceremonial wig and gown at the instance of the body of Benchers, is prepared to hold his ground in the field of Law.
“Accordingly, we initiated the mechanism of SCAD, as a platform to stimulate debate on significant national issues and encourage healthy competition among students of Law in all the universities across Nigeria.”
SCP explained that SCAD Compete is an aspect of the initiative which employs social debate to stimulate advocacy skills in student lawyers.
“The young Nigerian lawyer is only fully equipped when he or she can boast of a firm rasp of research writing and advocacy skills.
“SCAD Compete is an aspect of the initiative that encourages social debate, briefs writing and Moot Court competition where participants within and outside Nigeria are invited to submit structured arguments based on a dispute scenario.
“It is an initiative which seeks to arouse the consciousness and contribution of Law students to social, economic and legal issues,” the firm added.
And so they have thrown the SCAD open to students of Law from across the country.
The 2014 edition of SCAD Compete had 10 finalists shortlisted from huge entries received, slugging it out on one platform.
The theme of the discourse for 2014 centred on the prevailing housing challenge in the country, which is said to be fast becoming a cause of serious concern as several Nigerians face the challenge of homelessness.
SCP said such theme was agreed upon following a recent disturbing United Nation’s report, which predicts that by the year 2015, Nigeria’s population of homeless people will have reached 24.4 million people.
Discussing the topic were 10 cerebral and word-savvy finalists, who were taken through a one-day intense training to sharpen their advocacy skills.
They mounted the stage in June at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.
Their performances were graded by a three-man panel comprising a judge of the Lagos State High Court, Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile, Mr. Wale Olawoyin of Olawoyin and Co. and Mr. Babatunde Irukera of SCP.
0 Response to "Towards building Law students’ advocacy skills"
Post a Comment