Building a culture of pro bono in Nigeria

Building a culture of pro bono in Nigeria By Solomon Asowata, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Pro bono publico which means for the public good, is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession where access to justice for all who need to approach the courts is considered not to be a privilege, but a right. According to Wikipedia, lawyers in the United States are recommended under American Bar Association (ABA) ethical rules to contribute at least fifty hours of pro bono service per year.

 Rule 6.1 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct strongly encourages lawyers to aspire to provide at least 50 hours of pro bono service each year. It also quantifies the minimal financial contributions that lawyers should aspire to make to organisations providing legal services to underprivileged persons. Since 2002, many UK law firms and law schools have celebrated an annual Pro Bono Week, which encourages lawyers to offer pro bono services and increases general awareness of pro bono service. However in Nigeria, access to justice, especially for the poor, still remains a mirage due to the absence of an established pro bono culture. In order to close the justice gap, the Federal Government established the Legal Aid Council while the Lagos State Government has also created institutions such as the Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Peoples Advice Centre (PAC), Directorate of Citizens Rights (DCR) and Citizens' Mediation Centre (CMC). Despite these efforts, the anecdotal indications are that only a small fraction of the legal problems being experienced by indigent persons are addressed, and that there remains a significant justice gap. While the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) encourages its members to provide free legal services to indigents, there has been no conscious effort by the Bar to re-orientate lawyers that they have a professional obligation to provide legal service to the under-represented. Apart from the usual Law Clinics offered by the various branches of the NBA during their annual week programmes, only a few law firms have designated desks to handle pro bono cases. Worried by this development, the Lagos State Government inaugurated the Lagos State Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP) in Nov.2012. The LPILP is a platform where the state partners with private firms to provide free legal services to indigent citizens in Lagos State. However, a recent survey carried out by the Global Network for Public Interest Law in partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Justice shows that 44.7 per cent of law firms had no formal structures in place for the delivery of pro bono legal services. 31.9 per cent claimed to have ad-hoc structures in place, while 23.4 per cent stated that they had no structures in place. Speaking at a dinner to honour some lawyers for their outstanding contributions to the pro bono cause, Lagos State Gov., Babatunde Fashola, emphasised on the need for equal access to justice. "The rights stipulated under the Nigerian Constitution and the rule of law will mean nothing, if people are denied quality legal representation," he said. Fashola said the idea of citizens’ rights in civil and criminal cases would not be a right if those rights cannot be fully ventilated in a most qualitative and quantitative manner probably because of the absence of a lawyer. The governor said 64 law firms and four non-governmental organisations have already signed up to be part of the LPILP, making it the "largest law firm in Nigeria." Speaking recently at a pro bono stakeholders meeting, Lagos State Attorney-General, Mr Ade Ipaye, said the state was set to establish a special fund to assist young lawyers to give free legal services to the poor. “We intend to launch a fund for independent young lawyers to assist them in handling their pro bono cases. Such funds can be used for payment of their filing charges and transportation cost to fast track the justice system,” Ipaye said According to him, the inclusion of pro bono as a course in the curriculum of the Nigerian Law School will also help in encouraging aspiring lawyers to buy into the idea. Presenting a report on the culture of pro bono in Lagos at the meeting, Prof. Lanre Fagbohun, said there were enormous challenges being faced in providing equal access to justice for citizens. Fagbohun, who is of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), observed that majority of litigants still appeared in court without attorneys for economic reasons. On her part,the Director, Office of the Public Defender (OPD),Mrs. Omotola Rotimi urged more lawyers to buy into the ideals of the LPILP. Rotimi said that the stakeholders meeting was an opportunity for the public and private sector to brainstorm and have collaboration as equal partners to advance the course of justice administration through improved access to justice'.  “Our aim is to develop a framework for public-private partnership dedicated to ensuring that no resident of Lagos State is prevented from accessing the justice system on  the grounds of lack of means", she said. In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),a lawyer, Mr Tolu Ogundare, said young lawyers were not too keen on rendering free legal services due to the economic situation of the country. Ogundare said," Our parents paid a lot to see us through university and law school and once we start practising, the first thing on our mind is to repay these debts." Another young lawyer, Miss Folashade Adebayo, said the present remuneration of lawyers was very poor, adding that they had to embark on private practice to meet some of their basic needs. "So,there is actually no time for us to start thinking of pro bono because the little time we have, we use it to make some money to cater for ourselves," she added. Experts, however, believe that the model developed by Lagos State should be borrowed by other states in order to create for access to justice for their citizens. (NAN)