My NYSC Experience in a Big Shot Law Firm (Part 2)
Introduction
This is a continuation of part 1 of this article on my NYSC experience in one of the most renowned law firms in Nigeria (the Law Firm).1st Disclaimer: this was my experience in the Law Firm, your experience might be vastly different from mine. 2nd Disclaimer: This article is not a representation of the Law Firm. This is an informal article about my experience at the Law Firm.
The Lessons Learnt
I have made a list of things I wish I knew/had done before I began my professional journey. I have also included tips that helped me improve during my NYSC year.
1. Analysis is Important: The Nigerian education system does not take analysis seriously. You are encouraged to regurgitate the same information you are given in exams. There is also an emphasis on broad knowledge in Nigeria, rather than deep knowledge. This does not work in the real world though; you need to be analytical to be a good lawyer. To be successful in law (and many other disciplines), you need to have deep knowledge in the area of your expertise rather than a broad knowledge and this is developed through analysis. I wish I took the time to understand what analysis meant and how to be analytical. To improve my analytical skills, I began asking questions such as:
a. Why is this law drafted in this manner?
b. Why is this clause included in the contract?
c. What is the implication of this word being placed where it has been placed? Would the sentence/contract/law take on a different meaning if this word was moved/replaced?
As previously mentioned in part 1, researching similar provisions in other jurisdictions also helps with analysis. These are just a few tips on how to develop analytical skills and I am not perfect at it. There are free courses you can take to improve on these tips.
2. Grammatical Accuracy: As stated in part 1, you will stare at your screen a lot. Why? Probably thinking of better ways to phrase a sentence or proofreading a document. I have spent 3 hours proofreading one document before and this was from 11 pm to 2 am. As you can imagine, I was not pleased with this. This is the bulk of your legal work when you start as a lawyer. To improve in this, reading and adapting the writing style of your supervisors can be helpful. For proofreading, you can install any proofreading app on your device. However, be careful to check the app’s privacy policy to ensure that you maintain your duty of confidentiality.
3. Keep an Open Mind: Before I started work, my friend had told me about her experience in the Mergers, Acquisition & Private Equity practice (MAPE) in my office and I desired to work there. This was also coupled with the fact that I enjoyed the topic on mergers in law school. However, I never worked with MAPE throughout my NYSC year. I tried everything within my power to get work from MAPE but it did not work. I was frustrated that I was not working in my dream practice at first, but I realised that other practice groups had exciting things to offer. The lesson here is to keep an open mind on which area of law you are assigned to. You might just prefer the one you thought you hated.
4. It is Okay to be Less Busy: Throughout my NYSC year, I thought I was behind the pack and this was mostly because I was not as busy as I expected to be. In the beginning, I went in search of work from my supervisors. I decided to never do this again because it yielded little to no fruits. I think this is the part of the advice that is peculiar to my experience at my office because the NYSC associates did not belong to any practice group. We were encouraged to reach out to our supervisors for work when we were less busy but the work I always got from all those ‘expeditions’ was somehow (for a lack of a better word). I was also advised to pour my all into the ‘little’ work I was assigned to rather than seeking more work all the time. This is because it was not the amount of work that mattered but how well the work was done. I took this advice and I believe it worked in my favour. In hindsight, I was probably not reaching out to the right people.
5. Seniority: I thought I had left all the seniority drama in secondary school however, I was in for a rude awakening. Law is such a seniority-crazy profession. What I mean by seniority-crazy is the unnatural desire to be addressed as an ‘oga’ or ‘madam’ or be revered in the workplace. I assume this is also commonplace in other professions. Also, not every lawyer is like this. I had my run-in with seniority-crazy lawyers at the beginning of this journey and from then on, I learnt to walk on eggshells around certain people. This is not an ideal situation but the goal is to live (or work) in peace. So, remember to use lots of ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’ in addressing lawyers. Even if they say you can call them by their first name, do not fall for that trap. I have warned you.
6. Long Hours and Heavy Workload: This was something I came prepared for and was quite disappointed when I was not keeping the long hours I expected to. However, I got really busy towards the end of NYSC. Not only did I become really busy, but because of working from home, people were bold enough to call me at odd hours for work. I took it all in great stride because I was the one that applied for the job, no one forced me and I was learning a lot. The lesson here is that you will often be required to go the extra mile (like working longer hours) and it will benefit you in the long run. This does not mean you should forsake your health and other priorities in your life for work.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading both parts of this article. This is a very honest piece detailing what I learnt in my NYSC year as a lawyer in a renowned law firm. I thoroughly enjoyed being exposed to various areas of law and developing as a legal practitioner. I hope you found this useful.
