For Everyone at the Nigerian Law School

Welcome! I want everyone to read this, so I will keep it as brief as plausible. My friends must be amused, bemused to see this. Here I am, writing about Law School. I often told them how much I disliked it, how I would never do this.

I thought my Law School experience was unfair – we didn’t have enough classes, there were no externships or court attachments, official information was terribly handled, there were inconsistencies in our lectures across campuses. There was just, always, an underwhelming tone to all of it. So yes, everything you may be experiencing now is perfectly normal. I mean, it happens, not that it is okay. Well, my set also had to deal with a pandemic and its results – stagnancy, anxiety, uncertainty. It was the worst year to be at Law School, I think. So, let me annoyingly say “you should count yourself lucky”.

I heard Law School resumes today and I had the time, so I said - why not write? It is what I do. You should read Employability 101 - Grades for some helpful context. I wish you success so pay attention.

Why is Law School important to you?

The title of this article is “For Everyone at the Nigerian Law School” because I know that not everyone is at the Nigerian Law School. Unfortunately, some who wished to attend did not make their school quota. There are others though who could not be bothered about spending another year studying law. I respect those people.

Admittedly, there is less hype Law School today than there was in the past. The times are changing, career options have evolved. Becoming a lawyer does not have the attraction it used to have, at least not to pragmatic people. The quadruplet of lawyer, doctor, engineer, and accountant do not garner the respect they used to. Today, young people want to be investment bankers, tech bros, designers, content creators and so on.

So, do you. If you are convinced that you would be better off doing something else, do it. Do not waste a year of your life moving in the wrong direction. A good university degree is as great as it gets – you can do anything with a university degree. A law school certificate, however, only licenses you to practice law, in Nigeria. Remove law or Nigeria from your life’s equation and Law School becomes useless. But also remember that having a license to practice law is useful – for instance, for the rest of your life, you have the privilege of appearing before a court.

I may be at the peak of law practice for my level so I can discuss this with some credibility. The practice of law is demanding so it helps if you are genuinely interested, if it was your first choice. It helps if you do not sigh and roll your eyes three times a day.

Why should Law School be taken seriously?

Two things – a job and the prestige. You are studying to become a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of UAR. But it is so that you can afford a living – so you can eat, transport yourself, pay your rent and buy things. Adulthood after school is really that basic.

Do not delude yourself – everything after school is about livelihood, earning money. Keep this in mind while you study, apply for opportunities and make friends. Do not be consumed in the noise or false depth of it. It is all about getting a job, a good job. Nobody cares about your “journey to the bar”. Go and read, alaye, so you can pay your bills later.

But being a lawyer, especially in these parts, is also about prestige and respect. It is a “professional profession” after all. You want to be called “learned”, “the law”. You want your village people to salute you. And oh, imagine if you bag a red scroll or some awards. Peak feeling, eh? Then you can go on, padding your jackets and speaking authoritatively for the rest of your life. The Law! Oh well, I got neither rankings nor awards. But here are some pointers anyway.

Academic work

Academic work at Law School is different from academic work in university so some patience will serve you well. If you are a pragmatic person, then you must understand by now that results matter. You must be thinking about Bar Finals already. It is all about that week, what you write down in those exams and what grades you emerge with. Now, here are the important things to note while you study.

• Principles

The most important thing about studying is understanding the principles – this is what Law School tests. Do you understand what the principles mean, how they interact? Do you understand how they apply to real life scenarios? Do you understand the exceptions? Everyday you open your material to study, you must ask yourself if you know and understand all the principles that govern the topic, in their distinct details. Principles are the principal thing.

• Authorities

Law School is not as big on authorities as university. I hear that if you can explain principles to a convincing extent, you will often be graded satisfactorily. However, noting authorities as you study is important, and simply noting them is enough. What are the authorities on this point? You do not have to know the facts, you would not be required to narrate facts in the exam – a simple “See Section 1 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA)” or a “See Issa v. Rae” would suffice.

• Drafts

Drafts are the most surprising dimension to studying at Law School. Oh God, those ***** drafts! You will be asked to draft in your exams and there are so many drafts to remember so practice them. It helps to have a drafts book and to practice drafts as soon as you are taught them. Well, you may not be taught. So, it helps to look at the course content, textbook, and materials.

Practice your drafts, studying them is not enough. You have to practice drafts as many times as possible for them to stick, for them to become distinct in your head.

• Past questions

The fourth commandment is past questions and here is why. One of the shocking failings of the Nigerian Law School is the occasional disparity in content and quality of lectures. You will observe that, on a few occasions, you were not taught the same principles as your colleagues in other campuses. So, past questions level the field – they let you know what to expect in the exams, what everyone, everywhere should expect. Beyond studying, you need to be familiar with formats, questioning styles, allocation of marks, timing and so on. You need to know exactly how they will come for you, haha.

Miscellaneous

If you are still here, here are some useful, general tips. Pay attention.

• Ask questions

Ask questions from everyone – your lecturers, your colleagues, former students and so on. Asking for advice from former students is imperative because everything looks clearer in hindsight. Ask questions of people who will immediately give you the 411 – relatable advice you can actually use, not overly generic or sentimental things. Ask “what can I do?”. As you may have figured already, it helps to stay abreast of events in other campuses. It is correct that Lagos campus has been overwhelmingly successful at the Bar Finals, so speak with the the people there.

• Have an elaborate plan

Have an elaborate, plausible plan – elaborate because it should span this very moment till your final day on campus. Break down the course content into quarters, months, weeks, days. Have a plan that allows you to go over everything you are taught as many times as possible. There is enough time if you have a good plan. This plan should also be plausible and realistic. For instance, insert breaks if you cannot study for long spells.

• You cannot "crash read" – work in bits

Dear genius, if your plan is to crash read at Law School, you will likely fail. You would need a stroke of luck to not fail. There are 18 weeks of course content across 5 topics. That equals 90 topics to assimilate – with principles, authorities, and drafts. So, try to do it in bits – study as soon as possible. Try studying immediately you are taught, do not lose track.

The great frustration with studying in bits is this – you often feel like it is not working, you feel like stuff hasn’t stuck. But things do not stick on the first try, even for the best of brains. This is why you need a good plan that allows you go over things over and over again. Eventually, it will stick. Do not cry.

• Apply for opportunities

This is very important advice because like I have said, you are studying to pass Bar Finals in flying colors, so that you get a good job – nothing pretentious or performative. It may surprise you when several of your colleagues have jobs by the Call to Bar ceremony. You do not want to ask, “when did this all happen?” Exams and interviews will happen remotely on certain unassuming afternoons, after your lectures. I got my current job weeks before Bar Finals, you see. So, stay alert and prepared. Redo your resume and cover letters, gather HR contacts. Have a conversation with yourself and informed people about where you would like to work, how much you would like to earn and the work culture you find tolerable.

• It is only one Law School, it is only one year

You may think that there are a lot of articles about the Nigerian Law School, I believe there are not enough. Or should I say, there is the problem of a single story. Everywhere you turn, there is that first class student who tells a gruesome but sanctimonious story of how they heroically scaled all the hurdles and emerged victorious. There aren’t enough stories about those who gave it everything and still failed. There aren’t enough stories about the shocking mediocrity of that institution. Most people are just pleased to graduate and move on with their lives, no matter what they experienced or saw on the Law School portal.

Law School can be difficult, annoying, traumatizing even. It may exhaust you; you may fall ill, you may cry. Through it all however, remember that it is only one year. Often, say that aloud to yourself. My dear, it is only one year of your long, promising life – it will pass. For this very reason, hold your breath and give it your best shot.

It is a marathon and a sprint, both in one. Keep going, it will end. And if it doesn’t end the way you wanted, the world will not end. It is just Law School. There are other things to do, dear, open your mind.

• Stay calm and have fun!

I know that I have said a lot that might overwhelm you. I am sorry, I had to get those out of the way. Do not be overwhelmed, do everything in bits. Note that you are less likely to do well if you spend all your time studying. You need breaks – eat, take a walk, do some extracurricular.

Eat. No matter what happens at Law School, make sure you eat!

You may want to sit for conversations, visit the town’s spots. Do not feel guilty when you do these things, they have their perks. Some of the best friends I have now, I met them in those 13 weeks I spent at Bwari. We would share hugs, sit at restaurants to chat, we would have comforting calls during the pandemic and so on. Give yourself the chance to meet colorful, lovely people.

Have some fun, exhale.

You brilliant, beautiful, gracious person.

You’ve got this!