LAW- ENTERPRISE
Trends re-shaping the future of legal industry
By 2025, studies have shown that legal bodies and specialist would automate traditional analog and manual processes. With fast rate of technology, efficient and rapid use of mobile services, reliable internet connection, lawyers' cans set up a virtual law office to work anytime anywhere. Lawyers must make efforts to become more tech-savvy while learning more about e-commerce. Virtual law office allows medium and small sized law firms keep expenses low and minimize overhead cost quickly. Extending the reach of your law firm practice is another reason why you should choose a virtual law firm practice. Your practice can be extended beyond the state you practice and go world-wide if you are able to grow your unique value proposition. One benefit that keeps you within the four walls of a virtual law office is that the constant need for a physical office is eliminated or reduced.
According to Forbes, in the next decade, law firms would undergo two major shifts:
- Technology shift - This would permit firms to adapt to changes in the legal market, improve business efficiency and operation and track new success metrics.
- Staffing/recruitment - As law firms strengthen their roles in enterprise management, new positions would be needed alongside attorneys. Law firms would recruit coders and programmers to manage their tech systems and customer-driven managers who are skilled at providing a high level of attention to clients
Lawyers are truly busy, from a client interview to arranging case-files, preparing and editing processes and attending to court proceedings. Legal practitioners are over-worked and long hours are norms, regardless of what arm of law is practiced. E-learning provides a convenient and satisfactory method for lawyers to keep learning new laws and trends. It also saves time, you can study at the office, at home, in the court room during office down-time or waiting to catch a flight.
To grow your database and enrich your knowledge of the law, please take a look at our legal e-reports at allfwlr.com
Do you know that one of the major trends in the legal industry today is social networking, many lawyers are contributing internationally through social media? Pls in the box below, kindly share with us some tips that has helped you network better on social media. If there are any questions along the lines of social networking, feel free to ask your questions.
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Ways to build your professional portfolio as you climb the ladder of the legal profession.
What is a professional portfolio?
A professional portfolio is a collection of your professional experience, it highlights your personal achievements and used to market your capabilities, talents and strengths.
Importance of your professional portfolio
Are you deliberate about your personal brand? Keeping track of all the professional projects you have handled and all the previous services rendered by you to an existing organization? Do your activities and the outcome they produce match your profession? Do you need to change or enhance what you are about? What must you do to stay relevant in the next 10 years? All these questions must be answered in a professional portfolio. If would definitely get you attention amongst many others and help you stand out form the crowd
What makes your career summary attractive?
Every career summary must include information not contained in your resume. Define your personal work ethic, philosophy and core values. This is also known as your personal executive summary, and it is important to make sure that this personal executive summary is relevant to the industry you belong to. A resume lists your main credentials while your bio tells a story about you, making the content very interesting. Ask yourself what is most valued in your target industry, what experiences, skills and characteristics matters in your industry, and lastly what you would look for if you were hiring a manger or a lawyer. This last part is very crucial, many people develop a career summary without thinking about what they would have wanted if they were to hire a new specialist.
Some other things to consider when creating a professional portfolio are
- Degrees
- References
- Volunteer and community service
- Accomplishments
- Resumes
- Awards and honors
- Work samples
- Professional development activities
Renaissance Law forum
Trends re-shaping the future of legal industry
By 2025, studies have shown that legal bodies and specialist would automate traditional analog and manual processes. With fast rate of technology, efficient and rapid use of mobile services, reliable internet connection, lawyers cans set up a virtual law office to work anytime anywhere. Lawyers must make efforts to become more tech-savvy while leaning more about e-commerce. Virtual law office allows medium and small sized law firms keep expenses low and minimize overhead cost quickly. Extending the reach of your law firm practice is another reason why you should choose a virtual law firm practice. Your practice can be extended beyond the state you practice and go world-wide if you are able to grow your unique value proposition. One benefit that keeps you within the four walls of a virtual law office is that the constant need for a physical office is eliminated or reduced.
According to Forbes, in the next decade, law firms would undergo two major shifts:
- Technology shift - This would permit firms to adapt to changes in the legal market, improve business efficiency and operation and track new success metrics.
- Staffing/recruitment - As law firms strengthen their roles in enterprise management, new positions would be needed alongside attorneys. Law firms would recruit coders and programmers to manage their tech systems and customer-driven managers who are skilled at providing a high level of attention to clients
e-learning
Lawyers are truly busy, from a client interview to arranging case-files, preparing and editing processes and attending to court proceedings. Legal practitioners are over-worked and long hours are norms, regardless of what arm of law is practiced. E-learning provides a convenient and satisfactory method for lawyers to keep learning new laws and trends. It also saves time, you can study at the office, at home, in the court room during office down-time or waiting to catch a flight.
To grow your database and enrich your knowledge of the law, please take a look at our legal e-reports at allfwlr.com
Do you know that one of the major trends in the legal industry today is social networking, many lawyers are contributing internationally through social media? Pls in the box below, kindly share with us some tips that has helped you network better on social media. If there are any questions along the lines of social networking, feel free to ask your questions.
Legal resources
Meaning nature and practice of Arbitration in Nigeria; 2018
Arbitration is a process for the settlement of disputes under which the parties agree to appoint their own judge or judges (arbitrator or arbitrators) who will decide according to their agreement and the law and the parties agree to be bound by their decision.
It has been variously defined as follows:
Arbitration is governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1988. now Cap. 19 of the LFN, 2004. The agreement must be in writing, Section.1 (1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and it must also be a commercial arbitration i.e., of a relationship of a commercial nature, namely:
The arbitration process derives its force principally from the agreement of the parties and from the applicable law.
The foundations of the procedural practice of Arbitration in Nigeria is the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, which regulates the powers, jurisdiction and appointment of the arbitral tribunal. The two main sources of the power and jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal is the agreement of both parties and statutory powers imposed on the arbitrators by relevant laws. The agreement between both parties to bring any dispute before an arbitrator, provides both the express and implied powers of the arbitral tribunal. However, where parties do not agree as to arbitrators to be appointed, the court can step into provide one. After the proper appointment of arbitrators, a preliminary meeting can be scheduled. it is mostly useful in giving the participants an opportunity to meet and obtain directions from the tribunal for further conduct of the reference.
After all preliminary meetings have been concluded, it is always good to hold a pre-hearing review to help the arbitrator and parties clarify all outstanding issues, before hearing begins. Matters such as, if there are any moves for settlement and whether any further written documents are required for successful hearing. One of the main features of the arbitral practice is privacy and confidentiality, the arbitrator is not allowed to disclose the matter of the parties to another party except if compelled by the court in cases where the contents of the award provides a useful evidence to the court in the determination of some issues before it.
Hearing can take the form of a short or full hearing. The full hearing is conducted the same way the courts of justice holds proceeding, the only difference is the applicable laws. For the court of law, the Rules of courts guides the proceeding, while at arbitral proceedings, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act is the regulatory principle. After the determination of the issues with applicable laws, an award is issued which must be in writing stipulating the reasons for the decision, signed, dated by the arbitrator and enforceable upon application in writing to the court.
The reason why business men, large and multi-national corporations elect to arbitration is to get results within a very short time. This objective is one which our court system has failed to achieve. There are many cases in court rooms for years without judgement and legal professionals prefer a fast, less-technical and efficient method of resolving disputes and this is why they adopt the alternative disputes resolution techniques. Some have argued that the import of section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act which provides that a court shall not intervene in any matter governed by this Act except where so provided in this Act, strikes out the participation of a competent court of law in arbitration matters.
However, a careful examination of this provision in the light of the context of the Act shows that it is not the intention of the law makers to neglect the participation of judicial courts. Arbitration can never escape the courts intervention because the role of the court is to assist the process. In circumstances where the award granted is outside the scope of submission by the parties or the arbitral tribunal ignores the fundamental principles of fair hearing, the court is bound to entertain the complaints of the parties, and therefore uphold their fundamental human rights. It is sometimes said that the relationship between judicial courts and arbitral proceedings is one of partnership, national courts can exist without arbitration, but arbitration cannot exist without national courts.
This point is apt because even the final decision of arbitrators which is binding upon both parties cannot be enforced unless an application in writing is before the court for the enforcement of the award. Awards could also be disregarded by a court of competent jurisdiction and remitted back to the tribunal, all these is based on the discretionary powers of the court taking into consideration the arbitration agreement.
Ideally, the relationship between the courts and the arbitration system must be collaborative, parties to an arbitration agreement should not see the court as a threat, know that the court is receptive and accommodative towards them, as they perform a more supervisory role to arbitral adjudication of disputes, putting a check in areas where excesses occur. Parties are also encouraged to choose Nigeria as the seat for international arbitration because this allows for the growth and practice of international arbitration within Nigeria. Senior advocates, lawyers and young lawyers must always develop their professional skills, Judges too must not relent because the success of any particular jurisdiction, as it concerns international commercial arbitration, depends on the quality of its courts.
ALLFWLR
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For further study on Nature and Practice of Arbitration, pls read Zenith Glo. Merchant Ltd v. Z.I.L (Nigeria) 2017, All FWLR, part 885.
THE EVOLUTION OF FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY
Fintech Law
Introduction
Fintech Law
Introduction
This article gives a brief overview of the rise of financial technology in Nigeria, the regulations guiding this prominent sector, as well as identifying the key-growth drivers of the sector.
What is fintech?
Fintech is another word used to describe "financial technology". It is an advanced use of technology in the delivery, use and design of financial services.
How significant is fintech?
Innovative finance solutions can help small business by providing them with better cash flow, improved working capital management and more stable funding. In addition to quick access to capital, fintech helps both small and large businesses through improved payment systems and allows customers and clients to conclude transactions through mobile phones or tablets
What is a fintech hub?
Its an ecosystem that consists of systems, organizations, persons, infrastructures within the fin-tech landscape, and how these elements are organized to interact with one another.
What are the pillars of a fintech ecosystem?
A successful and vibrant fintech ecosystem is where all the stakeholders and partners connect, engage and share ideas across various platforms, as well as identify and convert opportunities into businesses. The major pillars of the fintech industry in Nigeria are government, regulators, investors, start-ups, technology vendors, financial institutions and users.
Is there any prominent association in Nigeria that facilitates the fintech?
The fintech association of Nigeria whose mission is to foster an ecosystem that enables stakeholders to achieve a thriving and growing Nigeria fintech industry. It is a non-for profit organization incorporated by the Corporate Affairs Commission and a member of Global Fintech Hubs Federation.
What regulations guides the fintech industry in Nigeria?
The CBN regulates mobile payments pursuant to the CBN Guidelines on Mobile Money Services in Nigeria, 2015 (Mobile Money guidelines). In addition, the Nigerian Communications Commission also regulates fintech businesses where the services offered involves mobile phone pursuant to the License Framework for Value Added Services (VAS) issued by NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission). It appears that the payment system is flooded with lots of regulations, however there are little or no regulations for reward and donation-based crowdfunding. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that lack of rules and certain inhibitions in the Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Investment Securities currently makes crowd-funding a challenge in Nigeria. (See glossary below for the meaning of technical terms). Clearly, there are significant opportunities to develop regulations for the fintech industry in Nigeria, and one of it is the crowdfunding space.
Any fintech start up in Nigeria?
Some of them are: Flutterwave, KongaPay, Interswitch Limited, Venture Garden Nigeria, Pagatech, e-tranzact and Remita.
How to start a fintech hub in Nigeria
Its really easy to start a fintech hub in Nigeria if you understand the regulations, required licenses, have a broad knowledge about the fintech industry and the opportunities available. Most importantly, prepare an industry analysis, know where your competitors stand, provide value for customers, and know what customers want.
The legal consideration of running a fintech start-up in Nigeria
It is very common for fintech start-ups to enter into partnerships with existing operators within the fintech industry for mutual benefits, however, there is another way to operate as a start-up by obtaining requisite licenses with considerations to several regulatory obligations. The general legal framework applicable to financial institutions are CBN Act and BOFIA and the Central Bank of Nigeria Guidelines on Mobile Money Services in Nigeria. Commercial lending activities in the fintech landscape requires licensing by either the Central Bank of Nigeria (for banks and other financial institutions) or Ministry of Home Affairs (non-financial institution lenders). Additionally, one must be duly registered with NAICOM before engaging in the business of asset management.
New invention of AI in fintech
Now, AI is permeating every aspect of the business world, and Fintech is no exception. AI which is known artificial intelligence is a new trend of computer intelligence where tasks requiring human efforts like speech recognition, visual perception, decision making are performed by machines. According to consulting frim Accenture, financial sectors have been integrating machine learning into its practices primarily to cut time, cost and energy. AI also eliminates the possibilities for errors and has the potential to make existing traditional banks influence a digital surge.
In conclusion, Nigeria has the opportunity to establish itself as one of the hottest fintech hubs in the next few years. It's the fastest growing nation with a large population of young talents (115 million people below the age of 35), has an incredible and exponential growth of mobile phones lines, huge financial inclusion potential (not less than 50 million people with banks based on Bank Verification Number) and relatively strong talent pool are crucial factors for a successful and innovative fintech industry.
PERSONAL BRANDING AS A LAWYER.
At the university and at the law school, we were taught everything about our legal system except how to create a strong personal brand as a lawyer. Personal branding has become a key word for aspiring lawyers, successful attorneys and entrepreneurs. It is about building some key qualities and character in your person that causes your course mates, clients, partners, associates or anyone to speak well of you. Developing your personal brand takes time and usually some money as well, but the long-term benefits makes it all worthwhile. By investing in your personal brand, you will be able to charge a fee for your service in the future, and people would be willing to pay for it. The first step to building your personal brand is to add value to your community by leveraging on your unique strengths and talents. After some time, you will be really good at what you do, then you can monetize it and make some cool money from it. Well, this does not sound like a professional advice? (may be you are thinking this) Yes, it is. When you leverage on that unique talent you have, you can build an entire community with it and then monetize it.
How to monetize your personal brand?
You must create an offline and online presence for you to monetize your unique strengths as a lawyer. Be clear about who you are and what you do. This means that you can own a platform that clearly states what your vision and mission is; this is also known as building a niche for the products and services that you offer in the legal industry. Another thing you should do is to express the offer and value you provide across all mediums. Generating brand awareness helps you to monetize your personal brand and be very specific about the category of persons, partnerships and organizations you are reaching out to.
Professional development and qualifications
In order to develop yourself as a young lawyer, you ought to take into consideration professional exams that can help you leverage on your strengths. If for example, you are a lover of human resource management, arbitration or investment banking, and you are reading law in the university or have a degree in law, you can take advantage of that opportunity to provide value to a needy market. There are several professional exams that you can take to help you develop a broad knowledge on any relevant subject matter, so that you can perform excellently well at what you do. Bear in mind that these professional qualifications can also help you secure a place in the job market. Professional development is very important because it helps you audit your skills and stay relevant in your practice area.
Ways in which lawyers can build their personal brands online
Today, it is very easy to create and publish great content on social media sites which in return leads to business development and opens great opportunities for you. The internet provides a large platform and opportunity for you to meet new people, create a bond with them and grow your networks. As a very busy professional, you can only be in one place at a time, but creating a strong online presence through the use of viral marketing can help to build a good online profile
Find a mentor
No one arrives at his destination without the help of a mentor. Everyone needs to find one person that can lead, encourage, motivate, advise and share stories that inspires. Every dream becomes a reality because of hard-work, determination and leadership. If you don't have a mentor, find one today.
HIGHLIGHTS OF LEASEHOLD SYSTEM IN NIGERIA
A leasehold interest exits between two or more parties where one party gives out or lets out his property to another person to use for a period of time. Exclusive possession is a feature of a lease transaction and it arises out of a concrete grant of an interest on land as opposed to a mere personal privilege which carries with it no proprietary interest whatsoever. Where there is no exclusive possession, the relationship may be viewed as a license. A license is a personal privilege to use a property without possessing any estate or interest in it, and this privilege may be terminated at any time.
Certainty of terms as well as date of commencement are very important in leases. This means that a lease must grant a definite term, state a commencement and expiration date, all of which are essential features of a valid lease. A lease cannot be granted in perpetuity. See the case of UBA v. Tejumola & Sons Ltd. The supreme court in Savannah Bank v. Ajilo also supports this position.
One cannot discuss the highlights of leasehold transactions without stating the feature of exclusive possession. A lease confers on the lessee exclusive possession and a mere privilege to use the property. By virtue of section 1 of the Land Use Act, all lands comprised within a state are vested in the Governor of the state to hold in trust for citizens of the state. The citizens benefit from this trust through a grant of a right of occupancy by the Governor of a state which does not exceed ninety-nine years. Pursuant to section 15 of the Land Use Act, during the term of a statutory right of occupancy, the holder
- a.) Shall have the sole right to and absolute possession of all the improvements of the land; and
- b.) May subject to the prior consent of the Governor or transferor, assign or mortgage any improvements on the land which have been effected pursuant to the terms and conditions of certificate of occupancy related to the land.
From this position of the law, it is clear that a grantee of a right of occupancy has exclusive rights to the land and a statutory right of occupancy against all persons other than governors.
The most common method of creating a lease in Nigeria is through written documentation and this is mostly done by solicitors. It takes the form of a contract agreement between both parties states the parties to the lease, property involved, the rent payable, term of duration and lastly the date of commencement. In Odutola v. Papersack (Nig) Ltd, Tobi JSC observed that
"It is the generally accepted practice that tenancy agreement is made in writing. I do not want to say it is invariably made in writing, but I can say that it is mostly made in writing." The advantage of having a lease in writing is that the lease is easily ascertainable and enforceable. Secondly, an order for specific performance may be easily ordered in written leases.
Where the duration of the lease exceeds two years, it is required to be under seal, signed and delivered. This satisfies certain legal requirement under the Property and Conveyancing Law which states that conveyance of land or interest is void unless made by deed. On the other hand, if the duration of the lease is less than three years and confers exclusive possession, such is regarded as parol lease. Parol leases are acceptable, although, sometimes it simplifies the complexities of agreement making, where parties are not able to really decide on the terms of the contract.
For further studies on leasehold interest in Nigeria, pls read the following case-law reports
- Abioye v. Yakubu 2001 FWLR (Pt.83)2212
Law principle of the week
The principle of natural justice
Inherent in the principle of natural justice is nemo judex in causa sua (the rule against bias) and audi alteram partem ( the right to fair hearing). Judges, lawyers and legal practitioners are expected to be independent and unbais while handling any case. The right to fair hearing requires that every person is given prior notice before the commencement of any proceedings against him and has a right to present their own case
Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human People's Right. Section 36(4) of the 1999 Constitution.
Pls for further studies, search for these cases on the portal:
- Fagbule v. Rodrigues (2003) FWLR (Pt. 137) 1171 at 1188
- Ndukauba v. Kolomo (2005) FWLR (Pt.248) 1602 at 1616
- Sule v. Ebune (2003) FWLR (Pt.138) 1341 at 1349
- University of Lagos v. Amatokwu (2005) AFLWR(Pt.277)929 at 940.