How did the lawyer come across the dough? And why did not appropriate it? You know when we were young oldies used to warn kiddies not to pick up money, biscuits, etc they happened to come across to avoid turning into a cat, rat, goat or even spider! The adult drummed it in that freebies were oft times deadly traps to catch the foolish and the greedy.
The lawyer of my story came across the money, just there for him for the taking, is he, as I was reliably informed, was prepared to take up a particular matter at the Supreme Court on behalf of the state of Aquatic splendor.When the lawyer assessed the merit quotient of the case, he declined to get involved. According to my source, the gentleman said it was not in his character to go to court to defend unarguable points of law! But we are talking of 250 million naira here, pressed the “offerors” but our man would not budge.
The hero of this story is surely a rare bird. The average wig and gown person, does not possess such reserve or sterling integrity; he is rather Barrister Cash and Carry.
Like the fellow, I saw on Thursday at the Panel 2 of the Court of Appeal Lagos. This lawyer came to the Court of Appeal, to stay the execution of a consent judgement! It was a miserable landlord/tenant matter.It was also a miserable day for Mr. Appellant’s Counsel as he had no answer to the serious allegation of the respondent’s counsel that he was only in court to use the very temple of justice to achieve legal and moral injustice!
Trust the Court of Appeal, Lagos to descend like a ton of bricks on Mr. Appellant’s Counsel. This embarrassment grew by the minute as the Court thrashed him, first, for wrong procedural steps and then secondly for wrong professional steps in asking for any help from the court. As the hard strokes fell, Mr. Appellant’s Counsel looked more forlorn than a rain soaked chicken! At the end of the day, he went home with an expense sheet of N20,000.00 costs hanging on his client’s neck!If you ask me, the first and last virtues of a legal practitioner is - DECENCY! Any decent human being is a beautiful sight to behold, know and meet. But it’s especially more so when homo sapiens turns out to be legal practitioner.
The decent lawyer is fanatical about building and maintaining a good and exemplary character. And he can find that easy when he has no regard whatsoever for filthy lucre but is rather pre-occupied with the correct moral of the case.
Is anyone scoffing at morality as a factor in practicing the law? Such should know that every law is a processed morality and is calculated to achieve or maintain a moral height.
Tell me, if you are lost here. Then I will know for sure that you are a lawyer with an absent conscience. Too bad!
