Generally in Nigeria, most law firms are run by sole owners, many of which go into extinction as soon as the owners die. But at a public lecture organised by SPA Ajibade and Co. recently, the need to build law firms around partnerships was stressed.With the topic: 'The future of legal practice in Nigeria, developing and deepening partnerships', stakeholders agreed that the only way to save the legal practice institution and prevent foreigners from entering the country's practice space, is for lawyers to begin to form partnerships.In this interview with IBE UWALEKE, the Managing Partner of SPA Ajibade and Co., Dr. Babatunde Ajibade (SAN), explains the rationale behind this proposal and the benefits accruable to it. Excerpts:Your yearly lectures have become annual ritual of the SPA Ajibade and Co. What is the spirit behind this harvest and what is keeping you going all these years'As I said in my welcome remarks, the lectures started in 2008 when we had our first edition. We see the lectures as corporate social responsibility. As you are aware, my father is a lawyer and he happens to have one of his children who also followed his footsteps. Because the profession has done so much for our family, I was brought up from the income generated from legal practice, so I feel a particular commitment to contribute my own part to improve the standard of legal practice in Nigeria.If you notice all the four editions we have had, all the topics we have chosen have to do with the improvement of the standard of legal practice in the country. The first one was globalisation, the second one was globalisation also. The third time was ethics, which I think is also very important for legal practice in Nigeria. The one we just had this year dealt with the issue of the future of legal practice in Nigeria, developing and deepening partnerships.This year's topic is very cogent because it seemed to be addressing something that is missing in the way and manner legal practice is conducted in the country. What is the missing link that you are trying to point out'Obviously, it is not a one-space thing, there will always be a space for a small or a sole practitioner. So every person needs to choose his or her own space. Clearly, there is an unsatisfied demand for skill in terms of practices in Nigeria that are large enough to compete effectively with international firms. If we don't scale up to that level, we will be operating at a great risk. You heard what one Mr. Shobawole from Guinness said in the hall, that it is just a matter of time for foreign firms to enter into our practice space. Whether we like it or not, these foreign firms are going to come into our space. Indeed, they are already in our space, which they have started with e-mail and Internet services. It is for that reason that we said those of us who think can compete with foreign firms, need to scale up. The only way we can scale up is to go into partnerships. No matter how brilliant a Nigerian law is, he can't do the amount of work that these kinds of clients require. So if we are going to be able to meet that challenge, then we need to develop, deepen and enlarge our partnerships.Many Nigerian law firms have suffered extinction after the sole owners transited beyond here. Are you thinking about this trend and how to make law firms survive their owners'This is the idea of going into partnerships whereby law firms will be built as institutions that will survive the founders. Our chambers is in partnerships at the moment. But if you recall, the guest speaker spoke specifically on two-tier partnerships. Having a two-tier partnership is one way to achieve full equity partnerships. We are at that stage. That is why we are hosting an event like this. Let me quickly add that the environment is difficult, one needs to be very careful. This was part of the reasons why we hosted this lecture. We want to know how it was done in the West, how our colleagues who are doing it in Nigeria approached the practice. By knowing all these, we try to arrive at the best way to achieve this objective. But definitely full equity partnership and enlargement of our partnership is the objective of SPA Ajibade and Co.If people go into partnership and one partner eventually dies, don't you think there is the tendency for others to annex the firm at the exclusion of the deceased's family' What happens to the late partner's equity share in the law firm' Who secures it for him'You need to make a choice between creating something that is for you and your family or building an institution. If you want to build an institution, it goes beyond setting up a family business. The thinking of an average Nigerian lawyer who has founded a law firm is that, this is for me and my family. If I have a child who is a lawyer and his own child studies law, then I will pass it on from generation to generation. But legal practice is not like a plot of land. You need people of quality to commit to grow a firm. That commitment cannot be sustained just to pay your salaries. There must be something more in it. There must be something more, not just for them alone but the others who will come along with them. This is why partnership is the only way forward.I am quite comfortable with SPA Ajibade and Co. in 30 years' time not actually having any Ajibade working there. I will feel happy that the firm remains an institution that is now being run by others. But that legacy remains. That I think is the advantage that partnership brings.In other parts of the world, things are advancing to the stage where bigger practices are built like a business. They have just passed a law in the United Kingdom (UK) where even non-lawyers can invest and own law firms. So, the issue of ownership and who does the job are two different things just like in any other business. If for instance, I own 10 million shares in a commercial bank, who cares if the managing director of the bank dies' My shares remain. My shares are a property right. But the right to work in the business is a completely different thing. If you are a partner in a business and you eventually die, it does not mean your family cannot have an interest in whatever shares you hold in the business. This will also depend on how you structure your partnership. There are so many modules. One is the case where a partner dies, his partnership becomes a function of what he contributed to the firm, which interest is extinguished over time because he is not there to contribute anymore.Don't you think that partnership should also engender specialisation'Most definitely and it is doing so already. This is the precise module we are running in SPA Ajibade and Co. Each of our partners heads a particular department of the firm. This is to engender complementary skills. There is no need to have partners where all are litigators in one area. If one specialises in oil and gas, the other majors in maritime, they can merge to become equity partners because each of them is heading a department that is generating sufficient income for the law firm. This is an ideal module for partnership.
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