Lawyers in Nigeria must first have to acquire a Bachelor’s Degree in Law (LLB) and go on to acquire a qualifying certificate after completion of the 1-year programme of bar advocacy training from Nigerian Law School. Afterward, they may choose to specialize in any of the different aspects of legal practice such as property law, dispute resolution, corporate law, immigration law and family law. In this article, we’ll be discussing the types of lawyers in Nigeria.
The types of lawyers in Nigeria will be discussed below:
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Divorce Lawyer
In Nigeria, divorce lawyers are essential in assisting their clients throughout the divorce process. Hiring a Nigerian divorce lawyer will ensure that a client’s divorce proceedings are quick and professionally done. They assist their clients in filing the necessary paperwork in court, show up on court dates to argue in favour of their client’s motion and every other task related to divorce.
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Dispute Resolution Lawyer
Dispute resolution lawyers help their clients in solving disputes and managing risks. The common cases that dispute resolution handles are neighbour disputes, professional negligence, property disputes, breach of contract, breach of agreement, landlord and tenant issues and business disputes. They evaluate the claims brought forward by their clients and advise them on the next steps to take, as well as issue court proceedings and draft witness statements, among other duties. Furthermore, these lawyers provide legal advice to their clients during mediation and/or settlement meetings.
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Tax Lawyer
The tax lawyers in Nigeria are concerned with matters of tax. They assist and represent individuals and corporations in a wide range of issues bothering on taxation. Tax lawyers also provide legal advice to expatriates on taxation, and represent clients in tax litigation and tax arbitration cases. In addition, tax lawyers regularly advise their clients in areas such as company income tax (CIT), personal income tax (PIT), profit tax, petroleum tax, etc.
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Immigration Lawyer
Immigration lawyers specialize in immigration law practice. They assist employees of multinationals with applications to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for visas and work permits such as Temporary Work Permit (TWP) and Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card (CERPAC). Immigration lawyers in Nigeria also provide legal assistance to clients who seek appeals on visa applications to other countries.
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Property Lawyer
Property lawyers in Nigeria play an important part in every property transaction to ensure that everything is done legitimately, and to protect the interest of both the buyer and seller of the property. Property lawyers act on behalf of their clients to conduct title searches for their properties at the Lands Registry. This search would provide insight into encumbrances that might affect the buyer’s ownership interest. Property lawyers in Nigeria draft requisite documents – such as a deed of assignment and contract of sale – needed for property transactions. In addition, these lawyers are responsible for the verification of all relevant consents concerning a property transaction, as well as the perfection of a newly acquired property in line with the Land Use Act.
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Transactional Lawyer
Transactional lawyers are useful to business entities in many ways. They generally specialize in advising their clients by providing legal counsel on business transactions, contracts and agreements. Some of the duties of transactional lawyers in Nigeria include completing due diligence on behalf of their clients, designing policies, verifying contract agreements, and providing legal advice on employment and transaction matters.
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Criminal Defence Lawyer
Individuals and corporations that are accused of criminal activity can hire the services of a criminal lawyer to uphold their best interests within the bounds of the Nigerian justice system. Criminal defense lawyers can work as public defenders or go into private practice to leverage the law to the advantage of their accused clients. So, criminal defense lawyers may represent clients accused of kidnapping, armed robbery, arson, manslaughter, or other types of criminal activities.
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Corporate Lawyer
Corporate lawyers are also known as business lawyers, and they specialize in providing legal advice to their clients in matters concerning mergers, acquisitions, take-over, and registration of companies. They also consult for multinational corporations that desire to make direct investments into the economy and advise and intimate them on regulatory issues to make sure all legally mandated requirements are met for a smooth operation in Nigeria.
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Debt Recovery Lawyer
Debt recovery lawyers specialize in a very critical aspect of legal practice that’s concerned with assisting individuals and corporations with debt recovery negotiations, drafting and reviewing debt agreements and advisory on debt restructuring. Internal debt recovery, instituting enforcement actions on debt orders, and advising their clients on out-of-court settlement negotiations are additional services rendered by debt recovery lawyers in Nigeria. Their service fees are a contingency on debt they’re able to recover for their clients.
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Public Interest Lawyer
Public interest lawyers assist individuals, especially the poor, with legal problems. They may take on criminal or civil matters and are known to have an interest in social justice and civil rights causes. In events where state actors act in the wrong such as police brutality, these lawyers may challenge such excesses within the bounds of the law. Late Gani Fawehinmi was a popular Nigerian public interest lawyer.
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Family Lawyer
Family lawyers specialize in a unique aspect of legal practice that focuses on family matters. They regularly provide legal counsel to their clients on drafting and review of deeds of gift, drafting of wills, prenuptial agreement, and matrimonial causes, among other family matters. Family lawyers also perform divorce proceedings, grant of probate and letter of administration.
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Employment Lawyers
Employment lawyers specialize in issues that deal with labour and employment law in Nigeria. They may represent employers or employees in both private and public sectors in employment-related disputes. Employment lawyers are dedicated to upholding the rights of employees within the bounds of the law. Their area of expertise includes employment discrimination, employment contracts, workplace compensation, constructive dismissal, workplace safety and pension, among others.