“I regret studying law as a discipline. In fact, I can’t encourage anyone close to me to consider law as a course in the university…” These were exact words of a young female lawyer less than ten years of graduation. No doubt, her bitter experiences and encounters in course of her practice must have informed that comment.
Of course, this lady is not alone in this voyage. Several female lawyers had at some point in their careers made similar submissions, overtly or covertly. Many of them had gone into the profession with high expectations, probably due to exciting and mouth-watering pictures that were painted to them. Others, might have been coarced into the profession by parents who are lawyers themselves, or who had wanted to be lawyers, but were not opportuned, or those who just want to have the title of “lawyer’s father or mother”.
These and several other issues relating to challenges confronting female lawyers, especially those into litigation formed part of the discussions at the 3rd Memorial Colloquium in honour of Cyprian Anah, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), organised by the the Anah Law Practice in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The colloquium, with the theme: ‘Practical Management: The Heart Beat of Every Impactful Legal Career’, had distinguished learned men in attendance, including
Speaking on the topic, “Gender based brain drain in litigation”, former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Awka Branch, Amaka Ezeno, lamented that loss of female lawyers in the country was under-recognizlsed phenomenon seriously impacting legal profession especially in the area of litigation.
She identified sexual harassment, violence, family pressure, limited maternity policies, lack of creche facility and convenience in courts as among several other reasons female lawyers abandon active legal practice.
According to her, many women are excelling in law school and becoming lawyers in numbers roughly equal to men but the bad news is women are not sticking around to practice.
She said, “According to report from the International Bar Association (IBA), currently, only four out of 37 Attorneys-General in the country are female and four per cent of Senior Advocates in Nigeria are female.
“Out of the 128 NBA branches across the country, only five are currently headed by women. In the judiciary, only one woman has ever been the Chief Justice and in the Court of Appeal, only two women have been the President.
“This gross under-representation of females in senior legal positions
is attributable to sexual harassment, violence, family pressure, limited maternity policies, lack of creche facility and convenience in courts.
“Also, the misogynistic perception of female capacity in a largely patriarchal society where only male litigators are mostly preferred by law firms as litigation is seen as ‘men’s work’,” she said.
Ezeno said it would require the collaboration of the governments, judiciary, founders of law firms and the NBA to address the challenges and encourage female lawyers to get to the peak of their careers.
“Owners of law firms should employ and provide safe and healthy working environment for female lawyers devoid of any form of violence or harassment.
“The legal profession should insist on enforcement of the NBA’s sexual harassment policy, aimed at creating a safer working environment for women.
“The judiciary should endeavour to provide lawyer lounge, canteen space, creche, comfort room among other facilities for lawyers especially female lawyers while waiting for trials to begin, or during recesses in court.
“Also female lawyers should have successfully mentors, believe in their abilities, eschew low self-esteem, dress properly, attend conferences to improve and be assertive, “she advised.
Also speaking, Chief Judge of Anambra State, Hon. Justice Onochie Anyachebelu described the colloquium theme as apt and opportunities to expose lawyers to certain issues they hitherto were ignorant of.
He said, “The impact is more on private legal practitioners in running their firms. In the judiciary, part of our programmes is encouraging continuous legal education and opportunities like this expose lawyers to certain things we hitherto were ignorant of.
“For example, some of us believe advertisement is a no go area. But one of our paper presenters was able to show us subtle ways through which advertisement could be made without breach of law.
“On the brain drain challenge, my experience with female practitioners is that they have lots of distractions which make them unstable in legal practice; though distractions, in this context are not bad, by way of marriage and other interests.
“There are several female lawyers who are very intelligent and hardworking. But because of these distractions, they have a lot of limitations. By getting married and running homes, you can’t expect them to effectively combine running a home and legal practice. Many times, they’re expected to travel out with their principals. Some may want to avoid them to avoid being misinterpreted.
“As a married female lawyer with children, you don’t expect the private practitioner to offer you the type of leave government will give you. For three months you’re at home, you don’t expect your principal to be paying you, knowing the type of capitalist environment we operate in. The average female lawyer can’t cope amidst these challenges.
“As we admit these limitations exist, I advise that the private practitioner has to look for ways to accommodate the women, especially those they can utilise in order to justify the payment. It’s not like in government where they’re paid through tax payers’ money, including during maternity leave.
On our part, we’ll continue to create conducive and enabling environment for legal practice, including provision of basic facilities, but not to the extent of building maternity homes in order to encourage the women among us.
Earlier in her remarks, the Convener of the colloquium, Ms Adaeze Anah, said the event was to drive intellectual exploration and legal reforms in the country.
“Many of my late father’s colleagues described him as an intellectual giant, a pathfinder, fearless advocate per excellence, astute and selfless bar man who made positive contributions to the legal profession.
“This colloquium is to continue his legacy. The speakers are to explore the challenges confronting the legal profession and perform corrective surgeries on our jurisprudence to advance the course of justice and human right in Nigeria,” she said.
