 |
| Clement Ighodarho Osuya Esq |
By: Macbeth Ojugbeli & Cos-lewis
It is one thing to find oneself amongst professional mates and another thing to call oneself a professional. Therefore, some firms in the law league have distinguished themselves from others by setting professional standards at the local and international levels.
The Osuya law firm, a firm with a difference, located at the heart of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja has truly distinguished itself from other law firms based on its ethics, values, professionalism and above all humanitarian services rendered to clients. It stands on the bedrock of providing clients with skilled legal advice in a timely and efficient manner as well as to be the global law firm that sets the standard. It has won several local and international awards to crown its wealth of experience and professionalism.
Having established branches in major cities in Nigeria and associates around the world, it has built a reputation with a surrounding of lawyers with diverse backgrounds who speak different languages. The Senior Partner of the Osuya Law firm, Clement Ighodarho Osuya Esq granted an interview with starsandstylesng.blogspot.com.ng and exposed more offers, services, stand of the Law Firm and its success story so far. His words:
What a beautiful office setting!
Thank you.
What is the success story?
It is about dedication, faith in God, perseverance, continuous quest and having the mindset to be distinguished in your profession. It has been from one good stage to another therefore, I always attribute it to God for giving the strength to work.
How long have you been in the profession?
I am ten years old as a lawyer. I was called to BAR in 2007 and I did my National Youth Service (NYSC) in Sokoto State in 2008. I started my practice in Agbor, from there, I moved to Asaba, both in Delta State. Having practiced briefly from 2008 to 2010, I relocated to Abuja in 2011.
As a young lawyer I had some distractions in the sense that I wanted to achieve great heights but there were no resources to start-up. That was what actually took me briefly out of law practice by going into publishing where I run a legal magazine. Although, it was an area I also had passion for. However, while I took the secondary focus as my main assignment I worked harder to be able to engage in my primary assignment which is law practice.
What are the specific services you render?
The law practice is an ocean, the deeper you go the more you get out the riches in it. We are corporate commercial law firm that handles intellectual properties, oil and gas, consumer law, trial law- litigation etc but majorly our clients are corporate and blue-chip companies.
Like activism? Yes, every lawyer is an activist, ones you are a lawyer and called to BAR automatically the activism becomes part of you, you will always come across things that you would like to speak on for instance, we offer free services to those who cannot afford the services of an Attorney. This could be issues of repeal and representation on fundamental human right abuses, people that were cheated wrongly in business transactions etc.
Like giving a voice to the voiceless? Yes, we have a branch of that as our Corporate Social Responsibility to the society.
How have you been able to link –up with the International World?
When this law firm was floated some years back our primary goal was to have international net work. And being a member of the Nigerian Branch of the International Law Association, the oldest law association in the world, founded in 1873 where I am also the Director of Communication and Public Affairs I had the opportunity of attend conferences abroad. Then, I realized that the law practice requires meeting the international standards, you need to look beyond your country to draw up your contacts.
Our focus is to encourage foreign direct investments into Nigeria, guide multinational corporations that have plans to invest into Nigeria about our legal system by providing commercial legal solutions, harmonising local and international business associates and giving corporate advice. This is to supervise the process to obtain licenses, receive legal opinions and guidelines to ensure there is no conflict of law between their countries of origin and where they are investing in Nigeria.
We also ensure that the Nigeria laws are fully complied with to avoid short cuts for foreign investors. Commercial law is very wide in the sense that there are some transactions that are legalised in some countries you do not need to follow some bureaucratic compliance but follow the due process in Nigeria. Likewise in some countries where you follow due process but you do not have to follow in Nigeria. Therefore, we try to ensure that we acquaint our clients with the prevailing legal system in Nigeria so that if their investments eventually kick off they do not go wanting.
Do you use same criteria to attend to local and international clients?
If a foreigner is coming to do business in Nigeria the client needs to obtain certain permits and licenses, he/she needs to have business permit, work permit, and have expertrate quota; this is applicable to clients that bring in Expetrates into the country but if the client is bringing in Technology into the country he/she needs to have Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC).
As a foreign client a local account also has to be opened and operated before business permit could be applied and issued but as a Nigerian Entity, if the client comes to us, we only design his internal company policy to ensure the client do not go against the issues of Nigerian commercial legal systems and policy as well as the ethics of his/her profession. We also guide both local and foreign clients on company’s incorporation, Tax compliance and other legal requirements.
How do you create business platforms?
The reason most businesses don’t grow in Nigeria is based on the fact that potential business men and women may have the funds to establish without putting certain areas in order therefore, having businesses that flourish today and fail within a short period leaving no trace resources have been wasted. We have business advisors in different areas; this is to ensure we design business plans that work for clients. These advisors are brought in when we need services outside legal framework.
Another aspect of business is loan. Some Clients have failed to understand some criteria about loan process agreement, you see them going fowl and before you know they begin to pay so much interest and percentages thereafter. We guide them step by step on all these processes but one case could be different from other case. We also guide local Nigerian companies that want to buy goods abroad or want to do businesses with foreign companies; this is to know the laws of those countries. We look at the issue of standard in compliance with the international standard.
We ensure our clients in Nigeria do not fall victims so when these goods arrive Nigeria they do not run into several problems. On this, we advise the clients against certain goods that are prohibited in Nigeria, looking at the Custom list of prohibited goods. We have day to day monitoring, for example, a ban may be lifted on certain goods that were prohibited the preceding week therefore, we discuss with some clients their goods are confiscated or released.
Do you have trial lawyers?
This law firm is very organized. We have trial lawyers – those into litigations, corporate department, intellectual property and oil and gas department. We have trained our lawyers to the level that if you are a commercial Attorney in this law firm that does not prevent you from going to court because you may be doing a particular commercial transaction for a client and something else would come up that will make you to be mandated to go to court. Some commercial transactions may warrant us go to court to get an injunction or obtains court Orders to finalise transactional issues for clients, so lawyers here go to court, it is part of our training, we are called to BAR, we are solicitors and advocates of the supreme court of Nigeria.
What are the most hazards of the profession and what advice do you have for young lawyers?
There are rules of professional conducts therefore, if a lawyer is not following the ethics we have the Nigerian Barr Association that controls activities and conducts of lawyers. There is Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) that regulates and melts out disciplinary measures to lawyers who violate the ethics of the profession.
One of the hazards I see in the legal profession is to ensure that you have clients regularly visiting and consulting your firm, having the ability to keep them to have a standard firm that is funded by clients. As a lawyer you need to be humble enough to be able to render services to both small and big clients because every client is important.
Some may want to test you by talking down on you but every client deserves to be treated with respect, peradventure a client is not satisfied with our services or we are perceived to had behaved funny we do not hesitate to call the client and do a follow up to bring the client back.
I advise lawyers to see the need to have faith in God, work hard and having inquisitive spirit on how to break through in the legal practice.
What is your vision for the Nigerian legal system using your law firm as a benchmark?
My vision is that the Nigerian lawyers should try and measure up with what is obtainable in the international community because the law practice as it is today has gone global. Lots of foreign lawyers are flying into the country with foreign entities and we have had them visit my office. We need to equip ourselves to ensure we can flow with them.
There should not be any reason for a lawyer to say ‘I am not able to check my mails or respond to several calls from his or her international affiliates’. A serious lawyer should have access to internet always. The vision I desire for the Nigerian legal system is to ensure the law practice is diversified and also to meet up with what is obtainable in the international law practice.
Is it true that the Nigerian law school losing its glory?
Well, it was not easy going through the law school during my time because the academic system was very stressful in the sense that you have to read through your nose and even study harder than you pray to make sure you pass your law school. I don’t think the high rate of failure in the Nigerian law school today is as a result of compromise. If a student fails to study he or she will fail. So the standard of the law school is still there for me but what I feel is that those coming in need to study to meet up to that standard set up by the council of legal education, if you don’t meet up with that standard you will fail to enter.
