THE CHARACTER AND LEARNING OF NIGERIAN'S 21ST CENTURY LAWYERS: PLAYING A GAME BY ITS RULES
Abstract
Introduction
The legal profession was founded upon well-articulated tradition of ethics, values, dignity and honour. It is a profession well profound for its nobility. Though the profession has evolved over time, it still stands out as the revered profession of the learned gentlemen. A people without culture and traditions can be likened to an empty shell without contents, but this is not the case for learned gentlemen of the Bar and the Bench. The legal profession is made up of a body of people trained and continually admonished to comply with and operate by certain ethical codes and regulations all through the lifespan of their career.
This noble profession is embroidered with a network of age-long traditions of rules, regulations, codes and also statutes, compelling strict compliance, while its culture is expressed through character and learning. The demand for obedience to rules, regulations and codes and the necessity for character and learning in the legal profession cut across time and space. The ethics and rules of the legal profession transcend time, races and beliefs. The import of reference to time, that is, of the 21st century, can be viewed from the angle of relativity in terms of what had obtained from the origin of the profession until the more recent times, with respect to the growth and advancement of the legal profession over time.
