NBA urges structural reform in legal practice

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, has called for a fundamental restructuring of legal practice in Nigeria, urging lawyers to move away from founder-dependent models and build firms that can endure across generations.

Osigwe made the call on Friday in Abuja at The Convergence Africa Masterclass 26 for Law, themed “Beyond the Founder: Designing Multigenerational Law Firms that Endure and Scale.”

He said the future of the legal profession lies in institutionalised partnerships, shared responsibility, and deliberate succession planning, rather than structures tied to the life or health of a single individual.

“We have a situation where most of our practitioners are sole proprietors who set up businesses, and the life and the health of the businesses are oftentimes tied to the life or the health of the owners,” he said.

“We seek a new paradigm… where we build businesses that endure, leverage on the strength of those who work there, and allow older lawyers to come in as partners to create synergies so that even if the founder dies or is sick, the businesses can operate.”

Osigwe noted that adopting partnership-based models would enable firms to pool intellectual and financial resources, attract talent, and build sustainable institutions capable of competing globally.

His remarks come amid growing concerns within the legal community that many Nigerian law firms collapse after the retirement or death of their founders, limiting continuity and long-term growth.

Also speaking, the convener of the masterclass, Patience Olusuyi, said the initiative was driven by the need to build legal institutions that outlive their founders.

“I’ve seen law firms that partnered and are thriving. Globally, some law firms are over 200 years old. In Nigeria, many disappear once the founders leave practice,” she said.