Manipulation: A Cause For Precaution By Young But Talented Nigerian Lawyers

By Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq.

Just like every person new in any position or office is new and
naïve about many things concerning the new position and requires
learning in the new field, so is every young lawyer being newly
called to the Nigerian bar naïve in many ways about the legal
profession, especially, the young but talented young lawyers are
most likely vulnerable to being manipulated by either some of those
that he trusts or those of his seniors at the bar or the general
public due to his naivety, hence, the need for every young but
talented Nigerian lawyer to be at alert and take necessary
precaution against being a victim of manipulation, hence this
topic.

The word ‘manipulate’ as a transitive verb means
among other meanings according to the online Webster dictionary
‘: to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or
insidious means especially to one’s own advantage’. Therefore, if
young but talented young Nigerian lawyers are not careful, they
could easily be exploited and or fooled by some of those around
them who pretend to be their helpers or their mentors! When young
but talented lawyers are manipulated, it is likely to delay them
being successful because their resources would have been used by
those around them whom they consider as trustworthy to those
persons’ advantages/benefits.

In my humble view, there are some manipulations that young
lawyers need to be careful of which I advise as follows:
a. beware of manipulation in friendship; b. beware of
manipulation in neighbourhood; c. beware of manipulation in
marriage proposal/ relationship; d. beware of manipulation from
seniors in the legal profession; e. beware of manipulation from
clients; f. beware of manipulation from miscreants or
fraudsters. I shall briefly discuss each of these
categories of manipulations that young lawyers need to beware of as
discussed below.

a. Beware of manipulation in friendship: On
this aspect, young lawyers need to beware of some persons whether
lawyers or non-lawyers who would claim or make efforts to become
friends with them because they (the young lawyers) are lawyers and
they (manipulators) know that they have great benefits to gain from
them (the young lawyers). Also, their intention for the friendship
would also be to always use the lawyer for whatever legal needs
they have either without paying for the legal services or by paying
very low amount of money for the legal services. Young lawyers must
understand that a person who does not have the success of the
lawyer in mind is not a friend of progress rather he is an enemy of
progress! I had a similar intention when some persons around me
would like to use me to get their legal issues resolved with the
intention that they would not pay me or to pay me a token sum of
money. I had to categorise such friendship and know how to deal
with them subsequently. It is however not good for young lawyers to
fall into this kind of bad experiences.

b. Beware of manipulation in neighbourhood:
Young lawyers also have to beware of some neighbours who would also
intend to use the young lawyer with the intention of either paying
very low amount of money for legal services or not paying at all. I
had one time heard a senior lawyer who attended a seminar where it
was advised that as lawyers, ‘we must operate our law
office as a business entity and not as a
relationship’! Relationship defers, business defers
just like the principles of ‘giving to Caesar that
which belongs to him’! So, if a young lawyer must
survive, especially the economic pressures accustomed with the
private practice, he must be able to wisely separate relationship
from business and vice-versa, else, he might be manipulated unknown
to him that he is being used and later, to be dumped when those
persons get a better opportunity or are done using him or are done
deriving benefits from him. I must also emphasise that young
lawyers should not look down on themselves because they are young
at the bar. One would always be young even at 20 years at the bar
because there would continue to be those ahead in year at the bar
ahead of you.

c. beware of manipulation in marriage proposal/
relationship: Young lawyers must beware of relationship
founded on benefits, for it is really a dangerous one. For a male
young lawyer, you proposed to a lady for a legal marriage, but she
rejected the proposal. Nevertheless, she came back to you as a
friend because she finds some benefits that she could benefit from
you either: financial or intellectual, etc! This kind of
relationship is very dangerous! While the young lawyer is always
dragged into feign emotional trauma for love, the lady has nothing
as ‘love’ at heart for him than manipulation for her own benefits!
The same issue applies to a young female lawyer! So, there is need
to review your relationship arising from proposal for marriage if
you as a young lawyer must succeed and so that you could avoid any
distraction to your progress!

d. beware of manipulation from seniors in the legal
profession: As a young but talented lawyer, you have to
beware of some senior lawyers who would always use you for their
own benefits just because you are a young lawyer! Anyone who
appreciates you would show you the way to a prosperous success and
not manipulating your potentials all in the name of you being a
young lawyer. Some of the senior lawyers would try their best to
bring you to their side and their company so far they find what
they can gain or what benefits they can gain from your talents and
or potentials. If you spend 1 year with them or with keeping
relationship with them, you would not grow than where you were
prior to meeting them. So, be very careful and vigilant! The man
who sponsored my law programme till my law school fee was not a
member of my family and not known to me prior to his helping me!
Yet, till today, he has not sent me ordinary ‘get me some water’!
he has not looked back at me to gain even the smallest benefit! May
God Almighty continue to bless him and his family!

e. beware of manipulation from clients: Every
young but talented young lawyer must beware of some clients who
would manipulate him either with sweet mouth or with the fact that
the young lawyer is young and requires to meet up with a lot of
financial needs. Some of the clients would also tell you that
‘you have a lot to do together with them’! Please
if you hear this statement, run for your success! They are (many
times) manipulators! Some of the clients might even tell you that
they have some other lawyers who could do the work or render the
legal service better than you could do but only that for one reason
or the other (that they would tell you), they chose to use you to
do the work! Please do not be manipulated! Collect your legal
fees!

f. beware of manipulation from miscreants or
fraudsters: As a young lawyer, you must also beware of
some miscreants or fraudsters or scammers who would capitalize on
your being a young lawyer to defraud you. They know that you need
money or well-paying job. So, they might misrepresent facts to you
which they know that you can easily fall for! So, you have to be
smart and vigilant!

Finally, it is my belief that this brief piece would be useful
to the reader and would be a guide to the fulfillment of the career
of every young lawyer because manipulations are real causes for a
young lawyer to always take necessary precautions against!
Nevertheless, this is not to say that a young lawyer cannot use his
discretion to render his legal services either for free of charge
or for a reduced fee but this has to be without being manipulated!
Also, this paper is not to say that a young lawyer should not be
humble!

Email:
hameed_ajibola@yahoo.com

By Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq.

Just like every person new in any position or office is new and
naïve about many things concerning the new position and requires
learning in the new field, so is every young lawyer being newly
called to the Nigerian bar naïve in many ways about the legal
profession, especially, the young but talented young lawyers are
most likely vulnerable to being manipulated by either some of those
that he trusts or those of his seniors at the bar or the general
public due to his naivety, hence, the need for every young but
talented Nigerian lawyer to be at alert and take necessary
precaution against being a victim of manipulation, hence this
topic.

The word ‘manipulate’ as a transitive verb means
among other meanings according to the online Webster dictionary
‘: to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or
insidious means especially to one’s own advantage’. Therefore, if
young but talented young Nigerian lawyers are not careful, they
could easily be exploited and or fooled by some of those around
them who pretend to be their helpers or their mentors! When young
but talented lawyers are manipulated, it is likely to delay them
being successful because their resources would have been used by
those around them whom they consider as trustworthy to those
persons’ advantages/benefits.

In my humble view, there are some manipulations that young
lawyers need to be careful of which I advise as follows:
a. beware of manipulation in friendship; b. beware of
manipulation in neighbourhood; c. beware of manipulation in
marriage proposal/ relationship; d. beware of manipulation from
seniors in the legal profession; e. beware of manipulation from
clients; f. beware of manipulation from miscreants or
fraudsters. I shall briefly discuss each of these
categories of manipulations that young lawyers need to beware of as
discussed below.

a. Beware of manipulation in friendship: On
this aspect, young lawyers need to beware of some persons whether
lawyers or non-lawyers who would claim or make efforts to become
friends with them because they (the young lawyers) are lawyers and
they (manipulators) know that they have great benefits to gain from
them (the young lawyers). Also, their intention for the friendship
would also be to always use the lawyer for whatever legal needs
they have either without paying for the legal services or by paying
very low amount of money for the legal services. Young lawyers must
understand that a person who does not have the success of the
lawyer in mind is not a friend of progress rather he is an enemy of
progress! I had a similar intention when some persons around me
would like to use me to get their legal issues resolved with the
intention that they would not pay me or to pay me a token sum of
money. I had to categorise such friendship and know how to deal
with them subsequently. It is however not good for young lawyers to
fall into this kind of bad experiences.

b. Beware of manipulation in neighbourhood:
Young lawyers also have to beware of some neighbours who would also
intend to use the young lawyer with the intention of either paying
very low amount of money for legal services or not paying at all. I
had one time heard a senior lawyer who attended a seminar where it
was advised that as lawyers, ‘we must operate our law
office as a business entity and not as a
relationship’! Relationship defers, business defers
just like the principles of ‘giving to Caesar that
which belongs to him’! So, if a young lawyer must
survive, especially the economic pressures accustomed with the
private practice, he must be able to wisely separate relationship
from business and vice-versa, else, he might be manipulated unknown
to him that he is being used and later, to be dumped when those
persons get a better opportunity or are done using him or are done
deriving benefits from him. I must also emphasise that young
lawyers should not look down on themselves because they are young
at the bar. One would always be young even at 20 years at the bar
because there would continue to be those ahead in year at the bar
ahead of you.

c. beware of manipulation in marriage proposal/
relationship: Young lawyers must beware of relationship
founded on benefits, for it is really a dangerous one. For a male
young lawyer, you proposed to a lady for a legal marriage, but she
rejected the proposal. Nevertheless, she came back to you as a
friend because she finds some benefits that she could benefit from
you either: financial or intellectual, etc! This kind of
relationship is very dangerous! While the young lawyer is always
dragged into feign emotional trauma for love, the lady has nothing
as ‘love’ at heart for him than manipulation for her own benefits!
The same issue applies to a young female lawyer! So, there is need
to review your relationship arising from proposal for marriage if
you as a young lawyer must succeed and so that you could avoid any
distraction to your progress!

d. beware of manipulation from seniors in the legal
profession: As a young but talented lawyer, you have to
beware of some senior lawyers who would always use you for their
own benefits just because you are a young lawyer! Anyone who
appreciates you would show you the way to a prosperous success and
not manipulating your potentials all in the name of you being a
young lawyer. Some of the senior lawyers would try their best to
bring you to their side and their company so far they find what
they can gain or what benefits they can gain from your talents and
or potentials. If you spend 1 year with them or with keeping
relationship with them, you would not grow than where you were
prior to meeting them. So, be very careful and vigilant! The man
who sponsored my law programme till my law school fee was not a
member of my family and not known to me prior to his helping me!
Yet, till today, he has not sent me ordinary ‘get me some water’!
he has not looked back at me to gain even the smallest benefit! May
God Almighty continue to bless him and his family!

e. beware of manipulation from clients: Every
young but talented young lawyer must beware of some clients who
would manipulate him either with sweet mouth or with the fact that
the young lawyer is young and requires to meet up with a lot of
financial needs. Some of the clients would also tell you that
‘you have a lot to do together with them’! Please
if you hear this statement, run for your success! They are (many
times) manipulators! Some of the clients might even tell you that
they have some other lawyers who could do the work or render the
legal service better than you could do but only that for one reason
or the other (that they would tell you), they chose to use you to
do the work! Please do not be manipulated! Collect your legal
fees!

f. beware of manipulation from miscreants or
fraudsters: As a young lawyer, you must also beware of
some miscreants or fraudsters or scammers who would capitalize on
your being a young lawyer to defraud you. They know that you need
money or well-paying job. So, they might misrepresent facts to you
which they know that you can easily fall for! So, you have to be
smart and vigilant!

Finally, it is my belief that this brief piece would be useful
to the reader and would be a guide to the fulfillment of the career
of every young lawyer because manipulations are real causes for a
young lawyer to always take necessary precautions against!
Nevertheless, this is not to say that a young lawyer cannot use his
discretion to render his legal services either for free of charge
or for a reduced fee but this has to be without being manipulated!
Also, this paper is not to say that a young lawyer should not be
humble!

Email:
hameed_ajibola@yahoo.com