2. In the name of Allah (SWA) The Most Beneficient, The Most merciful. We always
start by praising Allah (Azza wa jal) because He is The Most worthy of all the
beautiful praises. We send greetings and salutations to our Noble prophet,
Muhamad (SAW), his household, all his companions (without exception) and those
who thread his part until the day of resurrection.
I humbly and time-consciously stand on the already established and existing
protocol.
As we seat at the comfort of our chairs, no doubt, all of us have dreams of
becoming something in life. To begin with, know that no goal is too big and no
dream is far fetched; it is big as you can dream it. Choices are the first step to
achieving dreams.
INTRODUCTION
3. I have learnt that, there are TWO things that will create your dreams,
1. Your Choices; and
2. Your Commitment to those choices.
At this stage of your academic journey, knowing and choosing what you want to
be in the nearest future is of paramount importance. This is to not only make you
know the subjects you are required to register for JAMB, so as to achieve your
dream but to also enable you make up your mind on the huge task ahead of you.
If you have the dream of becoming a lawyer or barrister, the following are some of
the things that will guide you as you price your way to actualizing your dream.
4. Subjects To Offer At Senior Sec. Sch.
After a successful Junior WAEC examinations and upon admission into a senior
secondary school, one needs to register and offer Art subjects as a prospective
law student.
Art subjects includes Literature-in-English, Civic Education, Government, Islamic
Studies etc.
NB:
Please, Kindly Consult you Guidance and Counselling Unit for more advice.
5. Jamb Combination And/Or Requirements
One who intends to study law in the university needs to make a good Jamb
subjects combination depending on the university and the type of law degree he
wants to study. Hence, we have,
Islamic Law
Common Law
Very few universities in the country offers both. Majority offers common/civil
law
These subjects includes English, Literature-in-English, Government, Civic
Education, Religion etc.
The cut-off mark for law is from 250 and above. However, some Universities
do consider from 200.
6. The University and Faculty of Law
Upon admission into the university, an undergraduate law student is expected to
study the said course for a period of 5 years. During this academic span, he is
required to register, offer and pass 12 core law courses which includes;
Legal Methods, Nigerian Legal System, Contract law constitutional law,
law, commercial law, Criminal law, law of Torts, Equity and Trust, Land law,
Evidence and Jurisprudence.
On the other hand, the optional or elective law courses includes;
Intellectual property law, conflict of laws, Oil and Gas law, Administrative law,
Legal Drafting etc.(Students are expected to register some of them too)
These courses are scattered within the respective Departments in the Faculty.
7. Departments in the faculty of law
Some of the departments one can find in a faculty of law depends on the type of
law degree. Universities offering Islamic/Shari’ah law genearally have department
of Islamic/Shri’ah law.
Other departments includes among others but not limited to;
Private law and Property law
Public law and Jurisprudence
Commercial Law and Industrial law
International law etc.
The courses we mentioned earlier are scattered in the above departments.
All the above departments and courses we mentioned are for Common law.
8. The Nigerian Law School
After completion of a law degree, a Nigerian law graduate is to enrol into the
Nigerian Law School for the Bar Part II programme. The Nigerian Law School
educates and trains law graduates in vocational knowledge and practical skills. All
courses in the Bar Part II programme are compulsory and students must obtain at
least a Pass degree in all of them to complete the programme. The courses are
Criminal Litigation
Civil Litigation
Corporate Law & Practice; and
Law in Practice (Ethics & Skills).
If however your undergraduate degree is from a foreign university, you will be
required to undertake the Bar Part 1 programme which teaches students the
important aspects of the Nigerian legal system, which they would not have been
exposed to. i.e some core law courses.
9. Careers for Law Graduates
Lawyers work in a variety of fields which may come under the BAR or THE BENCH.
The former are mostly attorneys, barristers, legal advisers and representatives
while the latter consist of judges, magistrates, etc.
Many lawyers spend much of their time in courtrooms but still there are non-
courtroom works for lawyers such as becoming legal adviser to individual and
corporate clients, law researcher, compiling cases and case studies etc. The part
you choose as a law graduate will be determined by what you wish to do as there
are several areas one can build a career on.
If you are a Nigerian graduate of law there are many career opportunities to
pursue and these include;
Company Secretary (in firms, medium and big corporate organizations etc)
10. Activist, Human Rights Advocate (Local, International Human Rights Groups &
Agencies, Government Agencies etc)
Corporate Lawyer (Represent companies in law suits on environmental,
commercial law cases) etc.
Court Reporter (Media Houses, News Agencies, )
Judge/Magistrate (Work in the bench and climb your way to become a judge)
Legal Assistant/Paralegal (in Law firms, Agencies & NGOs etc)
Legal Secretary (for Associations, NGOs etc)
11. Law Enforcement Officer (join the Police as an Officer, the Military, Security
Agencies such as State Security Services etc)
Private Detective/Investigator (If your investigative skills are good enough start a
private investigations firm or work for one)
Prisons/Customs/Immigration Officer (join the Prisons, Customs or Immigrations
Service as an Officer)
Federal Government Law Enforcement Agent(Work for Federal Government law
enforcement agencies such as NAFDAC, NDLEA etc)
Diplomat (pursue a career in the diplomatic missions as a career diplomat)
12. Legal practitioner/Attorney (Represent individuals and organizations in law courts,
start your own chamber or work for established law firms). If you wish to go into
legal practice here are the four major segments of legal practice from which you
can choose which to pursue a career in;
Private practice;
Public interest law;
Government counsel; and
Corporate counsel.
13. Practice Specialization
The law impacts our lives in numerous ways, so naturally the legal profession
covers many fields and allows for a variety of law careers. There are many types of
lawyers – some practice in all areas of the law, while others choose to specialize.
Here are some areas of specialization in law:
Administrative law;
Civil litigation;
Constitutional law;
Corporate and Commercial law;
Criminal law;
Environmental law;
Family law;
Immigration law;
Intellectual property law;
Labour and employment law etc.
