GOING TO COURT: QUEST FOR FEES; CLIENTS’????INTERESTS;????ETHICAL????DEMANDS

Abstract

One of the pronounced challenges confronting the Legal Practitioner engaged
in litigation or courtroom practice is the ability to balance the quest for his fees,
his client’s interests and the ethics of the profession. Except he chooses to offer
his professional services on a pro bono basis, a Lawyer is entitled to his fees and
can maintain an action for non-payment of his full charges against any client in
default. This article seeks to study the right of the Legal practitioner to earn a
living through the practice of law vis-à-vis his duty to promote and protect his
client’s interest within the ambit of the law. The research revealed that, in recent times, the legal profession has been infected with desperate practitioners who want to earn fees at all costs, a situation, occasioned sometimes, by pressure from their clients, in total disregard of the ethical demands of the profession. A doctrinal approach to legal research was adopted by referring to diverse primary and secondary sources, particularly caselaw. It was concluded that there is a need for a Lawyer to carefully consider these concerns- his fees, clients’ and ethical demands before accepting a brief. It was recommended that, when a client takes his time to consult a Lawyer to lead him to court, the Lawyer must always take his time too, to consult the law and rules, particularly the Rules of Professional Conduct, before taking a single step on that journey to Court.