CHARGE AND BAIL PRACTICES, A RIDICULE TO THE LEGAL PROFESSION.

CHARGE AND BAIL PRACTICES, A
RIDICULE TO THE LEGAL PROFESSION.

What is charge-and-bail practice?

This refers to the practice of some
lawyers who operate without an
office. They are 'chamberless' lawyers
whose modus operandi involves
directly soliciting for clients in total
disregard of the rules of professional conduct, which forbid lawyers from
engaging in all kinds of open
advertisement of their services.

But that is not all. A 'charge-and-bail
lawyer loiters in the court premises of
the inferior courts, specifically
magistrate courts, and awaits the
arrival of the police, hoping that the
police would bring some accused persons who do not have lawyers to
defend them. The moment this
happens, the lawyer would offer his
service either directly to the accused
persons, or through his relatives who
followed him to court, after a certain meagre fee is paid. The lawyer will
appear before the magistrate and
orally apply for bail, which in most
cases would be granted if the offence
(s) is a bailable one.

Nobody can say with certainty when,
how or who invented the expression
charge and bail lawyer, But the most
fascinating aspect of charge and bail
practice is that unlike other area of
specialisation in legal practice such as Admiralty, Environmental Litigation
Etc., you nether need to write
professional qualifying exam nor do
you need any pupilage in any law firm.
Charge and bail practice is self-taught,
Do it your self kind of practice.

In Nigeria the charge and bail practice
is widely known among non lawyers,
Very few know that there are different
areas of specialisation like
International Law, Criminal Law,
Agency Law Etc, However every one knows that there is a charge and bail
lawyer.

As a child my friends and I had this
habit of Name calling and jokingly
referring to all lawyers around our
neighbourhood, who didn't have cars
as charge and bail lawyers. To us all
Lawyers who where not well to do were charge and bail Lawyers.

The perspective of a non lawyer is that
a charge and Bail lawyer is any lawyer
who does not have an office, to
others, any un intelligent lawyer is a
charge and bail lawyer, to others still
an un kept, Ill dressed lawyer, foot trekking lawyer is a charge and bail
lawyer. There are also some non
lawyers who label every lawyer the
meet at the police station a charge and
bail lawyer, it doesn't matter what that
lawyers mission is at the police station.

Among Lawyers it is not so different, in
fact it is worse. To be labelled a charge
and bail lawyer by other lawyers is a
death sentence. For a profession that
prides itself and is founded on
prestige and esteem or even disrepute for that manner is finished.

Lecturers on professional ethics and
allied matters lay so much emphasis
on teaching aspiring lawyers to avoid
unethical practice and unprofessional
habits that are the hallmark of lawyers
called the charge and bail lawyers. Yet it seems the lessons on professional
ethics classes at law school are easily
lost as more and more lawyers upon
graduation from law school seek and
pursue a career in charge and bail
practice.

Why is this so? Perhaps many lawyers
do not fully grasp the import of these
professional ethics classes. The
meaning and import of which is lost in
the mist of all that fun and laughter, as
the lecturer gives a vivid sarcastic description of battered shoe and
mobile office briefcase of the charge
and bail lawyer. The professional
ethics classes provides cosmic relief
from all the tension at law school. Or
maybe perhaps the lure of quick and ready money ensnares so many
young lawyers in to charge and bail
practice.

Charge and Bail lawyers are nation
wide with their secretariat at the
magistrate court of each state capital,
you can identify them by their once
Black Coat that is now faded and looks
grey & the collar of their once white shirt that is now dirty brown and their
shoe an apology, Those kind of shoe a
cobbler would refuse to work on.

The charge and bail Lawyer has
indeed been a Ridicule to the Legal
Profession.

By C.E Ehimen
Copied from twitter @
EhimenEkeoc