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The
Law is full of crap. I can get around any Law you may write. The Law can get
twisted out of shape to serve a wicked civilization. The rich can escape the
law and sometimes even the poor get lucky. Some Lawyers treat the law they way
pimps treat their women. Judges sell the Law, Courts betray it.
All
true. But remember this. We have nothing better that works. There is no better
way we can make a social contract with our fellow human beings.
-
Mario Puzo: The Fourth K
It is Christmas Eve. The
excitement is doubled this year because the world did not end after all. Of
course, I maintained an intellectual front through it all, publicly. All day you
would hear me volubly dismissing the global concerns as the sensation-cloaked ignorance of modern-day media.
But when I got home, I would take fearful peeks into the NASA website and pray
with a racing heart.
So here we are, sharing
that traditional bottle of wine. We, being
the small group of boisterous lawyer-friends that I am usually stuck with this
season. As always, we joked and bantered about the professional hazards of the
fading year: The psyche battles with
clients; the ego tussle with seniors, the pending coup against all SANs; time and wine dulling the edges
off the less savoury stories.
Eventually, the
conversation naturally steered to the government, the shoddy efforts so far and
the remoteness of possible solutions. Of course, it sobered us all up. Beneath
the merry laughter and demonstrated fellow-feeling; the guards-down mood of Christmas merely represented another easy
channel for man to steal, even more easily from his neighbour.
Prices soar,
illogically. Ok, maybe it is nothing personal, just cold economics. But it sure
rings a contradictory note in the face of much touted goodwill and love-fuelled
giving. Fuel queues stretch for
miles, housing agonized travellers. And the station attendant smiles warm
greetings to the sweating driver who pays the extra fee for expedited service.
But we love it all, the mad rush homewards; to show off, to gloat, to indulge;
at the next man’s fiscal or mental expense.
In line with the
changed mood of the table; I decided to share a story I had kept to myself all
this while. It happened in my first few years of Law practice. The Firm’s
client had bought a piece of land and paid in full. Upon moves to take
possession, it was revealed that the vendor had availed false papers. Somebody
else had better title, and my client was hung out to dry. Of course, the
vendor’s phones had long become unreachable.
I had more energy in
those days, and I moved, fast. I recall it was Christmas season. We tracked and traced the vendor through every dinghy nook of Lagos. Precisely on December 22nd,
we discovered his hide-out. Oh well, if you can describe a detached duplex
flanked by glittering wheels as a hide-out.
We pounced mercilessly.
Yes, one of those rare times when Police is really your friend. The young wife
and chubby infants wailed themselves hoarse. The gentleman begged, knelt and
cajoled. I insisted. There were frenetic phone-calls, an undertaking, a
criminal charge, accelerated recovery. The process triggered off a chain
reaction and the dude was ruined for keeps.
My principal roundly
commended me. But I could not shake off the wretched feeling. The Client’s
insisted pay-off tasted like blood money. This was the best Christmas gift a
Lawyer could possibly give: cruelty.
I have since grown used
to the reputation: The furtive glances of tenants whenever I came visiting at
Christmas. The message in the greeting cards I bore surely contradicted the
Client’s instructions- a reviewed rent.
We are singled out as spoilsports. In a bubble of sparkling wine; the
world will rather smile and sing through the sham and pain of it all. They need
no nagging reminders to toe the straight and narrow line. Christmas preaches
forgiveness; but the lawyer seeks justice (read; revenge). Christmas is colourful and sprightly. The
lawyer is dour and sober.
But the Lawyer is losing
the battle, no doubt. The concept of Law as a distinct Discipline fast fades
away. These days, the lawyer must specialize in the specific business areas of
his client. And since he cannot exactly measure up to the expertise of the
business owner; he plays second fiddle. Very soon, big corporate decisions will
happen without any bit of legal intervention. I overhear already that soon, in
Nigeria, Companies would be incorporated by lay persons. Already, every
agreement impliedly ousts the courts. They prefer mediation. Even arbitration
is dying off. The world hates the judicial flavour.
Lands will be sold,
Wills drafted and read, with at best, passive intervention of lawyers. Citizens
may negotiate directly with law enforcement without some nosy prude insisting
on procedural conformity. Surely, everyday will soon become Christmas.
Emasculated, the Law
will take the rear-seat and gape impotently at the unchecked and untamed
celebrations. The Government will also rest easier. They will take up glossy
pages in Newspapers announcing a joyous partnership with the citizenry. Absence
of lawyers means an absence of petitions and litigation. And absence of
litigation is in itself prima facie proof of a satisfied populace. Leadership
ratings will soar. Santa has hearkened to the most sublime wishes.
Even these may all come
to pass. And the world will still not end. We will continue the wait, heeding
or defying rumours and prophecies. We will always look forward to that eventual
end of the globe. And therein lies the irony. From whence the globe came, or
where it is headed; no one knows yet. But of man’s transitory passage through
it, we have had centuries of knowledge. Yet man still waits for the world to
end.
...But it is already
ended the day the Law dies.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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