OLUYIMIKA ADESOLA – LAWYER AND FOUNDER LEGALLY ENGAGED

I’m a fairly introverted person so there actually isn’t that much about me on social media, outside of work. I spendthe time I don’t spend working, meditating, writing, cooking and eating- mostly in that order. I also like to travel and explore new regions, as much as the Naira permits.

I decided to study law because I was intrigued by crime. While growing up, I read probably an unhealthy amount of detective novels and this made me think crime and criminal law was very interesting, and it was. However, when I started studying Law, I realised that it was vast and that there was so much else I could do and that I had more interest in. Criminal law remained exciting but I found other areas that I believe suited my personality and perspective better.

After years of practice spent listening to gripes about how “our graduates are unemployable”, I started LegallyEngaged to, quite simply, provide practical solutions to unemployment and unemployability in Nigeria’s legalprofession. I understood the frustrations of legal employers but I also identified that the system as it was then set upcould not provide any lasting solutions to those problems.

The idea for Legally Engaged initially came to me while I was studying for the Bar Examinations at the Nigerian LawSchool. I wanted information on the types of law firms that existed in Nigeria, their practice areas, their hiring policies, how I could approach them, etc., but I couldn’t find any reliable source with that information. Getting information on where and how to apply for post-Law School jobs was really a function of hearsay and what everyone else was doing. So essentially, I identified an information gap, and subsequently, a skills gap within the profession and decided to fill it with Legally Engaged.

Our offerings are in place to tackle two main issues – unemployment and unemployability among Nigerian lawyers. To provide solutions to the problem of unemployment in the legal profession, we offer recruitment and HR advisory services to law firms and other employers of legal professionals. Our unparalleled access to tens of thousands of Nigerian lawyers enables us to place legal professionals and support staff into various positions such as Associates(Junior, Senior Managing), In-house Lawyers, Legal Managers, Compliance/Governance Officers, Lecturers &Teaching Assistants, Paralegals, Law Office Secretaries and Law Practice Managers.

In tackling unemployabilty in the profession, we offer training programmes, career coaching and a free one-on-onementorship programme. Our Learning & Development arm, called Legally Engaged Academy, offers various courses on career advancement as well as legal technical know-how. Our free mentorship programme currently has 93 mentees paired with 72 lawyers in Nigeria, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and beyond.

The major challenge that young Nigerian lawyers face is that at University and the Nigerian Law School, they are not given nearly sufficient training and exposure for life in practice. Thousands of lawyers enter the profession with huge knowledge gaps – both in legal knowledge and in soft skills.

The only solution that can begin to bring lasting change is, as has been suggested many times, a complete overhaul of the curriculum of the Law faculties and Nigerian Law School. Sadly, that solution seems to be nowhere in sight, so in the meantime, lawyers need to continually equip themselves with the information and resources available viaorganisations such as Legally Engaged.

What I hope to ultimately achieve with Legally Engaged is a drastic reduction in unemployability in the legal profession and to create Nigerian legal professionals that are equipped to function in a global workplace.

My advice for lawyers who want to climb the corporate ladder and become the best at what they do is quite simply: 

1. Receive steady guidance and supervision by having two or three mentors.
2. Expand your network and reach by taking up as many opportunities as you can – these may be internships, volunteer positions, extra-curricular activities or memberships in legal/non-legal associations.
3. Improve knowledge and technical expertise by attending relevant trainings, conferences, seminars and webinars. You do not want to take on positions, opportunities or even just legal briefs without knowing yourstuff!

For lawyers who want to follow their passion outside straight jacket legal practice, I think the most important thingis to “look before you leap”: be reasonably informed about what the “passion” really entails.

This can be, firstly, through research about the sector or industry they are looking to move into – who the currentplayers are, what’s their business model, who are their clients, what would I need to compete with them, how much do I need to kick off in the first year, what extra skills might I need to acquire, etc.

The second and easiest way to “look before you leap” is to actually try out the passion before pursuing it on a larger scale. So, if a lawyer realises that he enjoys baking, there’s no need to quit on Day 1 and start a bakery. Start baking for profit on a small scale. This affords the lawyer the opportunity to have two birds in hand and make a more informed decision about which, if any, should be let go of. The lawyer/baker might find after six months that his bakery is paying much better than law, or that the stress of baking is not worth the returns. This, where possible, is the safest best.

However, it is important to realise that everything may not be completely aligned at the beginning. The best things need time to grow.