Rogba Payne – Lawyer and Writer

My decision to become a lawyer was – if I am being honest – very sudden and not completely my plan. There was a time when I was committed to being a psychologist. When I was applying to write my A-Levels, an opening only became available at my first school of choice a few days before resumption, so I had to do an impromptu interview. When the Principal asked me what I wanted to study at the University, for reasons I still don’t completely understand, I said ‘Law’ and that was it; I wrote my A-Levels accordingly and went on to become a lawyer.

Studying law has been at times incredible and at other times challenging. Perhaps my biggest struggle with the profession has been dealing with the hard truths of transactional work. Sometimes your clients will lose money; sometimes your clients won’t win the bid; sometimes it will feel like despite all the work you did, you could not close the deal; the profession is dynamic and it means you have to take the rough with the smooth.

One of my major interests asides from law is writing. Any good lawyer must have a love and appreciation for words. When you love words, mundane things can become delightful. In my case, my love for words led to writing. I have written film and television scripts, plays and right now I am in the middle of writing a novel. From a pool of 673 applicants I was selected as 1 of 10 emerging writers to participate in the Lagos Film LAB, a project funded by the British Council and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (“LSETF”), in collaboration with Biola Alabi Media and Creative England. I also have a podcast in collaboration with Midas Radio which is published bi-weekly on all your favourite podcast platforms.

On how I have been able to explore my other interests and still practice law, I believe that every prize has a price. For a period when I was writing my book, I had to accept that sleep was not available for me and I was working long hours at work and at home. It has been that way with film scripts too, but I have only been able to do that because: (i) I have a great support system of family, friends and colleagues who often step in to stand in the gap when my energy wanes; (ii) I absolutely love to write and sometimes when I am deep in a writing project, it is harder for me to sleep than to continue working; and (iii) at this present time, I have relatively low demands in my personal life, I don’t have a wife or kids yet that require my love, energy and attention.

I usually find it hard to answer the question – “ What has been your greatest achievement so far?”, because I try not to think in terms of hierarchy and ranking when it comes to life. G.K. Chesterton says, ‘the angels fly because they take themselves lightly’. I try to take myself lightly. For me the greatest achievement is doing the best you can in the present and living in the now.  I don’t feel I have reached the place yet where I can look back in that way.

One unique thing about me that you would never find on social media is that I started playing golf when I was four years old. I had a coach that used to call me ‘Tiger Forest’ after Tiger Woods. Nowadays, I don’t really get the chance to play golf often.

As far as superpowers go, I think I have the power of silence. I can go long periods of time without having to talk to anyone. Two words that adequately describe me are honest and vigorous.

My advice for lawyers who want to follow their passion and still practice law is, make sure you are truly passionate about your passion. You will need that fuel to power through when there is no immediately visible reward in sight.