7 types of Clients every Nigerian Lawyer should avoid in 2025

As the new year begins and people across the world make resolutions, Courtroom  Mail will suggest that lawyers in Nigeria  should consider the following  Seven  Types of Clients every Lawyer should avoid in 2025

1. That client that refuses to communicate in writing –             You know those clients that take pride in telling you that they don’t like writing emails or WhatsApp chats? Those ones that call you when you send them a chat because they don’t have time to chat, be careful with them, Courtroom Mail warns. Those kind of Clients can throw you under the bus and deny a verbal conversation at the slightest disagreement. To manage them, ensure that you always write a summary of your verbal conversation with them and make them to confirm it . Always do it after every conversation.

2. That Client that is promising to introduce you to more clients while pricing you a ridiculously low fees:                                         “Don’t worry Lawyer, just incorporate my company with 20k, I will introduce you to my friends. Dangote and Adenuga are members of my club” Courtroom Mail is saying that every Lawyer should avoid clients like this. Clients who don’t pay well give the most problems. When you are meeting a client for the first time and he starts with those lines, tell him or her to pay your fees now then promise to give him a discount  in subsequent  instructions, by then, Dangote would have been your client through him.

3. That client that tells you that his wife, brother, sister , mother, father and infact his whole village people are Lawyers but they just want to use you.       Clients who come to Lawyers with this kind of audacity should be avoided. Study have shown that they don’t appreciate any work you do for them. They will always find a fault in your work and pretend they regret not giving the work to their brother who studied law but probably doing marketing in one Micro finance Bank. Before you work with this category of clients, ensure that you have a proper letter of instruction with the definite scope of work. These clients will usually brief you to work on a brief and try to increase the scope of work from the back door. When you complain, they will tell you that their brother would have done it for them without any charge.

4. Clients who say condescending things about a previous lawyer they hired. People who gossip, don’t have respect for anybody. Clients who insult their previous lawyers should be avoided. Lawyers are also complicit here. Hunger has turned so many lawyers to hustlers. When I say  hunger, make no mistake, there are hungry lawyers with big cars and big law firms. When a client debriefs another lawyer and comes to them with the same case calling the previous lawyer all sorts of names, some lawyers support the clients without hearing from the previous counsel. Some will not even ask the clients some hard questions before taking the brief. Some of these second lawyers have low self esteem that is usually boosted by running down the previous lawyer. Some of them out of desperation will even start citing Suprem court decisions for illiterate clients to prove that the previous lawyer wasn’t doing the proper thing. The hustle is real.              When a client brings a file which was being handled by another colleague, do not entertain any gossip. Just ensure that the previous lawyer has been settled before you collect the file.

5. Clients with a false sense of intelligence:                                  There is a difference between an intelligent client and a client who thinks he is intelligent. An intelligent client listens to his counsel and the one that thinks he is intelligent can embarrass you in the open court during cross examination. Every lawyer should avoid clients who don’t listen to them. They can damage your professional reputation. They don’t stick to pre trial briefing. They go at large in court and say things they are not supposed to say in the open court just to prove that they have sense . If you are hired by this kind of client, make sure your professional fees are paid fully before trial begins. Clients like that can stain your white and make you lose a good case. Most times, they will refuse to pay the balance of your fees even when it is obvious that they messed up the case .

6. Clients who give you impression that they know the Judge:                                            Clients who come with an air of importance that they know the Judge tend to look down on you because they don’t place value on the work you do. They just see you as someone they are using to fulfill all righteousness. The truth is that most times they don’t know the Judge the way they claim. When you win the case, they take the glory, when you lose the case they push the blame to you. In working for them, make sure you have a well articulated engagement letter from them to avoid stories that touch.

7. Clients who brief you because they believe you have access to Judges: Courtroom Mail is unsure if you should avoid this category of clients. There is this category of clients in Nigeria who brief lawyers because they believe that the lawyers have access to Judges.  Most senior lawyers have gotten a few briefs like this based on their appearance of closeness to Judge. All we can say is, do not give any assurance to any client even if you are close to the Judge. Be careful with them. When things go wrong they will claim that you are the one who told  them that you knew the Judge.