Crown-Law Partners Managing Partner Augustine Enefiok Udoh, comes from a family of lawyers. His father is a retired judge, his mother, a lawyer, his wife a judge, and his siblings are lawyers. Called to Bar 17 years ago, Udoh tells JOSEPH JIBUEZE about the judiciary of his dream.
Becoming a lawyer was almost a faitaccompli for Augustine Enefiok Udoh. Growing up, he admired his father’s profession, accompanied him to court and was exposed to legal practice at an early age.
A native of Ibiaku Uruan in Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Udoh studied Law at the University of Uyo and was called to Bar in 2002.
He also had the strongest of mentorships, working as a solicitor and advocate at Chief Afe Babalola Chambers in Abuja, and with Obong Mike Akpabio of Akpasima Chambers in Uyo.
He joined Evergreen Pensions Limited in 2006, where he worked as Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Corporate Services until he returned to active legal practice in 2013.
He is the Managing Partner of Crown-Law Partners, with offices in Uyo and Abuja.
First day in court
Udoh’s first court appearance was before a Federal High Court in Abuja to move a motion for extension of time to file a statement of defence. It was a tough experience.
“The ambience of the courtroom filled with senior lawyers, one of whom was on the other side, made me feverish and frightened.
“I watched as lawyers took turns in calling and prosecuting their cases. When my case was called, I stammered so much as I introduced myself.
“When the court asked me to introduce my application, I continued shivering. I lost grip of the sequence of moving the motion.
“It became obvious to my Lord that I was appearing for the first time. The court advised me to take an adjournment to enable me embolden myself, and I did much better by the next adjournment,” Udoh said.
However, his pupilage with Chief Afe Babalola’s Chambers at Abuja, working under the then Head of Chambers, Dr. Olumide Ayeni, helped him master the art of advocacy.
“I must say it was richly rewarding. I had the privilege of reading through the precedents of legal processes and case files.
“Assignments were given to me on daily basis on legal drafting of agreements and judicial processes, as well as research and brief writing to strengthen my understanding of general legal practice and procedures,” he recalled.
Family influences
Aside his early exposure to Law, Udoh chose to be a lawyer because he nursed a childhood ambition to be one. His dream was to share in the passion of advocating for people’s rights, to see justice done between persons and groups and contribute to the propagation of societal values and norms.
“As I grew up, my father, Justice Enefiok Udoh (rtd), became my icon of inspiration. As a practicing lawyer at the time, I admired his passion, commitment and devotion to the legal profession, his reading culture, his dressing, his devotion to bar activities and the respect he earned from his peers.
“Oftentimes, I would accompany him to court and watch his display of advocacy, and in the course of his rising vast experience in the legal profession he became a High Court Judge,” he said.
Udoh’s elder sister, Mrs Uduak Zachary Gwa, and his mother, Lady Bernadette Enefiok Udoh, are also lawyers. “They also inspired me as their practice made me appreciate the dynamic nature of our legal profession.
“As I grew up, I told myself I would rather align with this profession, its nobility and the integrity, respect and love that go with it,” Udoh said.
Father, mother, wife, siblings all lawyers
How he feels being surrounded by lawyers and so much legal knowledge.
Udoh said: “It is a blessing from God to come from a family of lawyers with such rich experience, knowledge and practice in the legal profession.
“My father was appointed a High Court Judge in 1991 and retired in 2008, after serving meritoriously for about 17 years.
“Having been called to bar in 1975, he was in private practice for about 16 years before going over to the bench.
“My elder sister was called to bar in 1991 and after a brief stint in legal practice, she joined the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) were she currently serves as Principal Manager in overseeing Board affairs.
“My mother was called to bar in 2000; she is currently the Managing Partner of Edu-Uwem Chambers and has a vast experience in corporate legal practice and litigation.
“My wife, Mmeh, and my younger brother, Nsikak, were called to Bar in 2005. While my wife moved on to assume responsibility as a district court chairman, my brother is presently the Managing Partner of Garland Chambers,” he said, adding that he felt so blessed to be in the midst of such brilliant legal minds.
“I feel excited and contented that there is a growing wealth of knowledge and contribution we share on a day-to-day basis on various legal issues and situations in our society. We learn from each other every other day,” he said.
Asked what he would have been if not a lawyer, Udoh said he has no regrets studying law despite his strong passion for music.
“I can write songs and sing as well. Perhaps I would have been a musician, but honestly, I have no regrets studying law. It is a passionate and enriching profession for me,” he said.
Most challenging case
When asked which case he considered the most challenging, having practiced for a while?
Udoh said:“Honestly, I can’t really say what case has been more challenging in my experience. Every case is a challenge for me as a practicing lawyer because of their diversity in substance.
“I am either for the claimant or the defendant, the prosecutor or the accused, the landlord or the tenant, the contractor or the client. I am are either negotiating between persons or resolving disputes either formally or informally.
“All these present several and distinct challenges and they differ across parties and their temperaments, subject-matter, circumstances and situations,” he said.
Surviving as a young lawyer
While undergoing pupilage, Udoh’s foremost challenge was to meet his principal’s expectations in reading through case files and getting armed with the principles of law, practice and procedure on each case.
He said: “Most often, the cases could have been age-long and the files quite bulky. I would take them home in order to read through and be abreast with the facts and status.
“There was also the challenge of financial dependency on my principal’s goodwill to afford transportation to and from chambers and other privileges like attending conferences and seminars.
“To overcome these challenges, I disposed myself to taking personal briefs and with the fees, I was able to save some money to buy more books and provide other logistic needs.”
Some young lawyers have accused their principals of treating them like ‘corporate messengers’. Fortunately for Udoh, he had no such experience with his principals.
“The relationship between a young lawyer and his/her principal depends on the roles he is expected to play for his principal while undergoing pupilage.
“Pupilage is a learning process for every young lawyer and it is expected that the lawyer should undergo a process of rudimentary training in the dynamics of legal practice, and this comes with great costs and sacrifices.
“The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) can develop a more friendly policy of subsidising fees, dues and other costs for young lawyers to encourage their active participation in the affairs of profession,” he said.
His dream judiciary
Udoh would like the legal profession to fully embrace Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms such as arbitration, mediation and conciliation.
This, he said, would ensure justice for all, and speedy and cost effective means of resolving disputes, while sustaining and building relationships. “The judiciary should make a more conscious effort in sending cases to these units to decongest the cause list of judges,” he said.
Udoh would also want to see improvement in criminal and civil procedures. “Changes follow events. I believe that as the society and the nation develop, so too should our laws be reformed to meet the growing challenges of these developments.
“Today, we are experiencing some increasing trends in societal vices, such as insecurity, robbery attacks, killings, cultism as well as the seeming dissatisfaction in our socio-economic development.
“I believe the Buhari administration should consider making new bills to address these challenges,” he said.
On his expectation from new ministers that have been sworn in, with Abubakar Malami (SAN) returning as the Attorney-General of the Federation, Udoh said: “For me as a private legal practitioner, I expect him (Malami) to strike a balance in policy administration between observing the rule of law, constitutional rights and interests of the citizenry and public interest.”
Udoh does not agree that standards are falling in law practice. To him, lawyers should only enhance the culture of true professionalism, integrity, transparency and foster mutual respect within their ranks.
Speeding up justice administration
A lot has been said about slow process of justice administration/dispensation. What does Udoh think is the way out?
“The way out is for us to embrace the ADR mechanisms like I have earlier mentioned. As a recently-trained mediator from the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, there are several ADR mechanisms.
“These include negotiation, counseling, judicial appraisal, high/low arbitration, ombudsman, executive tribunal, in addition to mediation, conciliation and arbitration.
“These will offer parties a wide range of options in addressing and resolving their relationship differences arising from contracts, marriage disputes, land disputes, and others,” Udoh said.
Scrapping the SAN rank
There has been calls for the scrapping of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria rank because the selection process, some say, have been abused, Udoh did not agree with the abolitionists.
“No I do not agree,” he said without hesitation. The SAN rank is a special and privileged class of lawyers, who have attained some established heights through the years in the course of legal practice by hard work and dedication in landmark cases.
“Most lawyers in Nigeria today are desirous of attaining the rank of SAN one day during the lifetime of their career.”
Guiding philosophy
Asked about his philosophical approach to law, Udoh said: “I see law as a an instrument containing a set of rules, principles, policies and procedures for guiding relationships between persons, bodies, groups, associations and the society at large in order to enhance their socio-economic well-being and foster growth, unity and peace.”
Managing client expectations
Some clients can be annoying; others have high expectations of their lawyers. How does Udoh manage his clients?
“Oftentimes, clients have varying ways of understanding the legal process. A virtue that is common among clients is patience in receiving the end-products of the legal services rendered.
“So, the tendency is for the client to express a general feeling of discomfort or near-dissatisfaction over the seeming delays in meeting the ends of justice. This may cause a negative reaction in the client not paying fees until the process is executed,” he said.
Embarrassing moment
Udoh said he experienced an embarrassing moment once when a Federal High Court Judge ordered him to open his defence after a lengthy cross-examination. “I had no previous conference with my client (who was not in court at the time) but my Lord insisted. In the end, I got a 30-minute stand-down, rushed out of court, called the client and got to have a brief conference with her.
“We started the defence and the court was then willing to grant an adjournment for continuation of the defence,” he recalled.
Career goal
Udoh said he hopes to be either on the Bench or in practice as a Senior Advocate in the next 10 years. “I would like to be a High Court Judge or at best, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria,” he said.
A firm believer in God, Udoh is sure that through fervent prayers, hard work, loyalty to his clients and determination, he would realise his career goals.
In the meantime, he finds time to relax by listening to music, singing, watch movies and listen to the news.
A sport enthusiast, he played lawn tennis, table tennis and football at several competitions in the past, but his favourite sport remains football.
Asked if he were to go away for a week with only a piece of item, what would it be?
He said: “My ATM card for easy financial access to other material needs.”
