Growing Cases of Lawyers' Misconduct in Nigeria and Corrective Measures

Abstract

This paper is an analysis of the rising and recurring incidents of professional misconduct among legal practitioners in Nigeria. It begins with an introductory part, which defines professional misconduct and highlights the offences for which a legal practitioner can be punished as provided in the Legal Practitioners Act. The paper does a sort of case review of unabated 21st century professional misconducts among legal practitioners. In the introductory part and the main body of the paper, we shall see some role that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) of the Body of Benchers, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) and the Supreme Court of Nigeria have been playing in the discipline of legal practitioners in the country. The paper ends with a conclusion, and recommendations, which provide a roadmap for drastic reduction in professional misconduct among legal practitioners in the country so as to save the profession from further losing its confidence before the Nigerian public.