CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR LITIGATION COUNSEL (Junior Level)

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

Prospective Applicants should note that our office address is on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos State and are advised to take the distance into cognizance before any intention to apply.

  1. ABOUT US
    1. You can read about us and what we do here
    2. Our Managing Solicitor is also the President/Founder of a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) known as Peoples’ Rights Enlightenment and Awareness Initiative (PREAWIN). This is an NGO devoted primarily to advocacy and protection of the basic rights of Nigerian citizens. You can read more about this NGO here
    3. We are equally the promoters of an online forum for Nigerian lawyers. You may check out the forum here.
    4. Presently, vacancy exists for an experienced litigation counsel to take charge of all our present and future litigation files. The selected candidate will be required to work for our law firm, the NGO and also as a moderator of our online forum, in the attainment of our set objectives.
    5. Interested candidates must, however, take our core areas of practice into consideration before making an application. You can read more about our core areas of practice here.You must be convinced and convincing that your flair and aspirations tally with our areas of specialization.
    6. Of course, we do take on briefs and instructions in other areas of law practice too, so long as it is within our competence.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

  1. The ideal candidate must possess minimum of EIGHT (8) YEARS POST-NYSC LITIGATION EXPERIENCE.
  2. At least, THREE (3) of the candidate’s last legal work experience must have been acquired in active litigation practice primarily at the high courts of LAGOS STATE.
  3. Must meet our General Requirements and in addition, the ideal candidate:
    • Must be VERY familiar with the laws, practice and procedure of the courts in Lagos State. (Please remember that at least three years of previous work experience in Lagos State is a requirement);
    • Must have good practice experience in litigation and advocacy;
    • Must be able to handle litigation on his/her own;
    • Must have previously completed at least THREE cases in land matters; (Suit numbers of those cases and the courts where they were held must be included in the Cover Note. Matters handled in conjunction with a principal may be considered, provided the Applicant worked with the principal and took active part in the matters, from filing of originating process to judgment).
    • Must have previously handled at least two matters at the Court of Appeal and be familiar with the rules and proceedings.
    • Must possess good ICT, especially typing skills in preparing his/her own processes;
    • (Fluency in Yoruba language may be an added advantage).
    • Female counsels are encouraged to apply.

*Please note that this will be an employment on contract basis for an initial period of TWENTY-FOUR (24) MONTHS, renewable solely at the Management’s discretion.

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SCHEDULE OF DUTIES

  1. For the law firm, the selected candidate will be required to single-handedly undertake the following tasks, amongst others, namely:
    • Appear in court in all matters involving litigation;
    • Conduct research and present legal opinions on pending or new matters;
    • Attend to clients and proffer proper legal advice on legal issues;
    • Draft, file and present originating processes, motions, briefs, written addresses, legal arguments and all other court  processes;
    • Draft all other documents including agreements, deeds, memoranda, letters, notices, etc;
    • Conduct relevant searches and other legal assignments at the Land Registries and other relevant public offices;
    • Undertake company and allied matters at the CAC;
    • Perform all other official tasks as assigned.
  2. As regards the NGO, the selected candidate shall be exposed to the full operations of the NGO and be required to participate fully and actively in its activities, in addition to legal matters and appearances in courts. Specifically, the candidate will be required to perform the following functions, amongst others, viz.:
    • Attend to all complaints and cases of rights infringement, whether such cases or complaints arise from members of the NGO or from third parties;
    • Solely or in conjunction with other staff member(s) be required to do all or any of the following things, namely:
      1. Participate in the organization of our NGO’s lecture series, meetings, events, workshops, conferences; trainings, consultations and other public enlightenment campaigns and programs on human rights for members of our NGO as well as the Nigerian Populace.
      2. Provide all legal support to the NGO’s Program Managers and Secretariat as required.
      3. Prepare and document human rights violations in Nigeria and respond to queries from our partners, donors, media and colleagues in the human rights community.
      4. Interact with members of the NGO and members of the public via the social media, by proffering legal advice and opinions as required.
      5. To carry out any other duty as directed.
  1. As regards the online forum for Nigerian Lawyers, the selected candidate:
    • Will serve as a Moderator of the online forum, to ensure users and contents are in compliance with out visions;
    • Source for and populate the forum with legal materials for the benefits of users.
    • Any other duty as directed.

4. Will undertake supervisory role over junior associates and other staff members;

5. Will undertake any other duty as required in the line of employment, as Management may determine from time to time.

REMUNERATIONS:

  1. Salary per month = THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND NAIRA (N300,000.00.) PER MONTH for a two-year contract period.
  2. Appearance fees/transport fares for Court Matters in Lagos State = N2,500.00.
  3. Appearances in matters outside Lagos State = To be determined per case.
  4. Transport fares in all other official matters = to be determined by distance.
  5. All remunerations are for the contract period of TWENTY-FOUR (24) months, which period may be reviewed, reduced, terminated or extended subject to Counsel’s satisfactory performance, and determined entirely at Management’s discretion with or without any prior notice.

DURATION OF CONTRACT:

  1. As indicated, this shall be an employment contract and shall be for an initial duration of TWENTY-FOUR (24) Months.
  2. At the end of this period, the Management reserves the exclusive right to offer Counsel a renewal or not, depending on satisfactory performance, to be determined solely by the Management.
  3. The Management also reserves the right to terminate the employment at any time before the expiration of this contract period, with or without any prior notice.

WORKING HOURS

  1. Monday to Friday = 8.00a.m. to 6.00p.m. daily.
  2. Federal Government holidays exempted.
  3. However, please note that circumstances may occasionally warrant working beyond and outside the office hours or on weekends and holidays where it is unavoidably necessary, or due to the exigencies of the particular situation.
  4. Appointment is FULL TIME, hence no allowance is made at all for private practice by Counsel.
  5. ABSOLUTE CONFIDENTIALITY of clients’ matters is required, in line with statutory provisions.
  6. ABSOLUTE HONESTY, DEDICATION TO DUTY, TRANSPARENCY, COURTESY TO CLIENTS AND EFFECTIVE CLIENTS MANAGEMENT are of utmost importance and are therefore mandatory.
  7. Whilst every effort is made to provide necessary research facilities in the office, Counsels may be required to avail themselves of other public research facilities like the high court libraries, online/digital applications, etc.
  8. Ability to work with no supervision is a requirement.
  9. Shortlisted Applicants will be required to provide two references.

 

Method of Application

Only candidates who meet the above requirements as stated above should apply. If you do, please send a copy of your Cover Note and CV by email to:CAREERS@JACOBSANDBIGAELS.COM.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Important Notes:

  1. *While the above-mentioned conditions of service represent the basis upon which the Firm will treat, your acceptance of the conditions does not constitute a contract. An appropriate offer of appointment in writing will be made to selected candidates only.
  2. *The above conditions of service are not exhaustive, and are subject to periodic reviews by the Firm with or without prior notice.