Supreme Court: Refusing To Pay Lawyers’ Fees Is A “Slap In The Face” To The Legal Profession

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has ruled that when a legal practitioner provides professional services to a client, and it was not done pro bono publico (for free, for the public good), the lawyer is entitled to be paid.

The Court stated that failure to pay for legal services is a slap in the face to the prestigious legal profession.

This position was taken by the Court in the recent case of Mr. Allen Egbe v. Ayodeji Odu (2024) 18 NWLR (Pt.1970) 567 at 294, paras. E-F, where Justice Idris stated:

“It is saddening reading through the record of appeal, because the entire case appears to be a clear slap in the face of the legal profession. The appellants engaged the services of a barrister called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986, who represented them in court on several occasions. The respondent provided text messages sent by the appellants pleading for more time to pay the money owed for professional fees, which the appellants never denied. The appellants argued that since they paid filing fees and expenses, the respondent is only entitled to ‘something’ for his professional fees. What a slap in the face to this prestigious profession!”

The trial court awarded the sum of ₦12,000,000 in favor of the respondent, including 10% interest from August 1, 2008 until May 21, 2012 when the judgment was given, and a further 10% annual interest on the judgment sum from May 21, 2012 until the amount is paid.

The Supreme Court Justice expressed disappointment at the appellants’ argument that they engaged multiple lawyers and therefore could not pay the respondent the full amount. The Justice stated, “The appellants must be informed that it was their choice to engage as many lawyers as they desired. But it is absolutely ridiculous to think that because they got multiple lawyers, they should not have to pay each lawyer for their services. As long as every lawyer is paid their professional fees, there is no problem.”