BAR FINAL: A TIME OUT WITH TOBI AMOO

Greetings to our fellow Bar Aspirant!!! for the next couple of weeks we have decided to upload Faith provoking post and advice from First Class Students. The aim of these posts is to build faith in you as you prepare for BAR FINALS

P.S: This is not a religious blog but we believe in God. So irrespective of your religion, see these as an inspiring and motivating post. 

Today we have Mr TOBI AMOO

Good day Sir, this is from the Editorial Crew of GROUP4-LEGAL HUB BLOGSPOT. The aim of this post is to;

1.      Calm the fear in the Heart of many preparing for Bar Final

2.      Suggest ways in which bar aspirant can balance externship period and preparation for Bar Final

3.      Advice on Portfolio assessment

4.      What next after Law School?

QUESTION 1

Can we meet you sir (Your name, occupation and any other information about yourself you would want us to know)

My name is Tobi Amoo. I practice law as an Associate in SimmonsCooper Partners.

QUESTION 2

Sir, can you share your experience about Law School?

Law School was a beautiful experience. It was both demanding and interesting. I think Law School is better experienced than imagined.

QUESTION 3

Thank you sir, can you tell us what were the Challenges you faced in law School?

I think the major challenge was the volume and speed at which we were fed with information. This was totally different from the semester based undergraduate system I was coming from. The good news is that the challenge was not insurmountable. I learnt to adjust to the system and break the large volume into bytes which I consumed in bits.

QUESTION 4

At what point did you realize that you would finish with a First Class sir?

Towards the end of the externship programme. I had initially settled to work towards a Second Class Upper because the stories I heard gave me the impression albeit wrong, that First Class candidates did nothing but read all day and night, and I knew my brain could not effectively do that. I discovered however that by using a reading system that I was comfortable with, I was able to cover the syllabus and at the same get enough sleep to keep me alert in class. I did my best and I am glad the results were excellent.

QUESTION 5

Share your Externship experience with us

Externship was amazing for many reasons. For one, I had ample time to study without being inundated with more avalanche of knowledge as the case was while we were in school. The court sessions brought to life all the principles we had learnt in class. This helped me appreciate the topics better and of course easily recollect for exams. I also had the opportunity to compare notes with my colleagues from other campuses in the course of our discussions. This gave me the opportunity to know areas which were either left out or not covered extensively in my campus, and illustrations that were used in other campuses to simplify principles and procedures.

QUESTION 6

How were you able to balance between Externship and reading sir?

I had a timetable, and I tried to stick to it. I left out weekends in the timetable, so I could use it to make up for any time I lost as a result of deviating from the timetable during the week. I also had regular discussions with some of my colleagues, which helped reduce the time I needed to read.

QUESTION 7

How was your portfolio assessment?

It went well. I made sure I had all the required documents and PowerPoint slides. I was directed to move a motion which I did with ease. Thanks to the numerous motions I witnessed in court during externship.

QUESTION 8

Please what is ethical dilemma? And how do we write it sir?

Ethical dilemma is one of the two essays law school students are required to submit as part of their portfolio. The exercise is to test the student’s appreciation of the legal professional ethics as contained Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC), and the application of the rules to real life situations.

Your essay should contain three basic contents – introduction, the problem and the solution. Your introduction should have your name; registration number; campus; and the title of the essay in bold letters. The problem is a statement of facts that present an ethical dilemma for a legal practitioner or judicial officer. The facts could be a true life story you encountered during externship or a fictional story, but ensure that the dilemma your story presents is curable by one or more provisions of the RPC. The solution applies the relevant RPC rules to the problem and answers the dilemma. 

QUESTION 9

What will be your advice to bar aspirant in preparing for Bar Final

Know yourself! Know the study system that works best for you and stick to it. Do not try to copy someone else. If you are using a study system that has not been effective, keep trying others till you find the most effective, then stick to it.

QUESTION 10

How is Life after Law School?

Interesting! It is exciting to have the privilege of using the knowledge learnt in class to solve people’s problems in real life. We have also discovered that learning only begins after Law School.

QUESTION 11

Your final words for the Bar Aspirant…

You can make it. They will teach in you class, then ask you in exams. That is bar finals, nothing more. I look forward to hearing of your excellent grades. 

                                                                    

                                                                              THANK YOU SIR........

I BELIEVE YOU WERE BLESSED BY THE WORDS OF MR.TOBI.

Please don't allow Fear to overcome you, success is sure for us in this Bar Final.

READ AND SHARE!!!!!!

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BAR FINAL : WHY YOU SHOULD SLEEP

I was walking round the campus in my mind actually and I saw a lot of folks flipping through the books, with the eyes lid closing and opening, some resorted to Coffee-drink, water therapy, walking around therapy, soaking legs inside water, music therapy…… all aimed at NOT SLEEPING!!!!

I know so well that you must pay the sacrifice to get to the top but not at the detriment of your health due to lack of ignorance. I know the pick up line ‘No Pain No Gain’ but do you know that not all pain actually comes with Gain. Ask the brother that Jumped from the 3^rd Floor to the ground in search of ORDER 10.

The society in which we found ourselves is like an imaginary gun is pointed to our head and we operate under fear to achieve our own dreams. A good example is the Law School; we were told you have to be extra-ordinary to get called to the Bar, we going to be assessed based on our lowest grade. The dread thought can be likened to a gun to our head, so we do everything possible to achieve our goal of becoming a lawyer under fear. The irony of life….

WHAT IS SLEEP?

I know in your mind you like are you kidding me? Yes let go back to the meaning of sleep. Let me give you this quote by William Shakespeare, Macbeth

            ‘’Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care

            The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath

            Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,

Chief nourisher in life’s feast’’

According to the Oxford English Dictionary it defines Sleep as;

            ‘’ A condition of body and mind which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended’’

TAKE NOTE

Resting and Sleeping are two different things, what we do most time is rest which is important and beneficial, I know your excuse will be, yes I do have time for rest (Yinmu) lies!!! Do you even know what rest means. The state of rest is when;

            ‘’ we give our body a period of relaxation, our brain is still running and functioning actively and we have our full consciousness about the surrounding during resting time’’

Suffice you to say that all sleeping period is part of resting period, BUT, all resting period is not part of sleeping period.

WHY SHOULD I SLEEP?

If you look at the definition of sleep and the psychology of sleep you will discover that it a specific state of your brain, if you do not sleep properly or at all, your brain will stop functioning properly and eventually makes you completely dysfunctional.

I ask myself this question, why do people lose consciousness or in lay main language faint in the exam hall? 

The answer is that they have refused to sleep properly.   I read a post by Robert Oexman[1] where he posits that;

            ‘’Research has consistently shown that taking the time to sleep before an exam will benefit your tests score more than four or five hours of staying awake staring at notes that you will not remember’’

My brother a Medical Doctor told me that sleep-deprived students have lower GPA’s due to the fact that it impacts memory and concentration. The misconception about sleep is that it was seen as a passive activity for Lazy people whereas it’s smart to sleep the reason is that it helps;

a)      Relaxing of Muscles

b)      Building of immunity

c)      Repairing Injuries

d)      Cleaning Body

e)      Accounting of recent memories

f)       Organizing memories and experiences.

My brother and sisters, sleep is that state in which our brain consolidates memories of what we studied and learned. All the drafts and sections and legal principles will be consolidated while we sleep. Robert Oexman further states that;

            ‘’ Ignoring the need for sleep will only lead to lower grades and productivity. On the flip side, making a commitment to sleep will lead to a lifetime of learning with much less effort and time’’

WHAT HINDERS US FROM SLEEPING?

1.      Fear

The first thing that hinders us is fear. i see Fear as a mixture of the pill of Confusion and Anxiety. When you live in constant fear, it will deprive you of sleep and the truth is that even when you awake you not productive because the book you claim to be reading is looking like Arabic.

You need to stop living in fear, build your confidence by confessing right words and trusting God. Fear is the state of mind that tells you what you can’t do, you must be bold enough to face your fears, and confess that you can. Let me help you with these quotes;

            ‘’I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear’’….NELSON MANDELA

‘’Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less’’…..Marie Curie

So my brother let get rid of Fear before he robs of our Jurisdiction to entertain Sleep. Let me end with this;

            ‘’ You Just have to get rid of fear and confront the world. Look at yourself in the Mirror and say to yourself, I love you and nothing will destroy you and you’re not going to fail…..Ricky Martin

2.      

      Stimulants

Bro Morphine!!!! And Sis Caffine!!! Family of Energy Drinks…….

I understand your predicament, you want to stay awake by all means, these stimulants ends up depriving you of sleep which is the main aim, Halleluyah!!, but you never know that it will negatively impact your ability to remember what you just stayed up late to learn. So why submit yourself to the Jurisdiction of failure paying a stimulant counsel to deprive you of sleep and deprive you of your success.

Ask all the First Class students you know that actually succeeded by taking stimulants, please drop a comment and I will learn from him. Am not a science student but bro!!! the end result of the stimulants is not good. Ask your brother that was looking for Order 22 in the dustbin ……

In conclusion, don’t build your success story on stimulants…….

3.      

    Malnutrition

LOL!!! How many can actually boost that he or she is eating well in this period…ok I can see your hands up….. The truth is that when you not eating well you will be deprived from sleep and even reading will be difficult.

 I wish I have enough money I would have told you to send your account number, but if you reading this post in the YEAR 2018 OR SO SOON THEREAFTER, please kindly send a mail to us I promise you that we would help.

I just dropped this point because it the bitter truth, and Law School is not doing anything to help situation neither is the Council of Legal Education. I pray for a time when the indigent would not just be supported to come to the Law School but provisions will be made for them to feed well. Some folks stay on campus without good meal for days. Drinking Garri is not bad but waiting for the water to swell is terrible……

In conclusion, a good meal per day will go a long way in helping you achieve your dream….

4.  

         Mosquitoes

Finally, I just added this to make you laugh actually. Do you know the reason why most of us do not sleep well is due to the different Genres of music played by Mosquitoes in our ears every night; from Blues to Rock to High Life and sometimes they Rap.

Enough is enough, get yourself a Mosquito Net or Mosquito Repellant or anything to fix it. The end result of Mosquito is Malaria, which will make your body weak and deprive you of a sound sleep and even affect your reading.

TIPS FOR SLEEPING BETTER

1.       Avoid everything that have discussed above; hindrances to sleep. Try as much as possible to overcome your Fears. Stop taking stimulants and get yourself a good meal.

2.       Create a Sleeping Time-Table: This may sound funny, but it the truth; you need to create time intentionally. It is not every time you just sleep. NO!!!. Have a schedule time you want to be sleeping and the hours you intend to sleep

3.       Limit the Use of your Phone: When it time to sleep, you will have to stop using your smartphone, do you know that your phone emits noise and lights that eventually stop you from sleeping. Let me explain;

‘’All LCD screens on phones emits lights that is blue enriched, this light influences the body’s internal clock (circadian rhythm) and delays the release of the sleep hormone called Melatonin. Without melatonin, although you can sleep, the sleep you achieve will be light and non-refreshing ‘’[2]

4.      Clear your Head Before Bed: The mistake we make is that you take CAMA and other legislation coupled with drafts to bed. By trying to meditate on these things while on the bed, you won’t be able to sleep well. Get yourself a note write down what you thinking about and if you can’t stand up and stop forcing yourself to sleep.

FINAL THOUGHT

We grateful for reading till the end, I believe that you were really blessed. But please take note that this post is not to encourage sleep instead of hard work, let me quote a part from the Holy Bible( apologies to people of different religion);

            ‘’The sleep of a laboring man is sweet……’’ (Ecclesiastes 5: 1)

So the above therapy is for a man that is diligent and hard-working, to try and get sleep. Remember that one Night of sleep won’t hurt. I will end with the words of one my best Lecturers;

                                    READ HARD

                                    EAT HARD

                                    PRAY HARD  AND

                                    REST HARD (Sleep)

                                                            THE END

N.B: Do not forget to READ AND SHARE……..Kindly Follow our Blog!!!!!!

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[1] Director of the Sleep to Live Institute

[2] Sleep Tips for Exam Success @ University of Surrey

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CIVIL DRAFT: PRACTICAL GUIDELINE TO DRAFTING OF RECOVERY OF PREMISES

It is trite that Recovery of Premises is a topic under Civil Litigation that often comes out in BAR FINAL exam…..

TAKE NOTE;

1.      Whenever you see a question that you to draft either of the two Notices (Notice to Quit & Notice of Owner’s Intention to Apply to Recover Premises) as a counsel, you must first draft;

LETTER OF AUTHORITY TO DRAFT THE NOTICES (the authorization must come from the Landlord)

WHY:

A Landlord can only delegate his function of issuing the Notices to an Agent or Legal Practitioner through a WRITTEN AUTHORITY.

Section 2 of RPA & SECTION 47 LSTL both provides that any person working on behalf of the Landlord must be authorized to act in a particular manner by writing under the hand of the Landlord (definition of an AGENT)

The position of the law is that a solicitor must also be authorized in Writing, and any notice issued by a Solicitor upon an oral instruction of the Landlord will be invalid and incompetent. See COKER V ADETAYO, AYIWOH V AKOREDE

THE DRAFT

CHIEF OLOWO BABA

                                                                                    NO. 1 OLOWO STREET,

                                                                                    OFF ADMIRALTY WAY

                                                                                                            LEKKI, LAGOS STATE.        

25^th MAY, 2017.

JAMES BOND

12, ADEOLA HOPEWELL,

VICTORIA ISLAND

 LAGOS STATE.

Dear Sir,

AUTHORITY TO ISSUE NOTICE TO QUIT AND OTHER RELEVANT NOTICES TO THE TENANT IN KOKO LODGE, LEKKI

I, Chief Olowo Baba of No.1 Olowo Street, off Admiralty Way, Lekki, Koko Lodge, hereby appoint you James Bond, a legal practitioner, to act on my behalf with respect to the issuance of notices to the tenants in occupation of my property at No. 1 olowo street,off admiralty way Koko Lodge, Admiralty Way Lekki, Lagos.

I authorize you to do any lawful act which may be necessary for the recovery of the premises.

Thank you

                                                                                                                         Yours faithfully

 

                                                                                                                             Chief Olowo Baba

2.     

    Your understanding of the Jurisdiction of the Applicable laws will help you in drafting the Notices, specifically the Notice to Quit.

WHY

The Computation of Time is different from the various jurisdictions and this will either make your draft valid or void;

IN ABUJA (Recovery of Premises Act is applicable) and Apapa, Ikeja Gra, Ikoyi, Victoria Island. (Recovery of Premises Law is applicable)

Computation of 3 Months’ Notice

This is for a quarterly &Half Year Tenancy. The Landlord must issue him a 3 Months’ Notice to Quit.

The Notice must be 3 calendar months AND it must expire on the eve of anniversary of the current tenancy. See SECTION 8 (1)(c) & (9) RPA

For Instance, if the commencements date of the tenancy agreement is 1st January, the eve anniversary will be 31st December. So if am to issue a Quit Notice I can issue it on any day in September and it will terminate on the 31st of December.

Computation of 6 Months’ Notice

This is for a Yearly Tenancy. The Landlord must issue the Tenant a 6 Months’ Notice to quit.

The computation is similar to above computation of 3 months’ Notice. The 6 Months’ Notice must expire on the eve of anniversary of the current tenancy.

For instance, if the commencement date of the tenancy agreement is 15^th day of April, the eve anniversary will be 14^th day of April. So if am to issue a Quit Notice, I can issue it on any day in October and it will expire on the 14^th of April.

HOWEVER, IN LAGOS (LAGOS STATE TENANCY LAW )

Computation of 3 Months’ Notice

The Notice must be 3 calendar months but it need not terminate on the eve of anniversary of tenancy, it may terminate on or after the date of expiration of the tenancy.  SEE SECTION 13(4) LSTL. 

For Instance, if the commencement date is 1st of January, if I want to issue him a quit notice, I can do that any month in the year, I must just make sure that the computation is 3 calendar months, so I can issue him on the 21st day of March, and it will expire on the 30th day of June.

Computation of 6Monthss Notice

This is similar to the computation above. Unlike the other Jurisdiction that the expiration of the Notice must be on the eve of anniversary of the tenancy, in computing the 6 Months’ Notice it may terminate on or after the date of expiration of the tenancy.

THE DRAFT OF NOTICE TO QUIT

To understand a draft you need to know the content of your draft;

a)      That the Tenant should quit and deliver up possession of the property with all appurtenances to the Landlord

b)      Full description of the property to be recovered and where it is situated

c)      The kind of Tenancy

d)      The date of expiration of the Tenancy

e)      The date the  tenant should quit and deliver up possession

f)       Must be dated and signed by the person giving the Notice.

So, am drafting as a Counsel, REMEMBER you must first draft the Letter of authorization, which we have drafted above.

Before we draft let me tell you two things you need to take note of;

a)      The length of Notice to Quit must not be less than the period stipulated by the Statutes or else it will be null and void. See AP V OWODUNNI

b)      The Length may however, be more than the period stipulated by the Statute. See OCHIE V AJOSE

SO; your date may be more than the stipulated period but please make sure it not less than the stipulated period.

JAMES BOND & ASSOCIATES

LEGAL PRACTITIONERS AND SOLICITORS

No 12 Adeola Hopewell, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Email: jamesbond@yahoo.com

Phone: 08123456789

Our Ref:                                                                                                                        Your Ref:

To: Mr Dauda Kareem

No 1, Olowo Street,

Off Admiralty Way,

Ikoyi, Lagos.

Dear Sir

NOTICE TO QUIT

I, James Bond, hereby, as Legal Practitioner for Chief Olowo Baba, your landlord, and on his behalf give you notice to quit and deliver up possession of the four bedroom flat with appurtenances, situate at No 1, Olowo Street, Off Admiralty Way, Ikoyi in the Lagos Magisterial District of Lagos State, which you held as yearly tenant, on the 31^st day of December 2017.

 

                    Dated this 1^st day of June 2017

                                                                                  Signed:                      

                                                                                                James Bond

Legal Practitioner

ANALYSIS OF THE DRAFT

1.      Did you notice that I didn’t date the letter at the beginning, please do not be tempted to put date before the main letter.

2.      We have two dates in the Letter

a)      The 1^st date is the date the Tenant ought to leave the House (31^st December 2017)

b)      The second date is the issuance date which we will start computing from.(1^st day of June 2017)

3.      The tenancy is a Yearly Tenancy so the notice to be given is 6 Months

4.      From the question the Jurisdiction is LEKKI which will be govern by RECOVERY OF PREMISES LAW, so;

a)      The tenancy agreement must have commenced in January 1^st. that the reason our expiry date is 31^st of December.

b)      Expiry Date: This simply means the date the Tenant ought to leave the apartment with all its appurtenances.

FOR THE PURPOSE OF MCQ OR ANSWERING YOUR THEORY QUESTION

THE FORMS FOR NOTICE TO QUIT

IN ABUJA RPA AND RPL[this is applicable in Lagos covering the areas that LSTL does not cover) SCHEDULE

1.      FORM B-  Notice to Quit signed by the Landlord

2.      FORM C- notice to Quit given by the Agent or Legal Practitioner of the Landlord

3.      FORM D- Notice by the Landlord to quit Lodgings

IN LAGOS LSTL SCHEDULE

1.      TL 2- Notice to Quit signed by the Landlord in Person

2.      TL 3-  Notice to Quit given by an Agent or Legal Practitioner of the Landlord

NOTICE OF OWNERS’ INTENTION TO APPLY TO RECOVER PREMISES

This is also known as 7 days’ Notice. Two circumstances in which the Landlord issue this notice;

a)      After the expiration of the Notice to Quit and the Tenant have refused to leave

b)      Instances where the Landlord can dispense with the Notice to quit;

i.                    Fixed Term tenancy which terminate by effluxion of time

ii.                  Licensee

iii.                Where property is deemed to be abandoned

iv.                In case of monthly tenancy where the tenant is in arrears of rent for 6 months.

v.                  In case of quarterly or half-yearly tenancy, where the tenant is in arrears of rent for one year.

N.B: PLEASE TAKE NOTE of the Question in EXAM if the 2^nd Circumstances occur, then you will not draft a Notice to Quit.

AND the same principle applies that if the Landlord instruct you to draft you must draft a letter of authorization before you go ahead in drafting your Notice of owners’ intention to apply to recover premises.

RULES GUIDING THE NOTICE

1.      The application for recovery must be within the Jurisdiction were the property is situated

2.      The Notice must be  7 clear days

3.      Where an action is commenced in court before expiration of 7 days after date of service, the action will be null and void. LASAKI V DABIAM

4.      Where an action is filled before the end of 7 days after service of notice BUT the matter is not heard by court until after 7 days. The action will be valid, the tenant will be deemed to have had enough time. IHEANACHO V UZOCHUKWU

THE DRAFT

JAMES BOND & ASSOCIATES

LEGAL PRACTITIONER AND SOLICITOR

NO. 12 ADEOLA HOPEWELL,VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS

Email: jamesbond@yahoo.com

Phone no: 08123456789

Our Ref: __________                                                                        Your Ref: _______________

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                            Date: January 3, 2018.

To:

Mr. Dauda Kareem

Koko Lodge, No. 1, Olowo Street,

Off Admiralty Way, Ikoyi,

Lagos

Attention: Mr. Dauda Kareem

NOTICE OF OWNER’S INTENTION TO APPLY TO RECOVER POSSESSION OF PREMISES

I, James Bond, legal practitioner to Chief Olowo Baba, the owner, do hereby give you notice that unless peaceable possession of the 4 bedroom flat with the appurtenances situate at No 1, Olowo Street, Off Admiralty Way, Ikoyi, Lagos, which were held of me under a yearly tenancy, which was determined by notice to quit given by the owner on the 1^st  of June, 2017 and expired on the 31^st of December 2017, and which premises are now held over and detained from the said owner, be given to the owner on or before the expiration of seven (7) clear  days from the date of service of this notice, I, James Bond shall   apply to court for summons to eject any person therefrom.

Dated this 3^rd day of January, 2018.

 

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                  Signed___________________

                                                                                                                                         James Bond

                                                                                                                                   Legal practitioner

ANALYSIS OF THE DRAFT

1.      Do you notice that the designation of Chief Olowo Baba changed from Landlord to Owner

WHY;

a)      Once a Notice to Quit is served on a Tenant and it expires, it automatically terminates the tenancy. UIC LTD V HAMMOND NIG LTD….AND

b)      The Landlord and Tenant relationship terminates and therefore the designation of the Landlord changes to ‘’OWNER’’

2.      What terminated the Tenancy agreement was a Valid Notice to Quit, and the date of issuance and expiration was included in the draft.

BUT,

3.      If the circumstances of drafting this Notice fall under the auspices of were the Notice to Quit can be dispensed of, then it would be stated in the draft.

4.      The type of Tenancy agreement must be stated in the draft.

THE END

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