The Reason I Don’t Subscribe to the 10% Professional Fees as Prescribed by the Remuneration Order and Enforced by the NBA
BY ABISOLA OLOWE
If there’s a question that has bugged my mind lately, it’s a simple one: '10% of what exactly?'
Do you know how ridiculous it sounds when a lawyer is asked, “Why do you charge 10%?” and they respond, “Because the NBA said so,” or “That’s what the rule of the profession prescribes”? Charging from this perspective does more harm than good.
Because now, many lawyers are unknowingly collecting what I call resentment fees.
What is a resentment fee? It’s the money a client pays while silently believing you’re not as valuable as you claim to be. They pay because they must, not because they trust your worth. And this — more than anything — is why our profession is losing its reputation.
Most clients I’ve met describe lawyers as overhyped and under-delivering. They often share that their experience with legal services was frustrating: outcomes weren’t as intended, processes were unnecessarily complex, and communication was poor.
Clearly, something is wrong.
I believe one of our biggest problems is that we’ve become disconnected from the realities of the market.
Historically, the legal profession was built on control. Lawyers deliberately wove themselves into the fabric of national life — ensuring exclusivity wherever possible. We made sure certain transactions couldn’t proceed without us. But that world no longer exists.
Today, businesses are global, information is free, and competition is borderless. This nationalistic, monopolistic mindset must evolve — or we’ll be left behind.
Here’s another uncomfortable truth: most of our senior colleagues, even the very successful ones, cannot clearly articulate what made them successful beyond “that one brief that changed everything.” No other profession counts on big breaks. Most professionals grow through small wins that accumulate over time. But lawyers? We wait for miracles.
The profession, as it stands, is under-optimized. And I have the data to prove it.
In my Follow the Money Report, I did a full analysis of the Nigerian legal sector. I’ll release it when I feel led to, but the findings are eye-opening. From that study, one thing became clear: what we need is not enforcement — it’s reorientation.
We need to start seeing law as what it truly is — a business.
I propose that every lawyer should go through a course titled “The Business of Law.” This shouldn’t be another theoretical lecture on professional conduct, but a practical exploration of what makes real businesses thrive — and how lawyers can replicate those principles. Such a course would teach negotiation, value creation, client management, marketing ethics, and sustainable pricing models. Not the outdated prescriptions that forbid visiting clients or demand we hide from the marketplace.
Because truthfully, enforcing 10% fees does not solve anything. If anything, it exposes how far we’ve drifted from understanding our own value. When a professional justifies their worth with “because the NBA said so,” it’s evidence of a deeper problem—a lack of personal positioning and business clarity.
Even in advanced jurisdictions like the UK and the US, where most of the Fortune 500 law firms operate, remuneration systems are not rigidly set by professional bodies. There are guidelines, yes—but lawyers are free to charge based on the value they bring, the complexity of the work, and the realities of the market. In fact, the U.S. once struck down rigid minimum-fee rules because they were considered anti-competitive. Yet here we are, still trying to standardize value in a profession built on uniqueness and expertise.
What amuses me most, though, is this: for a profession so loud about high remuneration, law firms themselves are some of the worst violators. Many pay salaries that barely scrape past minimum wage — if at all. We enforce value on clients while undervaluing our own. Hypocrisy, if you ask me.
It’s time we stop hiding behind the NBA and start building real value that clients can see, feel, and respect. Law is a business. In business, there is negotiation, strategy, value, and client experience. Once you understand that, your practice — and your income — will never remain the same.
I am The Abisola Olowe (TAO) — a young lawyer with the mind of an entrepreneur. I stumbled into consulting, and it completely transformed how I see the legal profession. My deepest desire is to see the legal sector grow so strong that it becomes a visible driver of Nigeria’s GDP. But to get there, we must evolve. We must think differently. And one thing is certain — no profession grows by enforcing old rules in a new world.
No comments:
Post a Comment