20/02/2022
NED NWOKO REVISITED: FROM LONDON ONWARDS _ By Chinelo Iwenofu
JOINING ‘THE FIRM’
After the interview with him, I was offered the job as a trainee solicitor and
fee-earner or paralegal (I carried a few labels in that office) before I finally
settled for ‘head of immigration’ a few weeks later. I was thrown straight into
the deep end at Ned Nwoko Solicitors. The work and the training were intense.
I loved every minute of it. Working in that place gave me a sense of security
and purpose. There was never a dull moment. Ned Nwoko Solicitors’ office was
a hub of activity, strategically located in the City of London along Gray’s Inn
Road in a classic traditional converted four-storey office building with an
impressive signage, across the road from the famous King’s Cross station,
beside the most popular red-light district in the UK! Most conveniently, we
were a couple of stones’ throw away from the Inns of Court and the law
society headquarters. We were also proud of and basked in the reputation of
being the biggest and best ‘black’ law firm in the United Kingdom. At any given
time, there were at least ten lawyers, while at the peak, Ned employed up to
thirty-five lawyers, with a sizeable team of support staff, mostly typists and
clerks that mainly occupied the large typing pool on the ground floor beside
the reception and waiting area.
Prince Ned himself possessed a dramatic aura, so awe-inspiring. Even though
he was usually of a calm disposition, he had a presence and still does. In those
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days I considered him to be my personal professional trainer who taught me
everything I needed to know about how to work in, and run a successful law
firm with its detailed administrative manoeuvres including bookkeeping and
accounts, plus the management of clients and their case files. I ended up
taking charge of about 800 case files, but I was up to the task. I soon learnt
to write briefs for barristers, and instructed them on new cases up for
litigation and on client matters. I accompanied them to court and managed the
documents, took notes, interviewed clients – both free ones and those
detained in prison cells and I always sat behind counsel in court before the
sitting judge, ready to assist while the litigation was raging back and forth.
One of the most valuable legal techniques I learnt from Ned was how to issue
appeals under section 51 at the Royal Courts of Justice, where I became a
regular on Stay of Executions and Judicial Reviews. Immigration became my
strongest point and it got to the stage where Ned my boss promoted me to
head of the immigration department, with at least five junior lawyers and
paralegals assisting me, we were always 'on call' 24/7, ready to attend to
newly arrested clients at airports, seaports and any other immigration holding
or detention facilities.
Driving to Gatwick airport on a late Christmas eve night was one of the many
sacrifices I remember having to make! This was as a result of the fact that I
had a good teacher who prompted me to work hard, and my enthusiasm was
fuelled by the incentives he gave his team of fee-earners for bringing funds
into the firm privately and or via legal aid. I was also fortunate that clients
liked me which instigated a lot of referrals and helped in making me the
highest fee-earner for quite a few months in a row. This feat always earned
me a bonus on pay day, after every lawyer and fee-earner was appraised for
his or her performance by the accountant at the end of each month.
Ned continued to encourage and sponsor me, as well as the other lawyers in
the firm who were housed in different departments. Most types of
contentious and non-contentious areas of practice were professionally handled,
including wills & probate, conveyancing and housing. Being characteristically
hands-on, he personally took care of most of the specialist cases as the
principal solicitor, the firm habitually handled clients in the Aviation and
Maritime industries, many such matters came up, and covered various
countries and continents. There was indeed a formidable build-up of
international cases.
The criminal department was extremely busy, in fact it was the busiest part of
the office and was effectively headed by two charismatic lawyers - Marie
Chamberlain (who later left to go and open her own city firm where she was
the senior partner of Chamberlain Solicitors) and Charles Adeogun-Philips (who
left to join the World Court at the Hague where he was deployed to Rwanda as
a prosecutor).The few English solicitors present included Nicole the blue-eyed
blond who specialised in Civil Litigation, Mr. Bryan and Andrew Bolton who came
in as a partner (married to a Nigerian barrister wife, my cousin Francis). There
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was also an Irish man called Monihan, also there were two Singhs from India
one called Hardeep, and a mixture of other African lawyers from Ghana,
Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe, amongst others, cannot recall all their names. I
continued to pick up tips very fast from almost all of them, and was still in the
process of attending night classes at the Law Society’s College of Law in Store
street Central London most days after work. I still had to complete my final
exams, which was an integral part of my training as a card-carrying member of
the law society.
Ned was generous enough to pay my tuition fees!
Under his focused cerebral tutorage and mentorship, I must say that Ned
Nwoko Solicitors managed to produce some of the best crop of Nigerian and
British solicitors including many other legal practitioners from all parts of the
world, right in the heart of London England, some of who went on to run
successful law practices and other types of businesses of their own in the UK,
Nigeria and beyond.
Apart from Immigration and Customs & Excise cases, I was abruptly
introduced into Corporate Law. For example, I began to specialise in the
incorporation of off-shore companies, and other random civil litigation matters
that came to my table. This is how I was first introduced to some of the
greatest veteran Nollywood actors such as Kanayo O. Kanayo, Liz Benson, Jide
Kosoko and some other chap who was their agent in England. They were all
unceremoniously ushered into my office by Ned himself on one of my most
stressful paperwork filled days. It was awesome. I remember my slight initial
irritation turning to amazement. I was almost star-struck, but for the fact
that they presented themselves with so much humility and no signs of
arrogance (I had expected some kind of diva-like behaviour from all film stars
of any nationality, Nigeria was no exception). The goodwill created from the
networking while in Ned’s office was extremely useful for anyone interested in
law, business, politics or even entertainment.
Prince Chinedu Munir Nwoko, wore other hats apart from the legal ‘Stetson’.
He was not only a successful lawyer, he was also a respected politician and an
outstanding philanthropist, contributing to a few charities and even offering
pro-bono services to destitute young clients who were not entitled to legal aid.
The most memorable experience I gathered through working with him during
that period was when I ended up meeting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Charles face to face. The Nigerian High Commission had sponsored a
group of Nigerians, some of us from Ned Nwoko Solicitors, to go for a
Commonwealth gathering in Edinburgh Scotland, naturally attended by some
top members of the British royal family. I guess you can’t get any higher than
Her Majesty the Queen of England and her first son the Crown Prince!
The pictures imprinted in my mind of the cold wintery eventful weekend in
Edinburgh and the eventual British royal parade is permanently embedded
there.
