”SAN” stands for Senior Advocate of Nigeria. This is a rating given to Nigerian lawyers as a mark of professional distinction in the practice of law. This is the pinnacle that any lawyer practicing in Nigeria can reach. The SANship award started in 1975. But before that, Nigeria had adopted the English equivalent called Queen’s Counsel. FRA Chairman Williams and Chairman HO Davies were the first two Nigerians to become Queen Counselors in 1958. In 1964, the rank was abolished in Nigeria and had no successor until 1975.
So there is no ranking system for Nigerian Lawyers between 1964-1975. In fact, all lawyers were the same. But on April 3, 1975, FRA Chairman Williams and Dr. Nabo Graham-Douglas became the first two people to be so appointed. This marks the start of a new chapter in the history of the legal profession in the country. Nigeria now has more than 60,000 lawyers but only 349 of them have been appointed Senior Advocates of Nigeria so far.
How to become a Nigerian Senior Advocate is governed by a set of guidelines. It’s the guidelines that tell who the SAN is. So what are these guidelines?
SAN Appointment Guidelines
There is a committee set up by law to ensure that the guidelines are strictly adhered to. The Committee on the Privilege of Legal Practitioners is the committee in question. The SANship Awards are an annual event. It is the responsibility of every attorney interested in the rank to apply to the Committee. The guidelines that will be considered by the Committee to determine who is eligible to receive the award or not are as follows:
1. The applicant must be a Nigerian citizen.
2. He must have been training in Nigeria for 10 years before he could apply.
3. He must be in full legal practice.
4. He must distinguish himself as an advocate.
5. He must be a man of good character.
6. He must have made a significant contribution to the development of the legal profession in Nigeria.
7. Upon receiving the application form, he must pay a non-refundable amount of N200,000. This amount may be reviewed at any time by the Committee.
8. He shall submit to the Committee a list of at least 10 judges from the high courts whom he has previously attended in important contested cases. The Committee may select 3 of them to provide detailed confidential references of the applicant.
9. He must also submit a list of legal assistant practitioners who have handled cases with him. Three of them may be selected by the Committee to provide the applicant’s confidential reference.
10. He must submit the details of the contested cases that he personally handles in this order:
- 8 decisions of the High Court,
- 6 decisions of the Court of Appeal,
- 3 Supreme Court decisions.
11. He must pay his practice fees and membership consistently due to the local branch of the Nigerian Bar Association in the last 10 years prior to application.
12. He must submit proof of income tax payment for 3 years prior to application.
13. The committee is tasked with conducting a physical examination of the applicant’s room to assess the following:
- library size and quality,
- available space and other facilities,
- the number and quality of support staff,
- proper bookkeeping,
- the number of junior advocates cannot be less than 5.
Where the applicant is an academic, he or she must provide the Committee with 20 copies of his published work in addition to some of the relevant considerations above.
Nigerian Senior Advocate Award especially for advocates. The extension of the award to non-judicial legal practitioners such as academics is the only exception.
Functions and Benefits of Being a SAN
Becoming a SAN brings the following benefits:
1. Order of Priority- A Nigerian Senior Advocate sits at the inner bar by occupying the front row of seats available to legal practitioners in court. It also includes SAN’s right to mention its case before other attorneys regardless of their age of professional qualification.
2. Court Appearance- A SAN must always appear in court with a junior attorney. However, being present with a junior attorney can be ruled out if the matter is criminal.
3. Appeal – The attire of a SAN is different from that of other lawyers. She wears a dress that is sprinkled with more style and is made of silk which makes her appearance also more elegant. SANs are also called “silk” because of the clothing material they use.
4. Professional Fees- SANs also enjoy the privilege of charging higher fees than other attorneys can charge.
On top of all the benefits of being a SAN, the sense of psychological satisfaction that comes with reaching the top of one’s profession is incomparable. This explains why the contest for rankings is always intense and sharp. Year after year, hundreds if not thousands of legal practitioners apply but only a handful are selected.