By Dayo Benson

Victor Frank-Briggs, is a lawyer and Section on Business Law, SBL.Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Port Harcourt Branch. He is a member of Council of NBA- In this interview, he speaks on the development of Nigeria’s legal sector and its impact on domestic and foreign investments; the legal and regulatory environment in Rivers State as well as how the annual convergence of business lawyers at the NBA-SBL conference drives policy changes.

Barr. Victor Frank-Briggs

Excerpts.

WHAT is your assessment of the legal and regulatory environment for business in Rivers States, is it investment friendly?

The legal and regulatory environment in Rivers State is conducive for business; therefore, it is investment friendly. There are laws in place in the state to duly regulate businesses and investments, with incentives for investors.

How do you think the development of Nigeria’s legal sector can impact on local businesses and foreign investments?

The legal sector has a direct bearing on businesses and investments as every business or investment from its inception is directly or indirectly regulated by law and affected by developments in the legal sector, such as changes in the law, the mode of administration of justice and the competence of lawyers and judicial officers; therefore, more business friendly laws, speedy resolution of disputes particularly business disputes in our courts, encouragement of resolution of business via ADR rather than our courts and having in place a statutory framework for the continuous retraining of lawyers and judicial officers will  positively impact on local businesses and foreign investments.

Do you think engagements and conferences such as the NBA-SBL Annual Business Law Conference actually do drive policy changes and how?

Yes, I believe that they do. Conferences such as NBA-SBL Annual Business Law Conference, bring together top government functionaries, policy makers, policy shapers and other intellectuals from the public and private sectors and create an environment for networking, learning and exchange of ideas. Most often than not, things learnt and ideas exchanged in the course of such conferences bring about policy changes.

  How do the local branches key into the interactions and engagements at these conferences?

By encouraging its members to register for these conferences and actively participate in the interactions and engagements at the conferences in order to fully take advantage of the benefits that come with the environment that has been created. The theme of the 2017 Conference is ‘Law & The Changing Face of Legal Practice’.

Is the law indeed changing? If yes, how much has it changed in a city like yours and what is the new face of legal practice in the state?

Change, they say, is the only constant and as such, the law, like every other thing, evolves and the law in Rivers State is no exception. There have been amendments of existing laws and introduction of new laws based on present challenges and realities and there have been changes in relation to the administration of both civil and criminal justice and lawyers in the State are now much more conscious of the need for continuous legal education. These, particularly the changes in relation to the administration of justice and the drive for continuous legal education have positively impacted on legal practice in the State.

  With all that is going on in the country in terms of economic downturn and the pressures/weight of corruption, how significant or critical is it to dwell on the legal practice at this time (still speaking of the theme)?

As a country, we are in a bad place economically and legal practice is not insulated from this reality. Generally, it is tough for the legal practitioner as it is for the doctor, the engineer, the banker, the farmer and all others in our society; albeit, in varying degrees. We are all victims of a bad economy, dishonesty and corruption.

As a Bar leader, you do have regular interactions with your members and several other practitioners, how do you think Nigeria’s economic challenges and depreciation of the naira affected legal business in the country?

The economic challenges in Nigeria are affecting the legal practitioners in the same way they are affecting others in our society. We all go to the same market and in the main, are involved in the same economic and social activities; therefore, we are all affected by the same bad economy, but like I said, earlier, in varying degrees. Legal practitioners have also had to suffer lay-offs and pay cuts, and for most legal practitioners, their fee regime has not necessarily changed despite the depreciation of the naira; so based on our present reality, five million naira earned today cannot do half of what the same amount could have done a few years ago.