Omuwa Odiodio: Why Young Lawyers Need to Learn Business Thinking

Since being called to the Nigerian Bar, I person learned that excelling successful instrumentality and gathering a palmy ineligible vocation are 2 chiseled challenges. You tin person beardown ineligible instincts, constitute compelling opinions, and cognize your lawsuit instrumentality wrong and out, yet inactive conflict to summation visibility, pull clients, oregon consciousness unafraid astir your adjacent steps. I erstwhile believed that having competence unsocial would guarantee everything other would autumn into place, but that is not the case.

I’m starting to realise that the ineligible profession, for each its prestige and principles, contempt its prestige and principles, operates connected the aforesaid cardinal rule arsenic different professions: worth exchange. Clients, firms, and employers are continuously evaluating, “What bash I summation from moving with you?”

And that’s wherever concern reasoning comes in.

Law School Doesn’t Teach You This Part

Law schoolhouse teaches america however to deliberation critically, reason effectively, and analyse analyzable issues. It teaches discipline, precision, and operation successful our approach. However, it doesn’t equip america with the skills to presumption ourselves successful the marketplace, pass our worth effectively, oregon make a sustainable practice. We indispensable navigate these challenges successful existent time, often learning done mistakes, missed opportunities, and a batch of observation.

I’ve realised that the lawyers who thrive are not lone proficient successful the law; they besides recognize however concern works. They cognize however to pull and clasp clients, negociate relationships, and physique credibility successful a competitory environment. They presumption their signifier not simply arsenic a service, but arsenic a strategy.

Seeing Law Through a Business Lens

Thinking similar a businessperson doesn’t mean abandoning morals oregon solely pursuing profit. It simply means knowing that law, similar immoderate service, relies connected people, and that radical respond to clarity, trust, and perceived value. It’s astir grasping however systems function, however firms make revenue, however clients are acquired, however pricing is established, and however reputations are built. A satisfied lawsuit contiguous could go a invaluable referral tomorrow, and your idiosyncratic marque influences your estimation adjacent erstwhile you’re not present.

I’ve started paying attraction to however partners attack growth, however firms presumption themselves, and however each decision, from billing to branding, relates to sustainability. This acquisition is teaching maine that ineligible excellence is lone 1 portion of the equation. The different portion involves visibility, systems, and strategy due to the fact that the marketplace is evolving. Technology is rewriting the rules faster than we tin adjust. AI tin present draught contracts, summarise judgments, and analyse patterns faster than immoderate human. Clients are becoming much demanding and little loyal. The contention isn’t conscionable betwixt lawyers anymore; it’s betwixt humans and efficiency.

However, it’s lone a reminder that our top spot lies successful the things exertion can’t replicate: judgment, empathy, motivation reasoning and trust. Business reasoning helps america support and standard those strengths. It teaches america however to accommodate alternatively of being replaced.

Learning to Think Beyond the Law

As I started to wage person attraction to however businesses operate, I began to announcement patterns successful however marketing, systems, and operation each lend to gathering trust. This reflection made maine rethink what success means successful this profession.

Success isn’t conscionable astir who tin reason the best; it’s astir who tin pass clearly, present consistently, and physique lasting relationships. It’s knowing that lawsuit restitution doesn’t extremity erstwhile a lawsuit closes—it’s astir however you travel up, negociate expectations, and marque radical consciousness valued.

These are not aspects that the ineligible program prepares america for, but they are indispensable if we privation to make thing sustainable—whether that’s a instrumentality firm,...