Yesterday, I visited my former boss, Dr Kayode Ajulo OON, after almost seven months of not seeing him. I was privileged to spend over two hours with him and I do not think I will ever recover from the life advice he was kind enough to share with me.
I first enquired from him how he was able to build an enviable law practice and a jaw-dropping reputation despite the competition and other unfavorable factors. I have been a self-employed lawyer for a few years now and I can testify that any lawyer that has been able to build a reputable law practice in Nigeria without compromising deserves a lifetime award. The Nigerian legal market is half-hazard with little or no regulation as to price control etc. This will be a story for another day.
Dr Ajulo in his usual modest self, first rebuffed my statement that he has arrived at the peak of the law practice. He modestly told me that he isn’t there yet and that he knows where he should have been by now had he not dabbled into politics some years back.
This is a summary of some of the life hacks Oga (as we fondly call him) gave me on how to climb the lather and build a reputable law practice in Nigeria;
- Be ready for success. He told me that one should always be ready and hungry for success. In his words; opportunities are always knocking but are you ready to grab and utilize them? He made some series of examples of how well he had utilized various opportunities that came to him when he was a young lawyer because he made himself ready for it.
- Make friends and mingle more with your elders. He told me how most of those he calls friends are his seniors. If you mingle with those ahead of you, they will not just teach you but open you up to opportunities. If you mingle with those ahead of you, you will aspire to do more so as to catch up to their level and you will not be content with the little you have.
- Learn to package yourself well both in your attitude, your dressing and the way you handle your briefs. Dr Ajulo is one of the best-dressed lawyers that I know and I learnt a lot from seeing him handle briefs and attend to matters with so much panache. People respect and adore those who are well-packaged.
- Always make a bold statement; in explaining this point, he shared with me the story of Julius Caesar when he was kidnapped by the Cicilian pirates. The kidnappers were demanding some amount as a ransom for his release and Julius Caesar asked his abductors to double the amount they were requesting as a ransom for his release. They enquired from him why he want them to ask for a very high fee as a ransom for his release, he stated that if they ask for a very high fee, the word will get to the king and everyone; people would want to know who he is and why his abductors would want that kind of outrageous fee as a ransom for his release. If a high-price bounty is placed on his head, people will presume him to be a very important person and that will attract some status to him. Dr Ajulo advised to always make a bold statement whenever you are attending to anything that people would want to know more about you.
- Imbibe honesty and do not compromise. Dr Ajulo advises that as an up-and-coming lawyer, always be honest and maintain integrity, that is what will build a solid reputation that will speak for you.
- Do not feel relaxed when the money starts rolling in, learn to expand and think big.
These are some of the few I will be able to share publicly for now, the rest are personalized for me.
Dr Ajulo took me in while I was still in law school and nurtured me into a man. I am a very confident and bold person but I’m always in awe of Dr Ajulo whenever I’m privileged to be with him.
