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Application of Military OODA Framework in Business Expansion

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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0

We can learn many things from the military. They move battalions. In markets, we move and control factors of production. At Tekedia Institute, I teach a course on the OODA Framework, picking perspectives from the military on how to build fast-growth companies.

Protect your flanks and move the columns, being aware of frontal attacks. Join us and learn from the kid who grew up in Ovim – the “land of generals” – and thrive in your business and career.

Zoom link in the Board. Register for the next edition here .

It has been a long time since I taught in the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna (we seek great security to enjoy the abundance of Nigeria). but tomorrow, at Tekedia Institute, we will be examining military frameworks on business growth and capturing territories (market shares). This is a very important course which helps business leaders understand how to grow territorial advantages. Join us at the Institute – Zoom link in the Board.

The Legality of Legal-Tech/ Lawtech in Nigeria

By
Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ogbuka
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The reality is that Information Technology has come to stay and has totally revolutionised the way we live – from job placements and interviews to social meetings to financial transactions and of course, legal practice.

Of course, the presence of law firms having an online presence is not exactly new, with Virtual Law Offices (VLOs) existing for almost a decade and operating without any brick and mortar struct, but this is not the same thing as the concept of Legal-Tech/Lawtech, which is defined by one perspective as the use of technologies that aim to support, supplement or replace traditional methods for delivery of legal services, mainly in service delivery packages revolving around the following:-

– Document Automation.

– Advanced chatbots and practice management tools.

– Predictive Artificial Intelligence(AI).

– Smart legal contracts.

– Knowledge management and research systems.

This definition goes further to describe the Lawtech subsector as consisting of law firms delivering legal services through Technology & the vendors that develop and supply technology solutions to those firms.

In the Western world, we already have trailblazers like RocketLawyer , Legal Zoom, Avvo & LegalMatch which are digital platforms aimed at making legal services of a mostly non-dispute resolution nature more accessible and affordable to the public.

So this means that Lawtech can serve as a means for investors and entrepreneurs to tap into the business potential Legal practice holds in Nigeria right? Well, not exactly , and this is the focus of this article, because in all of this, the Nigerian Legal Profession is still very regulated.

What is the Regulatory Framework governing the Legal Profession in Nigeria?

The legal profession in Nigeria is governed by the Legal Practitioners Act(LPA)  and the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) through the Body of Benchers, the General Bar Council, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).

Can i offer legal services in Nigeria through a digital platform even without being a lawyer?

No you can’t, not even with a lawyer in your employment. 

The LPA clearly states that you cannot :-

– Publicly present yourself as a lawyer.

– Make a misrepresentation by the use of any name, title, addition or description falsely implying that you are a lawyer.

– Prepare any documentation as a lawyer EXCEPT –

a). You are a law pupil, clerk or servant in the employment of a lawyer.

b). In relation to documentation on property in which you have an interest e.g. a Tenancy agreement.

c). In relation to litigation or dispute resolution proceedings to which you are a party.

d). The writing of wills.

e). For recording purposes to be used in Litigation and Dispute Resolution proceedings.

Holding yourself out as a lawyer when you are not can earn a 2-year maximum jail sentence.

Okay, but can i operate a Digital Platform for marketing legal services in exchange for a cut of Legal fees as my profit?

No, that would constitute touting and aiding the unauthorized practice of law that can also get you in jail and get the involved lawyer disbarred.

Can i invest in a law firm as a silent partner or as a major shareholder?

No, you cannot. That is because the Rules of Professional Conduct state that :-

– Law Firms cannot engage in partnerships with non-lawyers or foreign law firms for the practice of law in Nigeria.

– Legal Practice cannot be carried out as a corporation or in a company structure limited by shares.

– Legal services cannot be exploited or controlled by Intermediaries such as companies and agencies.

I am a lawyer and i wish to operate a Digital Legal Consultation & Company Registration Service operating via an automated chatbot. How do i advertise this service?

You can advertise this service as long as :-

– Advertisements are not misleading .

– Advertisements are in compliance with the RPC.

– Advertisements are fair and proper.

– Advertisements make no comparison with other lawyers or other professionals like accountants.

– Advertisements don’t become so frequent as to cause annoyance.

– Advertisements don’t engage in acts of ambulance chasing like publicly inciting litigation.

– Advertisements are not self-aggrandizing.

– Advertisements are not carried out via Television, Radio and Newspapers.

– Advertisements do not rely on brand endorsements.

I am an entrepreneur/Techpreneur and i want to start a Nigerian version of LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer. How can i engage in services of this nature as a non-lawyer and as a company/corporation?

You can engage in services of that nature in the following ways :-

– By investing in Legal Support Services(services aimed at providing tech support to lawyers and Law Firms) such as case search and law reporting AI services like LawPavilion(a Digital case and statute law search system) and EVA (an automated chatbot system focused on case law search support services).

– By investing in RegTech (Regulatory Technology) platforms rendering DIY (Do-It-Yourself)services that are strictly not classified as Legal services but are best han e.g. Digital Business contract smart generation services, Land title search services, Business licensing Chatbot Consultation services, IT/SLA smart contract generation platforms, Digital Company Secretarial services, digital AML/ CFT/Data Protection Compliance services, etc.

– E-filing services.

– Giving tripartite loans for interest to law firms through lawyers to be registered as charges with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Add Your Tekedia Program On Your LinkedIn Profile – Celebrate Your Win

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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A sample certificate

Tekedia Institute alumni, add your Achievement on your LinkedIn profile.  In LinkedIn, you have to select a school, not a company, as LinkedIn approved that reclassification many quarters ago. With this, you will see Tekedia Institute under Education as you list your educational qualifications.

So, for Tekedia Mini-MBA, Tekedia Advanced Diploma, Tekedia Industries, Tekedia Practice, etc, programs you can pick the school “Tekedia Institute” under Education and type the qualification.

—To List for Mini-MBA:

Go to Education section in your LinkedIn profile:

School: Tekedia Institute

Degree: Mini-MBA

Field of Study: Business Administration Management,  General

—To List Advanced Diploma in Project Management:

School: Tekedia Institute

Degree: Advanced Diploma

Field of Study: Project Management

As always, every certificate issued by our Institute is auto-verifiable using the unique code on the certificate .Celebrate your achievement and let the world know that you are alumni of our amazing Institution. #ready2lead

The Blackstone’s Ratio

By
Stanley Alieke
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“It is better that ten guilty men should be set free than one guilty man to be convicted”.

Before we go down to the philosophical principle of this theory, let us first take it into consideration the fact that this theory had its root in the Bible.

In the book of Genesis 18 v 23-32 (KJV), this conversation ensued between Abraham and the Lord God:

And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou de- stroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.

And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not

do it, ifI find thirty there.

And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.

And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

In this above conversation, both Abraham and God is of the view that if there’s just one innocent person in the city, the Lord in his infinite mercy will not punish the entire city thereby also punishing the innocent, hence, it is better for ten or thousand of guilty men to go scot free than one innocent man be punished.

Williams Blackstone, a Law Lord, and a famous English jurist borrowed this principle from the Bible and expanded it into the English legal system.

Willam Blackstone in his book; “Commentaries on the laws of England, published in 1765-1769, postulated this principle that has come to be known as the Blackstone’s ratio, also known as Blackstone’s formulation:

“all presented evidence of felony should be admitted cautiously for the law holds that It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent person suffer”

Benjamin Franklin, an American jurist also adopted this principle and while introducing it into the American legal system stretched the theory and postulated thus;

“It is better that a hundred guilty people should escape than that one innocent person should suffer”. 

This theory of the Blackstone ratio is what in no doubt has formed the bases of the principle on which the criminal justice system of most countries of the world is built; The principle of presumption of innocence of the accused, the principle of he who avers must prove, the requirement of a unanimous jury verdict in criminal trials, the principle of beyond reasonable doubt in criminal trials, the principle that once there’s ambiguity the court should decide in Favour of the accused all have its root in this theory of letting a guilty go scot free instead of punishing an innocent man.

This theory passes as a strong message that the government and the courts must always err on the side of caution in passing verdicts so as not to convict an innocent person. If there’s doubt or ambiguity as to the guilty or innocence of the accused, the court should apply leniency instead of punishment, ie, once there is any form of ambiguity or doubt in the legal proceedings as the innocence or guilt of the suspect, the court should err in the side of caution by presuming the suspect to be innocent and avoid convicting and punishing rather than presumption of guilt because “it is better that a guilty person escapes than an innocent getting punished”.

The defect to this theory of letting the guilty go free instead of punishing the wrong person is that it poses the philosophical question of; “will it still be better to let a serial rapist or a mass murderer or a suicide bomber etc, off the hook because the court is being lenient and extremely careful not to punish the wrong person”? 

Your answer is as good as mine but  authoritarians (who are the major critics of this theory), jurists, law lords, social psychologists, etc have all by every stretch of imagination agreed that despite the defect of this theory, it is actually better for the society to let a guilty person go free than for an innocent to be punished for a crime he did not commit.

India Not Crypto-Friendly, Tax on Virtual Assets Outrageous – Binance CEO

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

The CEO of Binance Chanpeng Zhao has disclosed that India’s outrageous tax rate on virtual assets has made the country difficult for crypto exchange platforms to thrive.

Zhao disclosed that the high tax rate on these assets, with the imposition of 1% on each transaction, has made the market nonviable for global market players, noting that it will limit the number of transactions.

He further stated that he is not the only one with such an opinion, as he has had discussions with several investors and startup founders who feel the same way.

In his words,

“To be honest, I don’t think India is a very crypto-friendly environment, If you are going to tax 1% on each transaction there is not going to be that many transactions.

“A user could trade 50 times a day and they will lose like 70% of their money. There is not going to be any volume for an order book type of exchange. So we don’t see a viable business in India today.

“We just have to wait. We are in conversation with a number of industry associations and influential people and trying to put some logic there adding that charging a high tax on each transaction is resulting in lower tax accumulation broadly.

“We are trying to get this message across, but tax policies typically take a long time to change. Binance goes to countries where regulations are pro-crypto and pro-business. We don’t go to countries where we won’t have a sustainable business or any business, regardless of whether or not we go.”

Recall that on February 2022, the Indian government taxed all digital assets at a rate of 30% from cryptocurrencies, to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), with no deductions or exemptions allowed. Also, losses incurred from crypto transactions cannot be set off against any other income.

While commenting on the high tax rate on virtual assets, a few business experts in the country stated that the government did so to discourage crypto transactions, as there were calls for a ban with the hope that a ban would pave the way for the country’s central bank to gain control over digital money.

However, on the flip side, some expressed delight that the government’s imposition of tax on virtual assets, implies that they have taken a progressive stance on cryptocurrencies, as a majority of people especially corporates have been sitting on the sidelines due to uncertainties, as they can now trade in crypto.

But in recent months, Indian banks have sent different signals to the industry players calling for the ban of cryptocurrencies.

The crypto market in the country has no doubt become unbearable, as American publicly traded company Coinbase, earlier this year halted trading service in the country due to “informal pressure” from the Reserve Bank of India

Also, local exchanges and other crypto firms have additionally seen a sharp decline in trading volume in recent months, in part because of the local taxation law.

India however remains one of the biggest markets in Asia for cryptocurrencies and one of the fastest-growing in the world. The country has 15 homegrown cryptocurrency exchange platforms.

Between 15 and 20 million people in India are estimated to own cryptocurrencies, with holdings totaling approximately $6 billion (€5.31 billion), industry figures indicate.

However, when speculation around the proposed cryptocurrency legislation began, prices of some of the most popular digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether plummeted by as much as 25% momentarily.

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