Akin Oluwadayisi, Adekunle Ajasin University (Nigeria); Omoyemen Lucia Odigie-Emmanuel, Nigerian Law school (Nigeria) (Moderator); and Peter Kostant, New York Law School (US)

The legal practice is perceived by many to be a noble profession where high professional standards and ethics are maintained. In addition, it is a profession for the diligent; those who know their worth and have what it take to discharge their professional responsibility. However, the practice in many jurisdictions where advertisement of legal practice or law firm is permitted does not encourage the display of skills and can kill brilliant performance and nobility accorded the profession. It puts law for sale and allows law firms with money to advertise and attract clients, even when they do not possess the ideal or desired qualities, thereby potentially deceiving prospective clients. Thus, this paper explores some of the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct in Nigeria which restrict the attraction of business in the practice of law with some exceptions. It will also compare the implications of the practice with other jurisdiction(s) in order to discover the value of it. The paper further advocates the globalization of the concept through legal education in law faculties in the Universities and law schools. 

The scope of ethics curriculum for training of lawyers differs from one jurisdiction to another depending on the code of ethics in particular jurisdictions. Limiting the scope of what to teach in ethics classrooms to the content of the Rules of Professional Conduct has become problematic in the face of current global realities. This issue is evident in the ethical dilemmas faced by lawyers resulting in recurrent disciplinary action against lawyers in recent times. Although many reasonable minds condemn the actions as unethical, they often fall outside the scope of ethics as defined by the rules. It becomes imperative to revisit the definition and scope of ethics, expand the scope of what is defined as unethical and adopt a paradigm that allows students to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to learning ethics.