By Chinelo Audrey Ofoegbunam
Introduction
The legal profession has long been viewed as a ladder for social mobility, a noble career path where intelligence, diligence, and ethical conduct lead to respect and success. But for many lawyers in Nigeria, the journey into and through the profession is not shaped solely by merit. It is often shaped, even silently hindered, by an invisible wall: class and background.
Does your surname matter?
Does the school you attended open or close doors?
Does your accent, network, or social capital determine how far you will go in law?
While many would like to believe the legal field is purely merit-based, the truth is more layered. In this article, we confront the unspoken realities of privilege, perception, and access in the legal profession and offer practical ways to overcome them.
Does Your Surname or School Still Determine Your Opportunities?
The short answer: Yes. in many cases, it does but it’s not the whole story.
The Prestige Bias
In top law firms, major companies, and even public sector opportunities, subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle preferences for lawyers from certain families, elite secondary schools, or top-tier universities still persist. Candidates from schools like University of Ibadan, UNILAG, and foreign institutions are often presumed to be more competent than their equally skilled counterparts from lesser-known institutions.
Likewise, some surnames especially those associated with prominent legal dynasties or elite circles carry an implicit advantage. They open doors that others spend years trying to knock on. In rooms where trust is currency, being “well-connected” often substitutes for being proven.
Access to Opportunity vs Access to Skill
This is not necessarily about competence. In fact, many lawyers from modest backgrounds are more hardworking and intellectually equipped than their privileged peers. But law is not just about skill; it’s about visibility, access, and trust. When your background grants you early exposure to corporate clients, internships at big firms, or introductions to judges and SANs, your path is simply smoother.
This class divide in law is often unspoken but very real and it is time we addressed it not with bitterness, but with strategy.
Breaking Through Structural Disadvantages: Practical Strategies
No matter your background, you do not have to stay stuck behind the invisible wall but you must be deliberate, resilient, and strategic in navigating your career.
Here are proven ways to level the playing field:
1. Build a Brand Bigger Than Your Background
Your name may not open doors, but your work can.
Start with:
1. Writing articles, blogs, or newsletters that showcase your expertise.
2. Creating an online presence through LinkedIn, Twitter (Legal X), or YouTube where you comment on relevant legal issues.
3. Speaking at webinars, legal clinics, or community forums.
In the digital, you can be visible without privilege. age People will notice consistency, clarity, and confidence, not your last name.
2. Develop Expertise in Underserved Legal Areas
Rather than chasing over-saturated fields, position yourself in areas that are growing but under-served:
1. Technology law
2. Intellectual Property
3. Sports and Entertainment Law
4. Startup advisory
5. Compliance and data protection
Becoming a thought leader in a niche area gives you leverage and uniqueness, even when your pedigree does not stand out.
3. Be Excellent Where You Are
Even if you do not work at a “top-tier” firm, your current role is a platform. Excellence attracts attention. Clients talk. Referrals grow. Your diligence, professionalism, and outcomes speak louder than your office address.
Mentorship, Sponsorship, and Social Mobility in Law
No one rises alone.
One of the most overlooked resources in overcoming class barriers is the power of relationships, particularly mentorship and sponsorship.
Mentorship: Learning from Experience
A mentor provides guidance, knowledge, and perspective. Find mentors who:
1. Have navigated similar obstacles.
2. We are open to sharing both wins and struggles.
3. Can correct you privately and endorse you publicly.
Tips to attract mentors:
1. Reach out respectfully. Do not ask for a job, ask for insight.
2. Follow up consistently but not intrusively.
3. Show appreciation and progress.
Mentorship gives you the wisdom you did not inherit.
Sponsorship: More Than Advice, It’s Access
Unlike mentors, sponsors advocate for you behind closed doors.
They recommend you for briefs, appointments, panels, or promotions. They use their influence to pull you into spaces your surname would not take you.
To earn sponsorship:
1. Be reliable, discreet, and competent.
2. Let your work speak so sponsors feel safe associating with you.
3. Serve where you can; loyalty breeds loyalty.
Both mentorship and sponsorship accelerate mobility, giving young lawyers from modest backgrounds the chance to shine.
Rewriting the Narrative: You Belong in the Room
When lawyers from disadvantaged backgrounds rise, they do more than succeed personally, they change the culture.
They:
1. Prove that merit still matters.
2. Serve as role models to those coming after.
3. Create networks of support that challenge elitism.
Every time you speak at an event, win a case, advise a startup, or publish a paper, you are rewriting the script that says only the privileged can thrive in law.
You do not need to fake affluence to fit in. Authenticity, backed by excellence, builds lasting respect.
Bridging the Gap: What the Legal Community Can Do
While individual strategies are essential, the responsibility to dismantle the invisible wall does not rest solely on young lawyers or those from underprivileged backgrounds. The entire legal ecosystem, senior lawyers, firms, law faculties, bar associations, and even clients has a role to play in ensuring that class does not continue to determine success.
1. Reforming Recruitment Practices
Law firms and legal employers can begin by assessing how inclusive their hiring processes truly are. Questions to ask:
• Do we recruit only from a narrow pool of schools?
• Do we give preference to candidates based on connections or merit?Are our internships accessible to those without “family introductions”?
• Introducing blind recruitment (where names, schools, and backgrounds are hidden during initial assessments) or creating pathways for first-generation lawyers can help level the field.
2. Creating Structured Mentorship Pipelines
Senior lawyers and firms should institutionalize mentorship, not leave it to chance. A simple program that matches experienced lawyers with young professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds can transform lives and improve the profession’s long-term diversity.
Mentorship should be:
• Structured (with defined goals and timelines),
• Inclusive (not limited to only the “brightest”),
• Sustained (beyond one-time meetings).
3. Celebrating Diverse Success Stories
Legal publications, bar events, and award bodies should consciously highlight stories of lawyers who have risen despite odds not just those from elite backgrounds. This gives hope to others and reshapes the narrative of what “success in law” looks like.
Conclusion: Tearing Down the Invisible Wall, One Lawyer at a Time
Class and background still shape careers in the Nigerian legal system but they do not have to determine destinies.
There will be doors that do not open easily, tables where you are not invited, opportunities that pass you by unfairly but your success will not be built on entitlement. it will be earned, solid, and enduring.
You can:
1. Break through with strategy.
2. Rise with mentorship and sponsorship.
3. Shine with substance, not appearances.
And when you rise, pull others with you. Open the door a little wider. Make the law a place not just for the privileged, but for the prepared.
Because the future of the profession belongs not to those who were born into rooms of power, but to those brave enough to walk in anyway.
Connect with me on Social Media:
X: CIAO Legal
LinkedIn: Chinelo Audrey Ofoegbunam
Instagram: CIAO Legal
Facebook: Chinelo Ofoegbunam
