The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has warned legal practitioners against charging clients in dollars and other foreign currencies, saying lawyers found engaging in practices that violate existing laws could face prosecution.
The warning followed a meeting involving officials of the EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 and the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch Task Force on Illegal Practice of Law.
The NBA delegation was led by the Chairman of the Task Force, Moshood Abiola.
According to reports of the meeting, Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, ACE I Bawa Usman Kaltungo, raised concerns about practices the Commission considers illegal or unethical within the legal profession and urged practitioners to comply with applicable laws governing financial transactions.
The EFCC subsequently stated that legal practitioners should desist from what it described as the illegal and unethical practice of demanding professional fees in foreign currencies and warned of possible prosecution.
The engagement is particularly significant because the NBA Lagos Task Force itself has been intensifying efforts against illegal legal practice. In its first year, the Task Force says it investigated complaints concerning fake lawyers, impersonation, alleged counterfeit NBA stamps and seals, unlawful preparation of title documents and unauthorized collection of legal fees.
The EFCC’s latest intervention may therefore broaden the conversation from stopping non-lawyers from encroaching on legal practice to examining the conduct of qualified practitioners themselves.
For lawyers, however, the precise legal scope of the EFCC’s warning will be important. Professional engagements can involve international clients and cross-border transactions, meaning that questions surrounding the applicable statutory restrictions, contractual arrangements and circumstances in which foreign-currency payments may lawfully arise deserve careful distinction.
What remains clear is that professional billing practices are attracting increased regulatory attention, making compliance and properly structured retainers increasingly important for legal practitioners.
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Source: TheNigeriaLawyer | The Times Nigeria
