Dele Adesina SAN was the special guest at the 2nd Legal Workshop of the Young Lawyers Forum (YLF), Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch, with the theme – “Drafting and Review of Commercial Agreements.” The facilitator of the Training, Mr. Chisom Obiokoye, from the law firm of Perchstone & Graeys, took the room of over a hundred Lawyers on the principles of drafting and review of Contracts. According to Mr. Adesina, SAN, he was optimistic that Mr. Chisom’s lecture was an investment into the lives of the young lawyers who participated in the Workshop and was a worthy initiative by the Young Lawyers Forum. Mr Adesina, SAN, also stated that it is trite that no court of law, no matter how powerful can make contracts for parties and further stressed on the importance and need for lawyers to pay critical attention when drafting contracts for their clients because if a contract is poorly drafted, it could expose their clients to risks in the future.
According to Mr. Adesina, SAN, “these things cannot be taken for granted, as the Courts will only interprete the terms stated in the contract and would not substitute its reasoning with the agreement of the parties.”
Mr. Adesina appreciated Mr. Chisom’s words that “parties are the masters of the facts” and lawyers should ensure that their clients always produce the facts of every matter in writing, a principle he mentioned applied to litigation as well. He advised the young lawyers to never believe contractual relationships between parties will go on smoothly and caution must be made not to expose thier clients to risk. He further advised the young lawyers that their relevance was in their ability to anticipate possible problems that may occur and to make provisions for same in the agreement.
Mr. Adesina, SAN, further reiterated the suggestions he made to the leadership of the Young Lawyers Forum, Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch, a year ago and pledged that at least once a year he would sponsor one of such Workshops organized by the Young Lawyers Forum, Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch.
Mr. Adesina ended his address by thanking the Chairman of the Young Lawyers Forum, Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch, Mr. Ezekiel Bodunde and his Executives for the invitation.
