Stuck in that ridiculously low paid law firm job? Here's a thread of alternatives for Nigerian lawyers.

Disclaimer: I am not advising anyone to resign please. These are just suggestions on other things you can look at.

The first good news is that as a lawyer, you have awesome transferable skills. You are an asset!

Risk management.
This is really the bedrock of corporate legal practice. If you are interested in this area, there are many affordable professional certifications you can do. Do the exams, then use it as leverage to negotiate higher pay or better still, move to another industry.

Corporate Governance for SMEs. A lot of SMEs are stuck in this area & are often looking for advice. For this, you might have to dabble into some Biz Dev. because if you are useful to SMEs beyond "legal advice", they are more likely to hire you. You can do this as a side hustle

Are you passionate about something outside the law? Fashion, Acting, Sports etc.Stakeholders in those industries need legal advice. Take online courses in Fashion law (for eg), follow international fashion law blogs to get ideas on services you can pitch to industry stakeholders

Finance. This is probably hardcore but I know a lawyer who is now CFA chartered. She took the exams while she was at a law firm, moved to an Investment Bank and didn't look back.

Management Consulting.
As a lawyer, this is kinda what you do in your sleep. Lawyers that are brave enough to crossover often excel here. Top management consulting firms are therefore open to hiring lawyers. I know many people who have made the transistion.

Tax Advisory.
One of my closest friends is now an International Tax Advisor. She started her career at a top law firm in Lagos, moved to grad school to study International Tax and now is one of the few Africans in that space worldwide. That's pretty awesome actually.

Policy.

I really like this because it is so flexible and can be tailored to your interest. There are many lawyers who crossover to policy type roles and this is an easy transition for lawyers. I know lawyers who do cool stuff like FinTech Policy Regulation.

Development.

This is also another easy transition for Lawyers. Look at the AFDB, World Bank etc and even the smaller development agencies and you will surprised at the number of roles you are actually qualified to apply for.

Project Managment

Another easy transition. A friend of mine just passed her Agile Project Management Certification and this alone qualifies her for a serious pay upgrade. She's a Nigerian lawyer who has been doing PM for a bit and she is raking in all the $$$

Some lawyers have been able to make transitions that are totally unrelated to their law skillset and this is awesome too. I mostly gave examples of easier transitions I have seen friends and colleagues do. Hopefully, this is useful.

A BIG one is starting your own practice! I haven't done it yet but there are people like @fozadoza you can learn excellent things from. Please kindly free feel to stalk her timeline.

Hello Lawyers, there is a growing startup scene but are you prepared.

I have years of experience doing this and so I’ve decided to teach you too. You can easily increase your income by providing services to start ups & investors. Follow @scalemyhustle for more details.

Due to popular demand we are bringing back this class. It is a two day comprehensive course with 4 instructors (including an investment banker & startup founder who has raised capital)

Please tell a lawyer you like.

https://rave.flutterwave.com/pay/scalemyhustleghs

We will also talk extensively on building your legal practice as a business. Many lawyers struggle with this (me inclusive) so I’m pretty excited.

Here are some reviews from the last class.

And we are back. This time everyone who couldn’t join in before can.

https://twitter.com/scalemyhustle/status/1233038994637611010?s=21 https://twitter.com/scalemyhustle/status/1233038994637611010