Being a legal practitioner and performing a dual function of legal and governance service, this is close to home.

“Lawyers are only as good as their instructions”, they say…. “Lawyers provide independent opinions which must be distinguished from decisions that are made after consideration of the opinions”, they also say….
“Clever Lawyers do not admit that they are influential beyond their advice and mostly cover themselves with the cloak of mere advice”. These are some of the many sentiments I have heard in my modest practice.

Well, it would be folly for me to outrightly dismiss the sentiments above but it would suffice to state that in all those perceptions, there is context.

Someone once told me a story about a certain Board Secretary who became a corporate monster because the abuse of his role over the years went unchecked to the extent that even authorities above him were afraid to discharge their functions without checking if they aligned with his expectations. The ending for this actor was not good as things went full circle in what can be described as a revolutionary move towards normalcy.

This story resounds in my mind all the time of my practice and should serve as a lesson to all of us to moderate as we perform our duties. Understanding our instructions, providing sound and reasoned opinions and intelligently utilizing the art of persuasive argument while maintaining objectivity and independence is the norm for our practice.

The organisation and actors supported by the legal service also have an obligation to consider the essence of the service. After all, all functions in the organisation are expected to collaborate and support each other through to success in the organisation’s endeavors.

To my colleagues in the legal services and support, come on in to my house of thoughts!