Name: Babatunde Akinyanju 
Male
Legal Adviser
Solicitor
My name is Babatunde Akinyanju and I am 43 years old. I am a solicitor and currently the Principal Legal Adviser at Richmond upon Thames’ Magistrates’ Court.
I first became interested in law, when I studied it as part of my ‘A’ levels, at Davies’s College in Hove, Sussex. My other motivation for studying law was to prove a careers counsellor wrong, who said to me in the presence of my father that I did not have the intellect to become a lawyer.
I attended the University of Lagos, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree in 1986. Following that I attended The Nigerian Law School and qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in March 1988. I worked in the Nigerian Civil service for about 18 months, as an assistant legal adviser, specialising in commercial and maritime law. The highlights of my career then included acting for the Federal Ministry of Transport in a Marine Board of Inquiry and representing Nigeria at an International Maritime Law Conference in Geneva, in November 1988
I returned to England in 1989, with the aim of increasing my experience of maritime law practice with a firm. After trawling the streets of London and receiving numerous rejection letters I decided to re-qualify as a lawyer in this country. I sat two sets of exams, the Common Professional Examination (CPE) and the Law Society Finals (as they were known then), at the College of Law, Guildford and completed two years of training (Articles), part of which was at Surrey County Council. I joined Guildford Magistrates’ Court in November 1989 and have been working in a number of courts since then. I qualified as a solicitor in 1995.
As a legal adviser in the magistrates’ court my main duty is to advise lay justices in open court on all matters of law and procedure. 95% of criminal cases commence in the magistrates’ court so I have been involved in all kinds of cases: from speeding and other traffic matters; to assaults and robbery; up to the most serious rape and murder cases. The latter two start in the magistrates’ court and then are sent to the Central Criminal Court, at the Old Bailey, for trial.
The magistrates’ court also has a civil jurisdiction. We deal with childcare law cases. For example, applications by the local authority to remove a child away from its parents and place it into foster care. Family law cases can be quite complex, as care proceedings could last up to five days at a time, involving conflicting legal arguments and expert evidence from the likes of psychiatrists and paediatricians. I have to take down notes in all these proceedings and at the same time give my advice to the justices. They are obliged to follow my advice, so it is incumbent on me to get it right; if not a wrong judgement in law ends up on appeal in the High Court and the judges do not mince their words when criticising wrong advice! I have delegated judicial powers, such as the granting of Legal Aid in criminal cases and making directions in case management hearings.
The work is varied. No two days are the same in court, because one is dealing with people from various backgrounds and abilities. I enjoy being in the family court, because it enables me to use my mediating and negotiating skills, sometimes for warring parents who are not represented and are fighting over custody of their children. However, as a manager I am not always in court. I am responsible for four lawyers and 85 lay justices, so I design and deliver training courses and chair various meetings.
When I joined the service I did not have a mentor. This was particularly difficult for me, because l was the only black person within the criminal and family law fraternity in Guildford (that is the Police, Crown Prosecution Service, Defence Solicitors, etc). I think for a lot of people I was the first black person they had come across, so I constantly felt like the proverbial goldfish in a bowl. If I charged for every time I had to explain where I was from “originally”, or repeat the correct pronunciation of my name I would be a very rich man by now. I am pleased to say that things have moved on since 1989, but one should not be complacent and I would have appreciated having a mentor at the beginning of my career. I have acted as mentor to a number of trainees who are now successful lawyers.
My advice for anyone wishing to join the profession is to work hard at achieving your goal and try to make as many friends as possible of experienced lawyers. Also, give up some of your time for the community. I have held various voluntary positions, which I have found very rewarding, including being Chairman of a Residents’ Association, Trustee of a Community Relations Forum, Churchwarden and an active member of various professional bodies. Through my membership of the Justices’ Clerks’ Society my wife and I attended the Queen’s Tea Party at Buckingham Palace, last year. We went in our traditional wear. Let’s just say nobody dressed the same as us!
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