Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is a title that may be conferred on legal practitioners in Nigeria of not less than ten years’ standing and who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession.

The conferment is made in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act 207 Section 5 (1) by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee, headed by the Chief Justice (as Chairman), and consist of the Attorney-General, one Justice of the Supreme Court.

Lawyers who wish to apply for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) may have to think twice and count the costs before making the move.

See the Requirements for Becoming a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) below:

1. To become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, an applicant must be a citizen of Nigeria.

3. Before you become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, you must be of good character and of impeccable integrity.

4. An applicant must register for the award with a non-refundable fee of #300 000 (Three hundred thousand naira).

5. He must submit to the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee a list of ten judges of superior courts of record before whom he has appeared and argued important cases. The Committee will select any three of those judges to give testimonial statements about the applicant.

6. He must also submit a list of colleagues with whom he has handled cases. Three of whom will be selected to give testimonial statements about him.

7. An applicant must submit the particulars of contested cases in which he personally handled: 8 judgments of the High Court, 6 judgments of the Court of Appeal and 3 judgments of the Supreme Court. But where he appeared only before the Supreme Court, he will be required to submit 6 judgments of the Supreme Court.

8. An applicant must show evidence of payment of practising fee and membership dues to his local branch of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for at least 10 years preceding the year of applying for the award of SAN.

9. He must also show evidence of the payment of income tax for at least 3 years preceding his application.

10. The Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) has a duty to inspect the applicant’s firm to assess: the size and quality of his library, the number and competence of staff and the space and quality of other facilities in the firm.

12. For academics in law, at least 20 copies of outstanding published legal works must be presented to the Committee.

13. Academics must also show that their works are published by reputable publishers whose reputation shall be assessed and determined by the academic sub-committee of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC).