Freshly called to the Nigerian Bar and armed with only a cursory knowledge of the case file, a lawyer, Taiwo Aromolaran, has recalled how she battled nerves when she unexpectedly found herself facing a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) during her first court appearance.
Sharing the experience on her Facebook page, Aromolaran said the encounter taught her that true courtroom confidence comes not from watching senior lawyers, but from taking responsibility as lead counsel.
According to her, the unexpected test came in 2021 when she appeared before the Federal High Court and discovered that she would be opposing veteran lawyer, C.A. Okpoko (SAN) before Justice D.U. Okorowo, then of the Federal High Court. 
“My hands started to tremble of their own accord,” she wrote, explaining that she had only briefly reviewed the latest filings and had not studied the voluminous case file in detail. While other lawyers chatted before proceedings began, she said she quietly sat in a corner trying to absorb the contents of the file.
The matter, which had begun about a decade before she was called to the Bar, was slated for the hearing of a motion on notice rather than the substantive case.
Aromolaran recounted that the Senior Advocate urged the court to discountenance her client’s counter-affidavit and written address for being filed out of time under the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, while also seeking an award of costs.
With no authorities to rely on, she said she noticed one crucial point, which was that the matter was criminal. But the opposing counsel was relying on the Civil Procedure Rules. She raised the issue before the court, prompting what she described as a passionate response from the Senior Advocate.
The judge, recognising that she was a newly called lawyer, advised her to make an oral application for an extension of time.
“I stuttered. I fumbled. But I made the application,” she wrote, adding that the move helped her client avoid a ₦500,000 costs award.
Reflecting on the experience, Aromolaran said surviving her first appearance against a SAN gave her lasting confidence. She advised young lawyers to seek opportunities to lead cases instead of spending years only observing senior colleagues.
“Confidence does not come from watching others exclusively. Confidence comes from doing, from trying your hands on it,” she wrote.
She acknowledged that mistakes are inevitable, but argued that growth comes from embracing difficult assignments rather than avoiding them.
“Show me the proof of a warrior’s famed strength without the accompanying scars,” she added.
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