{"id":88301,"date":"2025-03-04T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T08:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dnllegalandstyle.com\/dnl\/?p=88301"},"modified":"2025-03-04T08:00:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T08:00:52","slug":"gentlemen-and-esquires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dnllegalandstyle.com\/dnl\/gentlemen-and-esquires\/","title":{"rendered":"Gentlemen and Esquires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Professor \u2019Gbenga Bamodu, FCIArb<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attending a meeting of a regional branch of the Nigerian Bar Association for the first time some time ago, a \u2018neophyte\u2019 of some sort could not help being amused by some incidences and turns of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being familiar with the old saw \u2018there are no ladies\/women at the bar\u2019 it was still amusing and a bit jarring to hear a number of female lawyers introduce themselves in the manner \u201cHalima Sandra Esquire<\/em>\u201d (this being a made-up name used only for exemplification).  The cognitive dissonance of the hapless observer was not exactly helped by the Chairman and other speakers (on the podium as well as on the floor) referring to an audience that consisted of about 40% women only as \u2018gentlemen\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite familiarity with the \u2018no ladies at the bar\u2019 saying and its usage in Nigerian lawyer circles, the manner of usage on this particular occasion raised the question whether the users of \u2018gentlemen\u2019 for the mixed audience ever considered the potential, at least, for sexism implicit or associated with such usage. Indeed, it is possible that it is seen as an expression of equality making the female equal to the male —- but then why isn\u2019t everyone addressed as \u2018ladies\u2019 then? In that case, we would of course probably have to come up with a new saying, \u2018there are no men\u2019 at the bar. Or we could choose a more appropriate manner of achieving gender neutrality \u2013 if that really was our aim: \u201cThere is no longer \u2026 male and female \u2026.\u201d (Galatians 3:28)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experience at the NBA regional branch meeting led to wondering whether those who are still wont to repeat the \u2018no ladies at the bar\u2019 mantra realise its historical association with discrimination and sexism. As summarised in a relatively recent piece<\/a>, the \u2018common slogan arouse (sic<\/em>) from the age long discrimination against women in legal practice\u2019.  Another piece<\/a> traces the origins back to a 14th<\/sup> century book which made the claim and was quoted approvingly by even someone as eminent and illustrious as Sir Edward Coke in the 16th<\/sup> century. Of course, even more egregious is the decision in Bebb v The Law Society <\/em><\/a> (1914) 1CH 286where the Court of Appeal affirmed Joyce J (not giving much joy for one whose name might have been apt) ruling that women could not be solicitors because they did not fall within the meaning of \u2018a person\u2019 in the Solicitors Act 1843 and they could not carry out public functions, noting that this must remain so \u2018unless and until\u2019 the Parliament changed the law.[1]<\/a> Mercifully, Parliament eventually obliged with the passing of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 which allowed women to become lawyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is delicate and a bit more difficult to criticise the use of \u2018Esquire\u2019 for and by female lawyers. It is delicate because it is used by female lawyers for themselves. Usage is of course the nemesis of language sticklers and pettifoggers (hands up someone?) \u2026 it is difficult to challenge as wrong something which everyone does or uses. It is a bit more difficult because it also done in at least one other jurisdiction, to wit the USA, but even more importantly because it seems to carry the sanction of the Nigerian Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a well-intended intervention, the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, is reported<\/a> to have stated in open court in 2017 that female barristers should not be compelled in court to indicate their marital status when announcing their appearance in proceedings. His Lordship not only advised them to resist this, he advised further<\/a> that they should avoid using the titles Miss\/Mrs\/Ms. So far so good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trickier aspect of Onnoghen CJ\u2019s intervention is that His Lordship also advised that the form to be used for entering appearance should be \u2018Esquire\u2019. The trouble with this is that according to received etiquette, the title \u2018Esquire\u2019 is really only used in written forms of address and not in verbal address. And even more, outside the American and Nigerian lawyer use, the honorific \u2018Esquire\u2019 is largely a masculine notation which in modern times effectively equates and replaces \u2018Mr\u2019, being used as a suffix, i.e., at the end of a name rather than before. The etymological and historical origins<\/a> of the word and its usage and association in heraldry are also clearly of masculine denotation. It is quite safe to say that if a female addresses herself or is addressed with the title \u2018Esquire\u2019 in the United Kingdom today, a few eyebrows would be raised. Indeed, while Nigerian female judges would still be addressed as \u201cmy Lord\u201d or \u201cLord Justice\u201d, female judges in England have long used and been addressed with feminine titles, and indeed a very notable former President of the United Kingdom\u2019s Supreme Court is the eminent and much respected \u2018Lady Hale\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigerian law circles as well as the wider Nigerian society are actually very ripe grounds for pickings to \u2018befuddle\u2019 English language \u2018sticklers\u2019. To ape the epistle writer, time may not permit to speak of the use of expressions like \u201cmy Lord Sir\u201d, \u201cseverally\u201d, \u201cthe needful\u201d or the most ghastly \u201cpalliatives\u201d brought about during the Covid-19 lock-down era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

* Professor \u2018Gbenga Bamodu is a legal and arbitration practitioner and a partner at Phillipsons Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> Contrast the Privy Council\u2019s decision on eligibility of women for the Canadian senate in Edwards v Attorney-General of Canada & Ors<\/a> [1930] AC 124, 1929 UKPC 86, a case which later became the referred to as \u2018the living tree doctrine\u2019 (of Constitutional interpretation) case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Professor \u2019Gbenga Bamodu, FCIArb Attending a meeting of a regional branch of the Nigerian Bar Association for the first time some time ago, a \u2018neophyte\u2019 of some sort could not help being amused by some incidences and turns of events. Despite being familiar with the old saw \u2018there are no ladies\/women at the bar\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":88302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-opinions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t