There are two types of Lawyers: one keeps you from having legal issues, the other tries to rescue you from trouble you have already fallen into.
A transactional Lawyer, especially in property and business investments, helps you avoid making legal mistakes.
A litigation Lawyer steps in after the damage is done: when the mess is already ugly and try to patch what is left, if anything can still be saved.
A transactional Lawyer is the one who reviews your land purchase documents before you pay; drafts your business Agreements before you sign; checks ownership, verifies legal compliance; conducts thorough due diligence (investigations) and spots red flags before you run into deep legal potholes.
Embracing preventive legal measures is legal intelligence.
But when you ignore this and go blindly into transactions, you may soon find yourself in courtrooms, begging for a way out. That is when the litigation Lawyer enters: after your land is grabbed, after your business is sued or fined, after the contract turns against you.
By then it is no longer about prevention; it would then be about damage control. Sometimes that damage is permanent.
Prevention is always cheaper, smarter and safer than cure.
The difference is clear: one keeps you out of legal trouble. The other shows up when it may already be too late.
APEX CHAMBERS, Law Firm of Property/Real Estate and Business/Corporate /Commercial Lawyers, Attorneys, Barristers, Solicitors Advocates, Legal Practitioners rendering legal services, Legal Consultants and Notary Public in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria