Game of Thrones is based on the storyline of A Song of Ice and Fire written by George R.R Martin, set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the continent of Essos. The series chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among the realm’s noble families for the Iron Throne, while other families fight for independence from it. It opens with additional threats in the icy North and Essos in the east.

The Game of Thrones Finale is set for release this Sunday, the media space is hyped, the gateway to the cinema is flooded with anticipation of what will happen to the favorite characters of fans of this great series; and the recurring question: who will sit on the Iron Throne?

In this article we will not delve in to the politics of Westeros but we will discuss the characters we need to imbibe in our professional careers, particularly in the legal profession using the figures from this popular series. Attitude is everything we do, it determines our altitude and the sail of our ships in life. Using the figures from Game of Thrones, it will illuminate the topic in our minds to something we can relate to. Unfortunately, if you do not watch the series, there are some terms I will have to describe which may be unfamiliar to you; no big deal, you should be able to relate to the morals of this gist. Join me on this.

JON SNOW- Humility, selflessness and Leadership

Jon Snow, born Aegon Targaryen, is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, the late Prince of Dragonstone. From infancy, Jon is presented as the bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark, Lyanna’s brother, and raised by Eddard alongside his lawful children at Winterfell but his true parentage is kept secret from everyone, including Jon himself; the truth of the matter is that He’s never been a bastard, but rather He’s the heir to the Iron Throne. He is arguable the most loved character in this series. His qualities of selflessness earned him the highest position in the Night’s Watch. He made decisions calculated to safeguard the interest of mankind against the White walkers. This is a good way to describe him: “he is a man of complex, thoughtful and basically good character”

As a legal practitioner, your endgame in the legal profession should not just to be affluent and powerful, you should be able to translate these tools to benefit mankind. The lawyer’s creed is to benefit mankind with humility and selflessness. As a professional, you should be a leader, you should be able to take charge of situations; this is how Jon Snow operates, his mindset is one automatically engineered to help others despite the odds

TYRION- Reader.

Lord Tyrion Lannister is the youngest child of Lord Tywin Lannister and younger brother of Cersei and Jaime Lannister. A dwarf, he uses his wit and intellect to overcome the prejudice he faces. By his physique, he is the most helpless in the series; however, that is the most ironical fact. He has the greatest gift which helped him fight all his battles thus far: His Mind! One time, he told the bastard, Jon Snow: “My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind… and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge. That’s why I read so much, Jon Snow.” What is the important message here? Your knowledge is your power!

As a legal practitioner, you need to read extensively, I believe this is an over flogged issue, but it must still be mentioned. You need to feed your mind with the right information, read books. Hold it there, I do not mean you need to read legal regulations extensively, no! Those only contribute 10% of the knowledge you should acquire, when you read all law related books, you have only saturated the 10% and left the 90% unfed. Read books on leadership, politics, society, in fact, everything you can get your hands. You really need a whetstone, lawyer!

EDDARD STARK- Honor and Family

Eddard was born at Winterfell as the second son of Lord Rickard Stark and Lady Lyarra Stark. He had one older brother, Brandon, and two younger siblings, Lyanna and Benjen. Eddard is known for his unwavering sense of honor and justice and his family finds him kind, although some consider his reserved personality a sign of coldness and disdain. Among his enemies, Eddard has the reputation of having cold, judgmental eyes thought to reflect his frozen heart; he was the patriarch of the Stark family until his death. His death was largely due to the protection of his family and his honor. He is quoted to have said: “The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”

While we cannot deny our profession is built on honor, we must strive to protect it. The legal profession is one family and jurisdiction is only a false distinction which can be severed; our texture is of the same fabric. There is no doubt that the family of lawyers are one, we must protect the bond.

ARYA- Courage

Arya is the youngest daughter and third child of Lord Eddard Stark, the head of House Stark and Warden of the North, and Lady Catelyn Tully. The death of her father, led her to early maturity as she sojourned through the Westlands in search of strength.  During her journey, Arya is subjected to many hard situations in the war-torn riverlands. Her fiery personality prompts her to take the initiative and fight back, and so she is led to kill and ultimately wishes to murder specific characters herself. This course of action is supposed to end as of A Feast for Crows with her being an assassin trainee in Braavos, as the leader stresses becoming indifferent to death and killing. She continues, however, to repeat to herself the names of the people she wishes dead. Some names are added as she goes, and others are dropped when the character dies or becomes closer to her. She calls it a prayer,[6][19] and ends it with the words valar morghulis

The courage of Arya is worthy of emulation, as legal practitioners, we should not fear death, loss or the negatives, we must strive to beat the odds to  be the best. The reality is that we must face the storms of life to get what we want and the only attribute that can buy this gold: Courage

Hey! Please feel free to click the highlighted links to get more story on Game of Thrones. You could as well comment on the strengths of the figures you like.

This article is written by Adedoyin Fadare,

An enthusiast of Game of Thrones,

For feedback, contact him at fadare@thepalmagazine.com