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Young Advocates earn as low as Sh 8000 per month

On December 16, 2019 top city advocate Mr. Charles Kanjama, who by then was the Law Society of Kenya, Nairobi Branch Chair issued guidelines for the enhancement of Practice for young lawyers.

One of the emerging issues which the guidelines aimed to resolve was the mistreatment of young lawyers and students undergoing the Advocate Training Program (ATP) at their  various work environments. The preamble of the guidelines fessed up that the progressive personal development , welfare and general practice of young lawyers had been hindered by a lack of clear guidelines.

In order to ameliorate the challenges facing young lawyers, the guidelines suggested for:

1) an improved and reasonably acceptable salary remuneration

2) exemplary mentorship programs

3) improvement of the practicing conditions and welfare issues of young lawyers.

The guidelines further capped the salaries of pupils and young advocates to a minimum of ksh 20,000 and Ksh 40,000 respectively in as far as the practice was centered in Nairobi, Kiambu and Thika Chapters.

Despite the rich guidelines, a young advocate Mr. Levi Munyeri has recently addressed a letter to the LSK.  By the foregoing, intricacies of the letter reveal that the guidelines were merely hot air as young lawyers are still in need of an urgent intervention from the Law Society of Kenya with regards to the deplorable working conditions and exploitation which they are put through in Kenyan law firms.

Among the operatic averments by Mr Munyeri include: an increase of law firms engaging young advocates on employment without contracts of service; summary dismissal of young advocates; sexual harassment whereby young female advocates are required to flaunt their sultriness; overtime work without extra pay and monthly wages as low as Ksh 8000 (Scroll below to see the attached letter).

The letter is calling for the outspoken LSK president Mr. Nelson Havi to interecede and make life bearable for the young advocates who are the future gatekeepers of justice in Kenya.

Recently, during the build up for the LSK general elections, city lawyer Steve Ogolla had called on members of the profession to be accommodating to young lawyers in what was seen by critics as a mere social media rant.

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