On 14th and 15th November, 2022, the Law Society of Kenya hosted a delegation of the Bar Council led by the Chair Mark Fenhalls KC to a symposium intended to exchange skills, experience and knowledge between the two Bars. The symposium that ran for two days was marked with a networking cocktail event together with courtesy calls on the British High Commissioner and the Chief Justice.
The Symposium was segmented into panel discussions led by industry leaders such as the Chair of the Nairobi Centre of International Arbitration, Ms. Jacqueline Oyuyo. On the first day, Richard Wison KC Stated there are 55 signatories to the Singapore Convention. Out of the 55, 12 are african countries; including Nigeria and Ghana. Kenya is not a signatory, closing the door to several opportunities. It was a call to expand the scope for practitioners in the country.
The second day of the Kenya- UK Legal Symposium was opened by Vice President Faith Odhiambo. Today’s panels will cover discussions on arbitration and the independence of the judiciary and the bar. The first session of today was moderated by Karishma Vor. With a wealth of knowledge and experience, the panel focused on Africa-related ADR hot topics and international commercial arbitration.
Further, the Law Society of Kenya signed a Memorandum of Understanding as a framework for collaboration between the Kenyan Bar and the Bar Council of England & Wales on practice issues. The Mou can be found on this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y73HmbXPHQz8ZQvZe-1n0ZDNBKJnTijB/view?usp=sharing
We are extremely excited by the partnership and we believe that this should enable our practitioners to develop mutual relationships and expand and diversify their practice.
