The legal profession is one of the most prestigious in
Kenya, and indeed all over the world. Given that fact, it is hardly surprising
that we often encounter questions as to how exactly one can go about becoming a
lawyer in Kenya. Some of the people who pose this question turn out to be
recent form 4 graduates, who are considering pursuing a career in law within
Kenya. Others turn out to be individuals who did their KCSE long ago, pursued
other careers, but are now considering switching to law. Other still turn out
to be individual who were lawyers in other jurisdictions, but want to start
practicing law in Kenya.
So, how do you become a lawyer in Kenya? Well, the simple
answer is that to become a lawyer in Kenya, you would need to study law. If you
want to practice as an advocate, you would (on top of earning a law degree) have to get yourself called to the
bar/admitted to Kenya’s roll of advocates. It is only after you are called to
the bar/admitted to Kenya’s roll of advocates that you can start representing
clients in court.
Generally, the route to becoming a lawyer in Kenya starts
with performing well at high school level/getting a decent KCSE grade.
The
second step is to study for a law degree. Nowadays, there are many universities
in Kenya that offer law degrees. So you enroll for a law degree, at a
university that is allowed to offer the same by the relevant authorities/a university that all the relevant accreditations.
Then
once you complete your (typically 4 year) law degree, you enroll for the
postgraduate diploma in law at Kenya School of Law.
Then you pass the bar exam
(which some people claim is hard, given the high failure rate).
Then you do
pupilage and ultimately get called to the bar, to become an advocate of the
high court of Kenya.
Studying for a law degree in Kenya can be
expensive, especially if you are a privately sponsored student. But you canapply for a HELB loan, if you are eligible for one. The process of applying
for a HELB loan, just like the process of applying for a kra pin mainly
entails filling in some forms online. Then once you get the HELB money, you can
use it to finance your law degree studies. After that, you would need to find the
money to finance Kenya School of Law studies, as well as money to finance the
bar exam... It is definitely a long route, but the rewards can be truly worthwhile at the end of it all.
