Strathmore University Law School hosted an open discussion forum between Anjarwalla & Khanna firm and the law school students.

 

Anjarwalla & Khanna is a top tier law firm in Kenya and Africa, that has won the African Law Firm of the year, 3 times. No other African law firm has won the award on more than one occasion.

 

The discussion forum, targeted 3^rd and 4^th year students who were well represented. The forum consisted of a panel of speakers from the firm that included; Dominic Rebelo – a pupillage partner, Jacob Ochieng – a senior associate, and Carolyne Mwaura – Deputy Talent Manager. The three discussed insights on the inner workings of the top tier firm giving an understanding of what it takes to reach the top and maintain their position consistently.

 

The panel opened the forum with a brief overview of the history of the firm, which travels back to a small firm in Mombasa started in 1953. They also gave an overview of the firm’s position in the Kenyan legal profession today. They further shared their views on some of the up and coming fields within the legal profession, demystifying the recent perception that the legal profession in Kenya has become saturated. The panel summarized on how firms select and train legal interns and legal trainees who are given the chance to work in rotation through all four of its departments.

 

Law school alumni’s of the pioneer class, Christopher Ndegwa and Yvonne Muthembwa, who are pupillage interns at the firm, also took time to address the students. The duo shared their personal experiences highlighting that, through determination, working at the best firm in Kenya right after graduation is indeed an achievable vision.

 

Finally, the floor was opened for question and answer sessions where students asked questions on the firm and the panels’ views towards the future of their profession, their work ethics and reaching higher levels in the legal profession.

 

As a take away, students were challenged and motivated to work hard to reach the positions of their peers on the panel of one of top firms in Africa. It was made clear that the legal profession is indeed still growing and has many gaps to be exploited by the far from saturated legal practitioners. The panel also left students with application forms so that they could grab the opportunity for placements at the firm next year.

 

 

Article by students Kanyiri Kariuki & Alexander Otuka