How to become a lawyer in Kenya

It is not too hard for you to become a lawyer in Kenya, but there are several hurdles you will need to overcome.

 The first hurdle you will need to overcome, if you wish to become a lawyer in Kenya, is that of passing the KCSE exam (and passing well). The KCSE exam is quite tough, yet you need to have very decent grades in it if you are to keep your dream of becoming a lawyer in Kenya alive. Like for instance, if you wish to be admitted into the regular (module 1) Bachelor of Laws degree program at a good university – like the University of Nairobi, Parklands Campus -- you would probably need to have scored an A or A- in your KCSE. But there are Kenya Bachelor of Laws programs into which you can get admitted even if you scored a B plain in KCSE, perhaps even a B- or a C+. Whatever you do, you must see to it that you get at least a C+ in your KCSE, with at least a C+ in English for your dream of becoming a lawyer in Kenya to remain alive. Good grades at form four level are not just about getting yourself admitted into the Bachelor of Laws degree program. They come in handy later when you are applying for lawyer positions, and it has also been observed that students who had better grades at form four tend to perform better in the Kenya bar exams (which you have to pass, in order to be admitted to the bar).

The second hurdle for you to overcome in your journey towards becoming a lawyer in Kenya is that of getting admitted to a law school. The Kenyan system is one where you move straight from form four to law school (unlike the American JD lawyer system, where after high school, you first do a general degree program before joining law school). Previously, only the University of Nairobi used to offer Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programs. But nowadays, there are numerous universities offering LLB, including Moi University, Kenyatta University, Mount Kenya university, Riara University and so on. Just ensure that the university you join is one whose Bachelor of Laws program is recognized, to avoid encountering problems later on.

The third hurdle for you to overcome in your journey towards becoming a lawyer in Kenya is that of actually completing the Bachelor of Laws program. It is quite a tough course, with units in areas like Tort law, Criminal Law, Constitutional law, commercial law and conveyance, Jurisprudence… it is quite taxing. But if you really apply your mind to it, you can complete it successfully with four years or so.

The fourth hurdle for you to overcome in your journey towards becoming a lawyer in Kenya is that of getting yourself admitted to the Kenya School of law, for the postgraduate diploma in legal practice. Many years ago, people who completed the Bachelor of Laws program at the University of Nairobi would be admitted into the Kenyan roll of advocates straightaway. But that is in the past. Nowadays, you have to go through the Kenya School of Law, and complete the postgraduate diploma, in order to proceed.

The fifth hurdle for you to overcome, in your journey towards becoming a lawyer in Kenya is that of passing the bar exam. It is a considerably difficult exam, and at one point, failure rates in the Kenya bar exam became so high that the matter had to be discussed in parliament! Still, when all is said and done, you will need to pass the bar exam, in order to become a lawyer in Kenya. It is upon passing that exam that you are admitted to the roll of advocates, and given the advocate’s oath – usually at the Supreme Court of Kenya premises, and usually by the Chief Justice. That then makes you an advocate of the high court of Kenya – in other words, a Kenyan lawyer.