Court cases have been the order of the day in recent months leading Kenyans to familiarise with legal jargon.
A few examples include petition amicus curiae, jurisprudence, obiter dicta and of course Senior Counsel.
During the election petition at the Supreme Court in 2017, various lawyers were present including Senior Counsel James Orengo, George Oraro, Paul Muite, Fred Ngatia, Ahmednassir Abdullahi among others.
[caption caption="AG Githu Muigai and Senior Counsel Fred Ngatia"]
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The lawyers would often refer to each other using terms like 'Senior Counsel' leaving many to wonder why the title was for a selected few.
According to the Advocates Act, the title is conferred on lawyers who have served as advocates of the High Court of Kenya for over 15 years and are of high professional integrity.
"A person shall not be eligible to be a Senior Counsel unless he is a duly enrolled advocate of the High Court of not less than fifteen years’ standing...
"The President may grant a letter of conferment to any person of irreproachable professional conduct who has rendered exemplary service to the legal and public service in Kenya conferring upon him the rank and dignity of Senior Counsel," reads the Constitution.
It is important to note that one has to apply and undergo vetting to be considered for the title.
Those promoted to the elite class recently include Attorney-General Githu Muigai, Keriako Tobiko, Raychelle Omamo, Mr Abdullahi, Mr Orengo, University of Nairobi School of Law Dean Patricia Kameri-Mbote and Pheroze Nowrojee.
Others are Tom Ojienda, Kenneth Akide, Okong’o Omogeni, Kenneth Fraser, Mr Oraro, Joyce Majiwa, Lucy Kambuni and Omesh Kapila.
[caption caption="Lawyers Njoroge Regeru, George Oraro, Katwa Kigen and James Orengo "]
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