Legal Awards season is upon us yet again, and we’re here to celebrate legal excellence and honor the learned friends using their legal skills to drive innovation and make positive change across the continent. To start us off, we take a peek into the Africa Legal Awards.
The 12th Edition of the Africa Legal Awards, hosted in collaboration between Law.com and the Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa, was held on September 5, 2025, at the Protea Hotel in Johannesburg. According to Habiba Cullen-Jaffar, a reporter with Law.com International, the awards, which shine a spotlight on the outstanding achievements of African legal trailblazers, go beyond offering awards to recognize the dedication, perseverance, and talent across the legal industry.
The Awards featured three main award categories:
- Private Practice
- In-house
- Private Practice & In-house (open to both of the above categories)
The qualifications for a nomination under each category were that the nominee operates seamlessly across multiple jurisdictions in Africa, offering consistent service quality and expertise. Additionally, the nominees were to demonstrate strategic vision, innovation, business acumen, client care (efficient and cost-effective service delivery), employee development, sustainable improvement in financial performance, and commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). The yardstick for analyzing the above was significant progress in the last 12-18 months.
Kenya’s legal industry presented multiple nominations in the Private Practice category, with names such as ALN Kenya|Anjarwalla & Khanna, Kaplan & Stratton, and Africa Law Partners, featuring under the Law Firm of the Year sub-category. The Africa Legal Network, founded by Anjarwalla and Khanna in 2004, was also a nominee for Africa Network of the Year and won the award against contenders such as DLA Piper Africa. DLA Piper Africa and Africa Law Partners were among the nominees under the Africa Law Firm of the Year- East Africa category.
Besides the overall Law Firm of the Year awards, the private practice category also featured subcategories that highlighted high performers across various practice areas. Such practice areas included capital markets, employment law, environment, energy & natural resources, IP, litigation & dispute resolution, private equity, and Mergers and Acquisitions. Anjarwalla & Khanna featured prominently in multiple subcategories, including Mergers and Acquisitions Team of the Year, where they were crowned winners. Additionally, they were also contenders for the Capital Markets Team of the Year, alongside IKM Law. They were also the only Kenyan nominees in the Environmental, Energy, & Natural Resources Team of the Year category.
IKM Law, on the other hand, won the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year Award, adding more stars to the DLA Piper Africa network. DLA Piper Africa also received the CSR, Diversity, Transformation & Economic Empowerment Award. The category also featured another Kenyan entry, Karanja Njenga Advocates.
Other Kenyan entries that featured among the nominees during the 2025 Africa Legal Awards included TripleOKLaw Advocates LLP, Cliffe Dekker Hofmyer, Muthara Mugambi Ayugi & Njonjo Advocates, and Cavendrys WAM Advocates. TripleOKLaw Advocates LLP featured as a nominee in five categories: Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year, Property and Construction Team of the Year, Private Equity Team of the Year, Restructuring Team of the Year, and Employment Law Team of the Year. Muthara Mugambi Ayugi & Njonjo Advocates, a woman-led firm, was nominated under the M&A team of the Year-Medium Sized Category, while Cavendrys WAM LLP, also a women-led firm established in 2025, qualified for the specialist law firm of the year shortlist.
Besides the highlighted law firms, the Private Practice category also highlighted individual practitioners under the Practitioner of the Year, East Africa category. Kenya was represented in this category by four nominees:
- Agnes Kanjejo of O&M Law
- George Muchiri Mwangi of CMS| Daly Inamdar Advocates
- Rosa Nduati-Mutero of Anjarwalla & Khanna, and
- Samuel Kissu of Africa Law Partners
Also featured was Sharon Ndunge Muoki from Anjarwalla and Khanna, nominated for the Most Promising Newcomer Award.
Safaricom PLC shone in the awards’ in-house categories, making the shortlist for the Legal Department of the Year and the ESG Initiative of the Year. Additionally, two members of its in-house team, Ms Theresa Mruttu and Ms Wangechi Gichuki, received nominations under the Senior In-house Counsel of The Year and Women Leaders in Law Categories, respectively.
A Side-by-Side Comparison of the 2024 and the 2025 Africa Legal Awards
The Kenyan legal sector has stepped up in the 2025 Africa Legal Awards, as showcased by increased nominations across most specialized area categories compared to 2024. Moreover, the wins by Anjarwalla & Khanna and IKM Law show that the country’s legal sector is gaining more traction in the continental arena.
The appearance of boutique Kenyan law firms, such as Muthara Mugambi Ayugi & Njonjo Advocates and Cavendrys WAM Advocates LLP, also shows that niche players are gaining traction and competing against full-service law firms. It also points to a maturing market where clients are paying attention to expertise and agility as selling points.
However, it’s also worth noting that while Kenyan law firms and legal departments featured in the regional East African categories, South and West African law firms dominated the top titles, such as The Law Firm of the Year Award. Therefore, there’s definitely more room for growth for Kenyan law firms and legal departments.
