As the legal world evolves, we sought the perspectives of four young and driven lawyers to shed light on their aspirations for 2024 and their insights into the unfolding trends within the legal field. In this article, we bring you their compelling responses, offering a glimpse into the ambitions that fuel their professional journeys and the major shifts they foresee in the legal landscape.
Ian Nyanchoga
Q. Please give us your name.
A. Ian Nyanchoga
Q. When were you admitted to the Bar?
A. 28 March 2018
Q. Where do you work and in what position do you serve?
A. Deputy Managing Partner, MMW Advocates LLP.
Q. What were your career highlights in 2023?
A. My career highlights for 2023 were being admitted into partnership after six years of practice and being awarded one of the young lawyers of the year at the Nairobi Legal Awards 2023.
Q. What trends or new phenomena (in the economy and/or the legal space) caught your attention in 2023? Why?
A. In 2023, the economy saw significant shifts due to the COVID-19 aftermath and political landscape changes. Businesses embraced continuity plans by adapting to these challenges. Important regulatory trends also included combating unfair practices in the retail and steel sector, addressing digital lending breaches through imposed fines, and regulating AI to prevent intellectual property breaches. Recognition of emojis in contracts and the rise of carbon markets equally added unique dimensions to the legal sector prompting the government to respond by reviewing outdated laws in acknowledgment of the present impact of technology on the legal landscape.
Q. What trends do you predict for the legal space in 2024?
A. In 2024, expect public interest litigation as the government addresses its debt burden to internally recognized funds. Public interest litigation will challenge the government tax strategies, emphasizing transparency and public participation concerns. Additionally, rigorous regulation of carbon markets is anticipated to combat climate change. The government’s financial practices will face heightened scrutiny, ensuring compliance with borrowing agreements and assessing economic stability. Overall, 2024 trends center around fiscal strategies, legal challenges, and environmental regulations in response to pressing economic concerns.
Q. What is your mantra, going into the new year?
A. Fortune favors the bold!
Q. Lastly, what is your bold prediction for 2024? What new trends/phenomena do you think we will see this year?
A. In 2024, I anticipate a bold shift in the regulatory landscape with the introduction of stringent cross-border regulations addressing data breaches in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). These regulations will emphasize proactive measures to safeguard sensitive information and impose severe penalties for mishandling data within AI applications. This collective global effort aims to establish a robust standard for data security in the era of advanced AI, fostering trust and accountability in the digital landscape. This pivotal development is poised to shape new trends, bringing about heightened awareness and diligence in the responsible use of AI technologies.
Effie Joan Atieno
Q. Please give us your name.
A. Effie Joan Atieno
Q. When were you admitted to the Bar?
A. June 2023.
Q. Where do you work and in what position do you serve?
A. Terre des Hommes Foundation, Access to Justice Specialist.
Q. What were your career highlights in 2023?
A. My admission to the bar, my first court appearance and the first matter I handled alone.
Q. What trends or new phenomena (in the economy and/or the legal space) caught your attention in 2023? Why?
A. AI and Tech overall and its influence over different areas of law. AI took everyone by storm and sparked a lot of debate on whether or not it came for our jobs but it was nice to see the younger advocates adjust and find ways of using such tech advancements to make their work easy. There was a lot a lot going on in the data protection space.
Q. What trends do you predict for the legal space in 2024?
A. Environment is growing to be one of those areas of law being embraced by the younger bar and it is one space to watch out for. I think Tech will also dominate considering the advancements made between last year and now, there is growing tension when it comes to the use of AI in media and advertising and I am also looking forward to see where this takes us.
Q. What is your mantra, going into the new year?
A. Just Do It!
Q. Lastly, what is your bold prediction for 2024? What new trends/phenomena do you think we will see this year?
A. Slow but steady phasing out of the archaic ways of practicing law or traditional practice areas. Nothing against the OGs but it’s a new era and things are changing so fast. I see a lot of young advocates abandoning those conventional or mainstream areas of law for more unconventional areas.
In conclusion, our enlightening conversation with Effie Joan Atieno has provided us with invaluable insights. However, there are still many fascinating aspects and perspectives that we’ve barely scratched the surface of. We believe that you, our readers, would greatly benefit from a deeper exploration of these topics around what a day-to-day Justice specialist does.
Just like Effie, we too are eager to delve deeper into these intriguing subjects and continue this enlightening dialogue.
Nicole Msando
Q. Please give us your name.
A. Nicole Msando
Q. When were you admitted to the Bar?
A. 12th May 2022.
Q. Where do you work and in what position do you serve?
A. I am a Freelancer/Self-employed.
Q. What were your career highlights in 2023?
A. My major career highlight in 2023 is challenging myself to get into the freelancing space and confidently handle the briefs given to me.
Q. What trends or new phenomena (in the economy and/or the legal space) caught your attention in 2023? Why?
A. Data protection and cybersecurity E-commerce, Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency regulation Because these phenomena brought to our attention the need for new laws and regulations, introduced new practice areas and unlocked new horizons for the legal space.
Q. What trends do you predict for the legal space in 2024?
A. Continuous growth in the Environmental law space Additionally legal representation for digital content creators focusing on the entertainment and IP law space.
Q. What is your mantra, going into the new year?
A. Progress, Not Perfection – to serve as a reminder to myself that the journey is more important than reaching an ideal endpoint, to celebrate the small victories and continuous improvement
Q. Lastly, what is your bold prediction for 2024? What new trends/phenomena do you think we will see this year?
A. Bold prediction for 2024 The continued expansion of Artificial Intelligence in the legal space increase of legal tech and the rise of ESG and climate-related litigation.
Our conversation with Nicole Msando has provided us with remarkable insights into the freelancing aspect of the law.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Nicole for taking the time to share her thoughts and experiences with us. Her openness and willingness to share have made this interview a rich source of information.
Beverly Tracy
Q. Please give us your name.
A. BEVERLY TRACY
Q. When were you admitted to the Bar?
A. November 23rd 2023
Q. Where do you work and in what position do you serve?
A. I am an Associate Advocate practicing as such at the law firm of Simba and Simba Advocates.
Q. What were your career highlights in 2023?
A. The year ended 2023 was such a monumental year for me granted it was my year of admission to the bar. For a long time, I’d hoped to sign the Roll of Advocates and finally, here it was, a shift in the pedestal, from a student of the law into one who has to live out my newfound reality as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. As an Advocate, I found myself bolder to take on more responsibilities and so, I immersed myself in diverse advocacy channels ranging from litigation to alternative dispute resolution and strategic human rights practice. I am also enthusiastic about industry and innovation, it is for this reason, that I took a deep interest in commercial corporate law wherein I helped provide legal services to numerous businesses and startups. Over and above conventional practice, I have a strong passion for community and as such, I engaged in more legal aid activities to enhance legal awareness to the general public.
Q. What trends or new phenomena (in the economy and/or the legal space) caught your attention in 2023? Why?
A. Data Protection and Digital Rights: Following the advancements in technology and its accelerated use post-COVID-19, the legal space has taken a strong stance in data protection to advance and defend the right to privacy. I resonate that with the continued breakthroughs in the realms of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, FinTech, this trend is going to be with us for a long while.
Q. What trends do you predict for the legal space in 2024?
A. Climate Justice; I say this about the current government’s interest in green growth and its impact on our socio-economic outcomes. I resonate that more lawyers would gravitate their passions towards climate control and stability, and just mine what we can to develop our skills around it.
Q. What is your mantra, going into the new year?
A. Excellence honors God and inspires men. In everything I have set out to do in 2024, I will do it relentlessly to excel!
Q. Lastly, what is your bold prediction for 2024? What new trends/phenomena do you think we will see this year?
A. As earlier mentioned, I think the conversation around climate change will be bolder, hopefully, we might see businesses take on ESG policies a lot more seriously. Discussions surrounding maritime practice and the blue economy will only add weight to this. Taxation has become such a hot topic as well. With the inflation adjustments in our economy, we hope to see the contractual operations of businesses become more streamlined and I believe, we, as lawyers, can take up the mantle to aid in that capacity.
As we wrap up this insightful interview, we are left with a wealth of knowledge and a desire to learn more. Beverly Tracy has shared her unique perspectives and experiences, but there’s still so much more to uncover.
