LSK must step up pursuit of social good

The Law Society of Kenya’s (LSK) annual conference in Mombasa has provided a forum where the role of lawyers to promote social good has been at the centre of discussions. Various speakers have theorised about the evolving role of lawyers in Kenya’s social and political transformation with the widening of democratic space.

While some like Deputy William Ruto would like to see less exploitation of legal loopholes to circumvent the law — particularly in the procurement of goods and services by the government — others have called for a socially conscious class of legal professionals.

Both have compelling arguments; lawyers as officers of the court have sworn to uphold the law, and litigators must be viewed as defenders of the law, even when they defend the rights of an accused. CORD leader Raila Odinga told the LSK forum that he would like to see legal professionals playing a greater role in pursuing social justice. Traditionally in Kenya, lawyers and the LSK in particular, have been at the vanguard in ensuring human rights and other freedoms are respected.

The LSK will have to do quite a bit of soul searching to determine if it has veered of its seminal role in its idyllic pursuit of the common good.

There are many questions members of the bar must seek answers to and these include; Has the LSK’s disciplinary actions to sanction errant members been robust enough? Have members of the legal profession priced themselves out of the range of the common man? How much are members of the legal profession complicit in white collar crime like money laundering?
These are the questions members of the legal profession must confront and address. Kenyans, and the society which the LSK serves, must be convinced that the inbuilt disciplinary mechanisms are robust enough to weed out the bad apples in the legal profession.

There must be regular discussions on the price of justice, and the LSK must candidly address whether lawyers are pricing themselves out of the range of Wanjiku. They must ask to what degree pro bono work and other mechanisms can help bridge this divide.

Members of the bar must begin to address the role professionals play in economic sabotage — whether it is to promote tax avoidance, money laundering or any other loopholes that deprive Kenyans of what is their due.

Such discussions will allow for fair self-evaluation and if they can help promote social good, Kenyans will be better for it.