The number of lawyers who faced complaints over professional misconduct increased last year compared to 2014.
According to a report released Thursday during the Law Society of Kenya annual general meeting, 174 new cases were filed last year compared to 158 in 2014.
The report further revealed that the majority of cases were against male advocates. "2015 witnessed a slight increase in the number of new cases filed as compared to cases filed last year," the report read.
According to the report, 91.24 per cent of the new cases were against male advocates while women lawyers accounted for 8.76 per cent of discipline complaints filed before the Advocate's Disciplinary Tribunal.
Lawyers who operate individually also accounted for a large chunk of complaints as compared to those who operated in partnership.
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The report says that 61.8 per cent of the cases were against advocates operating as individuals whereas 17.3 per cent were against those operating in partnership.
In total, 2,089 lawyers have faced the tribunal from 2006. Out of these, 1,599 of the cases have already been determined.
It was revealed that only 530 cases are pending before the tribunal chaired by Ezekiel Wanjama. Interestingly, the number of professional misconduct complaints recorded by the tribunal normally shoots up during election years.
2007 and 2013 had the highest number of cases opened against lawyers. In 2007, 358 cases were filed whereas 232 were filed in 2013. The Advocates Act dictates that if a lawyer is found guilty of misconduct, he or she can be admonished, suspended for a period not exceeding five years, struck off the roll of advocates, ordered to pay a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or ordered to reimburse the aggrieved person money not exceeding Sh5 million.
