The legal profession in Kenya : towards a new ethos

Abstract

PLO Lumumba writes that it is not in dispute that there is widespread breakdown in the fundamental values that anchor the profession. First, there are areas in which genuine reform is required to improve professional performance and raise public confidence in the profession. At the institutional level, disciplinary mechanisms and process; at the individual level, there must be a reorientation towards the values of integrity, honesty, honour , independence, service and competence. This is at the heart of attaining a new ethos in the legal profession. Reforming a profession is never a simple task. the legal profession, through a variety of avenues should strive to imbue in lawyers a commitment to professionalism, the rule of the law and public good. Recapturing the lost glory of the legal profession requires every individual lawyer's commitment to the rule of law and justice. This is the challenge