PHOTO CAPTION: Tech Lawyer Sumaiyah Omar Many Kenyan law firms are known to be dodgy with details concerning their terms and conditions on pupillage, including the rate of remuneration for associates.
A recent initiative now seeks to shed the light on the dark reality that many young lawyers face when working in some of the most established legal corporations in the country.
The anonymous Pupillage/Associate Review Survey by technology lawyer Sumaiyah Omar generated hundreds of shocking responses regarding salaries and the work environment.
One of the observations drawn from the survey is that Government agencies mostly pay peanuts.
The only upside is they are largely positively reviewed, so the pupils appreciate the experience and exposure.
One respondent disclosed that the ODPP and Attorney General's office pay roughly Sh15,000.
A pupil from over 5 years ago pointed out that they did not receive payment during their time there.
Given that most respondents are from 2022 going back 3-5 years, it looks like the prosecutor's office only styled up recently.
Some pupils also complained of only receiving a lump sum after several months.
As for the Judiciary—Supreme Court, Court of Appeal—pupils don't receive anything.
Still on government agencies, particularly noted that even the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) which highly prides itself in fighting for justice, does not pay its pupils.
As for the big name and loud-mouthed managing partners popular within the city's social circles, most only dish out peanuts.
From the responses, the highest reported gross pay for a pupil is Sh75,000 per month.
The lowest, when it's not nothing, is 5k.
Favoritism is rife, with numerous inconsistencies in the pay for pupils in the same firm.
There seems to be a prevalent trend for law firms to deliver payment in cash envelopes.
Sexual harassment is also common and often appears to go unpunished.
Very few law firms or advocates have been blacklisted from taking pupils on account of mistreating them.
Threats, proud partners, shouting bosses and poor pay are the order of the day. All findings of the survey have been published here. The drive link includes a PDF analytics and a Google sheet.
For easier access, the Google Sheet is embedded below this post. Pupillage_Associate Review Survey (Responses)