Specialise to have upper hand, lawyers told
Justice minister Nobert Mao, Uganda Law Society (ULS) president Bernard Oundo and attorney general Kiryowa Kiwanuka gesture during the 6th Annual Law Conference in Kampala on August 24, 2023. PHOTO/ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- The president of the Uganda Law Society, Mr Bernard Oundo, said the two-day conference revolves around the theme “Redefining Legal Practice in the Era of Disruption.”
Lawyers have been advised to specialise in various areas of the law to effectively represent clients in court.
The Attorney General, Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka, said this would give them an upper hand when clients are seeking services as the legal market is saturated with practitioners from the Law Development Centre (LDC) each year.
“This year, LDC graduated 1,500 lawyers. So this space of ours is going to reduce. We are going to start fighting for space. Therefore, to embrace this transformation journey, it requires lawyers to break away from the conventional norms and approaches,” Mr Kiryowa said yesterday during the 6th Annual Law Conference in Kampala organised by the Uganda Law Society (ULS).
He added: “It’s not sustainable for you not to be identified to be good at something, that you can only just be a lawyer. You must be either an energy lawyer, procurement lawyer, an arbitration lawyer, public interest law practitioner, you can no longer just be a lawyer.”
Mr Kiryowa also said lawyers should consider reorganising law firms into specialised departments.
Speaking at the same event, Justice Minister Norbert Mao advised his fellow lawyers to adapt to disruptions and navigate the evolving landscape.
“So redefining your legal practice in the era of disruption, you must decide what you are in control of, and what things are really in your hands. This discussion cannot go forward without first you believing in yourself. So disruption, needs to be understood under that context of defining your territory, your objectives. To be a disrupter, you must first of all affirm yourself in order to deal with the new environment,” he said.
The president of the Uganda Law Society, Mr Bernard Oundo, said the two-day conference revolves around the theme “Redefining Legal Practice in the Era of Disruption.”
He said their primary focus is to effectively serve their clients in the midst of technological advancements.
“We cannot address this value question without understanding the drivers of our clients’ businesses from local regional and global perspective,” he said.
