Author: Brian Sanchez

By Ouma Wanzala

A report has laid bare the massive failure of law students seeking to be admitted as advocates of the High Court of Kenya between 2009 to 2016.

Out of 16,086 students who sat for the Bar examinations administered by Council of Legal Education (CLE), only 7,530 passed while 8,549 failed, which translates to 53 per cent failure.

The report by a taskforce on legal sector reforms that was chaired by prominent lawyer Fred Ojiambo, is set to be discussed by stakeholders at a major conference in Mombasa that started Monday and will run until January 18.

TASKFORCE

The conference is being attended by representatives of universities, CLE and other players in the legal profession. The taskforce was set up by the Attorney General in September 2016 to look at the training of legal professions in the country.

The report points out that 5,298 students, who failed bar exams are actively involved in employment in law firms, county governments, universities, among others sectors.

About 47 of the students are in law firms; county governments have employed 10 per cent of them, others work in the Judiciary, parastatals , office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, academics among other fields.

About 53 students who failed their examination in 2009; 62 in 2010; 324 in 2011; 595 in 2012; 1,113 in 2013 are still in the system hoping to pass the exams in subsequent attempts. For 2013, students who failed but are still in the system are 1,365; 1,786 for 2015; while 2016 has the highest number of failures at 3,251.

For instance in 2016, only 1,009 students passed the Bar exams while 3251 failed.

FAILED

The report indicates that candidates who failed the examination had obtained their undergraduate degrees in some of the local universities.

Kenyatta University leads with 30 per cent, Moi University is at 22 per cent, University of Nairobi Parkland Campus (20 per cent), Catholic University of Eastern Africa (8) and Kabarak University (6).

Others are University of Nairobi Mombasa Campus (5), Nazerene University (2), Mount Kenya University (4) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (2).

“Unfortunately, while the number of graduates has increased, there have been concerns about deterioration in the quality, professional capacity, and competence of these graduates as they transition into practitioners.

This decline has in turn been attributed to the decline in quality and standards of training and apprenticeship.”

On average, there was a 21 per cent increase per annum in the enrolment of students into Bar programme between 2009 and 2016.

REPORT

“There is a relationship between the increased enrolment and fail rate. As the number of students enrolled in the LL.B programme increases, the failure rate similarly increases,” adds the report.

The taskforce now wants an exit avenue to be provided to students who are still in the system such as paralegals.

“This is partly because of heavy investment already spent on these persons.

“The other avenue is to urge the council to vigorously enforce quality standards, facilities and resources at legal education providers to improve the quality of training which will, in turn, improve pass rates at the law schools and during advocates training programmes.”

The taskforce now wants the 8,549 candidates to be identified and profiled by the CLE.

The taskforce also want a limit on number of attempts at the bar examination.

ADVOCATES

Currently Bar examination candidates are permitted to attempt the examination within 5 years.

Upon exhausting the maximum number of attempts, an applicant may be permitted to attempt the Bar examination within a further five years subject however, to the candidate being re-admitted to the advocates training programme afresh as the curriculum for the first 5 years will have to run its course.

The task of the team was to evaluate, review, and make recommendations on – suitability and quality of legal education and professional legal training curriculum, standards, entry qualification criteria and delivery systems.

Other terms of reference was legal sector practice, licensing and membership process, institutional structure criteria and participation mechanism.

Members of the taskforce were the chairperson of Kenya Law Reform Commission Mr Mbage Nganga, outgoing Director for Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko, Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Ann Amadi, chairperson of Advocates Complaint Commission Beauttah Siganga, Law Society of Kenya president Isaac Okero among others.

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By OUMA WANZALA
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Biggest Software Release Ever for Law Ruler with a New Impressive Look Just One Among Hundreds of Changes.

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (PRWEB) January 15, 2018

Law Ruler recently released v1.4.1 bringing a major update to the industry-best legal case intake and management software platform. Included were a new client experience, along with hundreds of features and enhancements to the system. Version 1.4.1 is the biggest software release given to its members, with powerful automation, and even more user-friendly features helping law firms improve day-to-day operations, and profitability.

Law Ruler’s members continue to convert and sign more cases, while providing fantastic client service

“Law Ruler is constantly evolving. We want to give our clients the latest and greatest in marketing, intake, and case technologies. Our latest version contains not only new features, but increased speed, and reliability for all our local, regional, and national team members,” said Daniel Jacobs, Law Ruler’s CTO.

“Our version 1.4.1 is the most feature-rich, modern, and user-friendly version of Law Ruler that has been created to date and is light-years ahead of the competition.”

“This is what law firms have been asking for…for years…now it is real, available, affordable, and law firms can try it out for free.” said Reid Widders, Law Ruler’s Director of Sales.

Law Ruler Becomes Even More Robust

Full transparency and easy intake like never before that empowers your firm to become more profitable.

Law Ruler v1.4.1 makes the intake and client acquisition process a cinch. By providing an even more powerful automation system, with new user-friendly screens there are is plethora of significant improvements in how one retains new clients. From the qualifying stage, to following-up, and even to ordering much needed client medical records Law Ruler can ensure that all of staff know where to focus their time, and how to provide the best overall experience to new callers. These are just some of the many benefits the newest version brings to their intake solution.

About Law Ruler Software, LLC

Law Ruler Software, LLC, http://www.lawruler.com is a market-leading legal case and intake management and marketing automation solution provider. Whether a firm is managing incoming referrals, leads from TV, billboards, or digital media, our solutions will drive better results and make your team even better. Our approach is unique since we ensure that each and every client has a solution that meshes with their workflow and how they do business. Law Ruler’s features include text e-sign, medical record ordering, phone call tracking, marketing automation via text and email, task management, workflow automation, case expense and settlement management, and powerful reporting to maximize your firm’s revenues and profitability.

For further information:

Contact Phone: 800.431.6779

The Web: http://www.lawruler.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lawruler/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/law-ruler

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsB9UZ1hXJ5zgN1pIISwC3A

Email: sales(at)lawruler.com

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/01/prweb15086994.htm

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WILLEMSTAD – With the swearing-in of Saul Castaño Ortiz and Joël Felida on Tuesday 9 January 2018, the Curaçao office of VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne has added two sworn attorneys to its team. Both junior associates have started working at the firm’s Corporate & Banking section.

Saul Castaño Ortiz was born and raised in Colombia. At twenty years old he moved to the Netherlands, where he obtained master’s degrees in both financial law and business law at Leiden University. He also did internships at several large law firms, including Baker McKenzie Amsterdam and Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn. His choice to start his career as an attorney at law in Curaçao is no coincidence: “Here I can use and further develop both my Latin American roots and the knowledge and experience that I have gained during my years of study in the Netherlands. I’m therefore very pleased that I have now been sworn in and that my career as an attorney at law has officially started.”

Joël Felida is yu di Korsou and after obtaining master’s degrees in both civil law and financial law he returned to his roots to work at VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne as an attorney at law. Commenting on the swearing-in ceremony, Joël said: “Taking the oath was a special moment. This is what I have been working towards in recent years. From an early age I dreamed of becoming an attorney, preferably in Curaçao. I’m very happy that I have been able to make this dream come through so soon after completing my studies.”

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ANALYSIS/OPINION:

With the sixth round of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations set to begin in Canada later this month, news reports claim that Canadian negotiators are increasingly worried that the U.S. may unilaterally quit the agreement — something that President Trump can do with the stroke of a pen.

If NAFTA 2.0 negotiations fail, it may not be due to issues involving the U.S./Mexican trade deficit, which receive a great deal of popular attention. Instead, the culprit may be a little-publicized but important aspect of trade that has placed many small and medium-sized American businesses at a disadvantage with Canadian businesses when it comes to government contracts.

Earlier in 2017, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that cited more than $800 billion in U.S. procurement contracts available for foreign firms. Another way to look at that is $800 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars going to foreign businesses. This far outpaced U.S. companies’ access to international governments’ procurement opportunities.

Most people would assume that the Buy America Act — a law that’s been around for nine decades, and which is supposed to encourage the U.S. government to buy from American companies — would preclude non-U.S. firms from competing for federal government contracts. But, the law has so softened from its original intent that any parity that previously existed is gone.

The U.S., along with 57 other countries, participate in a World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) that allows foreign companies to compete for government contracts. GAO cited that the “United States reported opening a greater percentage of its government procurement to foreign competition than the next five largest trade agreement partners combined.”

The spirit of the agreement is to ensure “fair and open competition on a reciprocal basis,” but the dollar value of the procurement opportunities made available by the U.S. to foreign firms is nearly double what the other five largest partners combined make accessible to American companies. The chart below illustrates the scope of this imbalance.

NAFTA requires the trade partners to exchange procurement data annually, and while Canada is a country that greatly benefits from our covered procurements, GAO found that information on government contracting has not been shared since 2005.

Since NAFTA’s enactment in 1994, industries in all three countries have counted on stable supply chains that are based on the framework of NAFTA. Within that framework, US trade with Canada is worth more than $629 billion with Canada and $579 billion with Mexico. Changes to this framework could affect agriculture, auto and textile manufacturers, among many others.

Whatever happens with NAFTA, it should be noted that the administration is not working in a vacuum. Since his confirmation in May, the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, has been leading the U.S. effort, and the release of November Objectives Update clearly outlined the path forward. In addition, Mr. Lighthizer reports that he and his team have spent more than 700 hours discussing NAFTA with members of Congress and their staff “just since August,” and the Federal Register notice to gather input on negotiating objectives published in May 2017 drew more than 12,000 comments.

Mr. Trump has been clear on his view on trade, emphasizing that aspects of NAFTA that place American businesses at a disadvantage with our North American trading partners must be changed. And one area where American companies seem to face a disadvantage is when it comes to doing business with their own government.

• Emily Baker serves on the board of advisers for Tsamoutales Strategies, is the founder and managing partner of Portman Square Group Communications and an adjunct professor at Boise State University. She led the General Services Administration Northeast and Caribbean region under President Bush.

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The collapse of Carillion has prompted fierce criticism of the Government over its awarding of hundreds of contracts to the firm, with many business leaders warning of dire knock on effects to small firms in the fallen giant’s supply chain.

Simon Revington, analyst at City Index, said it was “more than surprising, possibly even negligent” that the UK government continued to dish out contracts to Carillion even though their future has looked uncertain for some time.

“Over £2 billion worth of government contracts were handed to Carillion during the time that the firm gave three profit warnings,” he said.

“As a result of the compulsory liquidation thousands of jobs as risk and potentially public services could be impacted. This is yet another huge embarrassment for the UK government, which appears to be moving from mishap to mishap.

“The very fact that Carillion have gone into liquidation rather than administration scream volumes over the state of the financials at the firm; there were no assets to sell so no administration.”

Keith Loudon, chairman at Yorkshire stockbroker Redmayne Bentley, said: “We never learn the age-old adage that says: ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket’!

“This is true for national and international businesses, local and national government organisations.

“One of the maxims of modern investing is ‘diversity.’”

Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said: “Carillion’s liquidation is terrible news for all those who work for the company and it will have serious knock-on effects for the many smaller firms in its supply chain, some of which will be in serious financial danger as a result of Carillion’s demise.”

Richard Piper, head of the construction team at Yorkshire law firm Gordons, said: “There is a suspicion that Carillion was under-pricing its services to win tenders, which although successful, can ultimately impact negatively on profitability.”

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Bengaluru: In the middle of a real estate slowdown when most builders have turned to affordable housing projects, some continue to bet on luxury homes, backed by demand from ultra-rich buyers and non-resident Indians (NRI). 

A handful of established, well-capitalized developers in Mumbai, the National Capital Region (NCR), Bengaluru and Pune are focusing on such projects, while the majority stick to mid-income or affordable homes. 

After zero launches in 2017, Mumbai’s K. Raheja Corp. has two luxury project launches planned this year in south-central Mumbai, one of the most expensive micro-markets in the country. 

“Homes at Rs15-25 crore and above are for high-value consumers, who are risk-averse, conscious of what they are buying, believe in investing equity (not debt) and prefer homes that are closer to possession. We saw good sales even last year, with prices in Vivarea in south Mumbai up by 20% or so compared to two years back,” said Vinod Rohira, managing director, (commercial real estate and REIT), K. Raheja Corp.

India’s largest developer DLF Ltd resumed sales on 1 November,  six months after it hit pause as a measure of caution in view of the roll out of the new real estate law.

In November and December, DLF clocked around Rs450 crore of sales in its two Gurugram projects—Camellias (homes priced at Rs28-32 crore) and Crest (Rs6-8 crore).

DLF chief executive Rajeev Talwar said the November-December period was “an exceptional period of sales”. “Customers have gone around and checked out projects. Though we sell at a premium, we have seen people showing interest and conversion to hard sales. Luxury homes will be for actual users now, those who have accomplished and are buying for themselves,” Talwar said. 

In 2017, most developers refrained from launching projects and focused on selling existing stock, more so in the premium end of the market. According to 31 December data from property advisory Cushman and Wakefield, launch of luxury units was down by 70% to 331 units last year, from 1,112 units in 2016. 

“The luxury housing segment, for which demand is end-user driven, is witnessing robust growth owing to HNIs (high net-worth individuals) and increasing customer aspirations for a luxurious lifestyle. Such an increased customer appetite works well for our business which aspires to build properties that represent world-class standards of design, construction and quality,” said Anand Piramal, executive director of Piramal Group and founder, Piramal Realty.

Radius Developers, which focused on existing projects last year, has two launches coming up in Mumbai, priced at Rs12-14 crore. Pune’s Panchshil Realty will launch an 80-acre project with 168 luxury villas.   

Lodha Group plans to launch 3-4 new luxury and high-end projects in Mumbai at Walkeshwar, Lower Parel and Parel. It may also launch a new townhouse development in Pune.

“Luxury real estate is finally coming of age. Genuine luxury offerings have always found buyers who place utmost importance on aspects like quality, craftsmanship, lifestyle and service standards. Our Lodha Luxury Collection (LLC) does not just score well, it also defines the benchmark for the industry on these parameters,” said a Lodha spokesperson.  

Last year, Lodha launched the third tower in The World Towers project in Mumbai and One Grosvenor Square at Mayfair, in London’s West End. It clocked early sales at the London project at around £6,000 per sq. ft. (Rs5 lakh per sq. ft). The firm expects greater traction from its London project, with a weaker pound helping the cause of Indian buyers.

Bengaluru-based Total Environment Building Systems Pvt. Ltd, a prominent developer of luxury and high-quality homes, will launch projects in Pune and Bengaluru this year. Kamal Sagar, principal architect and chief executive, said if developers build beautifully designed homes and customers look at them as buying a home and not just an investment, it works well. “The market has been slow but our approach is customer-centric and customization in projects, which gives us a differential edge,” Sagar said. 

“Developers with the financial bandwidth and potential to build luxury projects have sustained the slowdown. Prices in this segment have also not come down, especially in prominent projects in Mumbai, NCR and Bangalore,” said Raja Seetharaman, co-founder of Propstack, a real estate data analytics and solutions firm. 

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San Diego — Want to start a business? You’re going to need legal advice…

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One of the UAE’s leading law firms has responded to the new tax environment in the country by launching a dedicated tax practice.

Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla has recruited Reggie Mezu, an international tax counsel with nearly 30 years’ experience in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, to head up the new practice in the UAE as Senior Special Counsel.

Andrew Mackenzie, specialist in international arbitration law, with a particular focus on construction, engineering, energy and insurance disputes, also joins the firm as Partner in its UAE Arbitration practice.

These appointments come on the back of the promotion of Tarek Saad to partner in the UAE Dispute Resolution practice and the hire of UAE Financial Services Regulatory partner Matthew Shanahan. The total number of partners based in the UAE is now 19.

“We are delighted to have Andrew Mackenzie and Reggie Mezu join us to further support our clients operating in the Middle East through the life cycle of their operations, from structuring and advisory to dispute resolution,” commented Dr Habib Al Mulla, executive chairman of Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla.

“Our continuous growth in the UAE is driven by our commitment to helping our clients achieve their objectives, particularly against the backdrop of the global geopolitical environment and the economic reforms taking place in the region.”

Andrew Mackenzie joins Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla from UAE firm Hogan Lovells. He has been based in the country for more than eight years and has full rights of audience in the Dubai International Financial Centre courts.

Reggie Mezu, also UK trained, had already been working with Baker McKenzie to advise clients on tax planning, the new VAT regime, corporate structuring, cross-border transactions, double tax treaties, reform and development of fiscal frameworks. He joins from leading tax advisory firm Cragus Group.

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