ADOPT E-PRACTICE OR PERISH
by DR. WAMUTI NDEGWA
The onset of online filing and e-hearings signals monumental shift in how the law is practiced in Kenya. The shifts spare neither litigation counsels, nor advocates clerks, nor members of the bench. Those who embrace the change will flourish while those miss the cue will perish. For joint our sake, I take time to address each one of us separately.
I start with you the Advocate’s clerks. Please open your eyes and see that gone are the days of taking petty cash for transport to court registries. As an employer , I see that I no longer need you to queue at the registry begging the registry clerks to look for courts files , assess fees, and stamp documents. As my process server, you are staring at redundancy. I the advocate will draw pleadings, e-file, e-serve, e-pay and file an e-affidavit of service. Do not worry about tracing the party to be served because my secretary will e-trace by Google search. Time is running out for you to re-invent yourself for any other useful roles in the law firm.
I now come to you the Associate Lawyer in a middle size law firm. You are probably busy defending insurance companies or prosecuting accident claims. Let’s be honest, the single reason your boss hired you is because he could not attend several proceedings scattered in different towns at the same day. So, if the law firm is based in Mombasa chances are your have been traversing Kaloleni, Kwale, Kilifi, Mariakani, and other towns attending to small matters. Those in Nairobi travel to Machakos, Thika, Kiambu, Kajiando, Mavoko etc. With e-proceedings, your boss can on the same day attend mentions, applications, and submissions in all those stations from the comfort of his office. I plead with the Honourable Chief Justice to quickly extend e-hearings to examining witnesses. So dear Associate Counsel, you better draw perfect pleadings and written submission. That is all I appear to need from you.
It is now your turn my fellow proprietors of Law Firms alias the boss. The time has finally come when your client can peruse files online. Clients will longer beg you for updates since we are heading to public e-archives. Please shape up or get fired or worse still, get sued your professional negligence failure and delay to file documents or attend court. Running down lawyers! You better be straight forward with your clients on the amount awarded.
My Lords and Ladyships, the e-appearance on google-meet and zoom creates a e-record that is accurate and totally independent of your hand-written. We sincerely appreciate your efforts to make an accurate record but we speak fast. No one can sincerely expect you to write every word. So at times, the record says things we did not say and fail to record others we said. And when some of us step on your toes, fuses blow and being human unkind words and others that pre-judge the matter escape from your mouth. I prophesy that with the original video/audio record, things you say or omit to write down will be used against you. May the good Lord bless you with the accuracy of a computer and the temperament of an angel.
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