Thousands of law graduates could soon have more options to qualify as advocates of the High Court of Kenya, if draft regulations that propose opening up of professional legal training are adopted. This would effectively end the decades-old monopoly of the Kenya School of Law (KSL) in the legal training field.
The proposed regulations seek to allow both public and private accredited institutions to offer the Advocates Training Programme (ATP) while creating clearer pathways from diploma and A-level qualifications to law degrees and, eventually, professional legal training. Currently, the ATP is only offered at the KSL campus in Karen while the examinations are administered by the Council for Legal Education (CLE).
According to the proposals contained in the draft Legal Education (Advocates Training Programme) Regulations, 2026 and the draft Legal Education (Licensing and Quality Assurance) Regulations, 2026, law graduates who have previously been unable to join the Advocates Training Programme would also get a two-year transition window under the draft framework, with a transitional pre-bar examination proposed to give them another route into professional training.
The proposed regulations also seek to establish uniform standards for legal education providers, including requirements for curriculum updates, practical training, qualified faculty, research and regular quality assurance.
“We provide, under the regulations, a two-year transition window for those who hold degrees in law but for some reason or the other do not qualify to join the programme,” said Prof Collins Odote, the chairperson of the CLE.
He said the transition would include a bridging examination through which affected graduates could qualify to proceed to the ATP.
The Kenya School of Law academics complex in Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The regulations also propose new pathways into the legal profession, including recognition of diploma and A-level qualifications as part of a progression route towards a law degree and professional legal training.
The council said the reforms were intended to remove bottlenecks while maintaining standards in legal education.
“For students, this is a means to end the bottlenecks that they have faced in the past, delays from joining the Bar, and also provide a clear, transparent and published process by which institutions might be accredited,” Prof Odote said.
The proposed regulations would also establish uniform standards for legal education providers, including requirements for curriculum updates, practical training, qualified faculty, research and regular quality assurance.
“We made a commitment that we would put in place a framework that would be able to address those systemic challenges in our examination procedures and the perception of lack of transparency in our processes,” he said.
The council is also seeking to replace an outdated licensing and quality assurance framework. The proposals follow a Court of Appeal decision which, according to the CLE and Attorney General, found the legal framework underpinning the KSL monopoly unconstitutional and directed the council to prescribe admission standards and a framework for accrediting other public and private providers.
Council officials said the existing 2016 licensing regulations had been challenged in court and declared unconstitutional, leaving the sector operating for close to a decade under regulations dating back to 2009.
“This left our sector operating for close to a decade with regulations that dated back to 2009, way before the Legal Education Act itself,” said Prof Odote.
The framework also proposes to introduce a new examination structure for trainee advocates, with assessments comprising project work, oral assessment and written assessment, and a minimum pass mark of 50 per cent in each unit.
The Kenya School of Law academics complex in Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Trainees would have five years, from admission, to complete the ATP. Those who fail to complete it within the period would be deemed to have failed the programme, although they would be allowed to apply for admission afresh.
The regulations also introduce clearer rules on failed examinations. A trainee who fails an examinable unit may resit it after paying the prescribed fee, but a candidate who fails to pass a unit within three years of the first attempt may be required to retake the unit, giving them a further two years to resit it.
Pupillage would remain a six-month full-time requirement, with trainees working under the close supervision of an advocate trainer and keeping a pupillage workbook documenting their assignments.
Attorney General Dorcas Oduor said the new regulations will end years of uncertainty over admission to the ATP and open up the way for other public and private institutions to offer professional legal training.
Ms Oduor said the Legal Education (Advocates Training Programme) Regulations, 2026 give effect to a 2025 Court of Appeal decision that declared provisions of the Kenya School of Law Act unconstitutional and directed the CLE to set admission standards for the ATP and establish a framework for accrediting other providers.
“For many aspiring advocates, the transition from university to professional legal training has, for some time, been characterised by uncertainty – particularly concerning who qualifies for admission to the Advocates Training Programme, the standards applicable to admission, and the opportunities available to students who meet the requisite academic standards but are unable to secure a place at the Kenya School of Law,” Ms Oduor said.
“That uncertainty cannot be allowed to become a permanent feature of legal education in Kenya,” she said.
The regulations establish the standards institutions must meet to offer the ATP and provide for an orderly transition to accreditation, including the transition of the KSL, which remains statutorily mandated to administer the programme.
Ms Oduor said the transition must protect students already in the system and ensure that reforms do not create fresh uncertainty.
“This is important because reform should not create another layer of uncertainty for students who are already within the system. The transition arrangements should ensure continuity, protect legitimate student interests and maintain the quality and integrity of professional legal training,” she said.
For students, Ms Oduor said, the reforms should mean “clearer pathways, consistent standards, greater predictability” and confidence that the qualification they pursue will provide a recognised route to the next stage of their legal education.
But the Attorney General cautioned that expanding access to legal training should not come at the expense of professional standards.
“The advocates we train must possess the competence, ethical grounding and professional judgment necessary to protect rights, uphold the rule of law and serve the public effectively,” she said.
