Kenyan Pundit

…for me in the United States.

Long time readers of KP know that my departure from the U.S. to Kenya (and now South Africa) was cushioned with a parachute in the form of an open offer from one of the best and most selective law firms in the U.S. I’m not sure I would have made such an impulsive move (I literally woke up one day and said I’m off), if I didn’t have the option of the offer.

The one year offer expired around April this year, but I wasn’t quite ready to make the call one way or another…I was engaged in work that was/is very fulfilling form me and had the time to work on things I’m passionate about (like Mzalendo) and I was really feeling being back in Africa (my non-corporate law firm paycheck notwithstanding). Unbelievably, the firm gave me another year to keep doing what I was doing and has been very supportive of what I’m doing to the extent of offering pro bono services if I ever needed them.

Over the last few months though, it’s become pretty clear that Africa is where I need/want to be. I’m confident the money and expertise a stint at Covington would have given me will come soon enough. And you cannot put a price tag on doing what you love to do every day and making a difference. I worked hard to give myself options, and there’s no better feeling than exercising them. So on Monday I officially bid the firm goodbye.

Thank you Covington for allowing me to jump.

Here’s hoping I don’t land on my ass…

This link is for any law school students/newbie lawyers who read my blog.

I’ve been doing a lot of transactional work over the last few months and have been struck by just how little law school prepares you for contract drafting. In fact, Contract Law as it is currently taught in most law schools has very little to do with the practice and with preparing you to meet your clients business needs. It’s been a great learning experience for me (one of the perks of working in Africa is tons of responsibility right off the bat), but I often wish the learning curve hadn’t been so steep.

For those of you who might find themselves in a similar situation, I highly recommend this article as well as the books listed at the end of the article (the books by Kenneth Adams and Charles Fox). I actually think the books are helpful for any transactional lawyer, not just lawyers practising in the U.S. – the elements of good drafting often have almost nothing to do with the jurisdiction where you practice…in my experience so far, the elements of local law are usually available in a template and rarely vary…the hard part is translating your client’s business needs into contract terms and these books help tremendously.

Back to work…