MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
- ASSOCIATE MANAGERS
The Firm is managed by the Managing Partner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management. He is the main point of contact with clients, other businesses and organizations. The Office of the Managing Partner effectively provides overall supervision and general responsibility for all deeds of assignment, commercial, corporate and arbitration.
- In addition to the above, the office of the Manager also performs the following functions:
- People: Identifying, recruiting and developing suitable partners and associates to carry out the firm’s mission.
- Planning: seeking all available information, defining the group’s task, goal or objective; and Make a workable plan (within the right decision-making framework)
- Initiation: briefing team on goals and plan; Explain why an objective or plan is necessary; Assign tasks to group members; establish team standards
- Control: Maintain group standards; influence the speed of the organization; ensure that all actions are taken to achieve the objectives; Keep discussions relevant; and push the group to action/decision.
- Support: express acceptance of people and their contributions; encourage the team/individuals.
- Discipline: Ensuring team/individual discipline; create a team spirit; Ease tensions with humour, Reconcile disagreements or lead others to explore them; denunciation; clarify the task or roles; give new information to the group and keep the team in the picture.
- Receive information from the group: Summarize suggestions and ideas coherently.
- Evaluate: check the feasibility of an idea; Test the consequences of the proposed solution; Evaluate team performance; Help the team or individual assess their performance against standards.
THE PARTNER
The partner’s office is responsible for ensuring that all litigation work performed by the firm complies with legal standards and firm policies. The partner is also responsible for client relations, client service and services, service operations and other administrative functions of the firm with respect to litigation.
In this regard, it is to the partner that all litigation partners are responsible. The partner also ensures that all litigation research, drafting and consultation by all partners in all areas of the firm is well undertaken.
The partner office also ensures that periodic reports, often produced quarterly, are well prepared and delivered to clients in a timely manner.
- ASSOCIATES
The firm engages attorneys on a partnership model in which all such partners are granted independence to provide legal services to the extent permitted by law. Thus, the firm encourages proactivity and professionalism at all levels of contact between partners and our clients.
Partners not only undertake the legal work assigned to them, but are also encouraged to explore other areas of legal practice in which they have a keen interest and to use the platform offered by the firm to implement these areas of practice.
Partners are also involved, on an elective basis, in the management of the business at various levels.
- LEGAL ASSISTANTS
We have engaged paralegals who are undertaking their studies at the Kenya School of Law or awaiting admission to the barristers roll or who are currently in various universities pursuing law degrees or students. Our attorneys provide basic training to these legal assistants on the practice of law and general management of law firm affairs.
- The Secretary
Each member of our team is a specialist in their field. Together, we ensure you get the best legal service, while building loyalty at every touch point. At MLF, we have a competent secretariat made up of managers, legal assistants and office staff who report to the managing partner.
- Associate lawyers
Our team of lawyers is as diverse as our areas of practice. It is their achievements, their expertise and their ideals that shape our culture and our future. We are therefore looking for innovative and dynamic members who can add value to this team and continuously improve it.
OUR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
We believe we have a responsibility as a corporate citizen to use our skills and knowledge where we can make a difference, whether for our customers or the wider communities in which we operate, to help to shape the future in a way that delivers economic, ecological and social benefits for all.
We also believe that actions speak louder than words. Our actions in the area of corporate responsibility are many and varied across our business, but in all of our activities we seek to conduct ourselves in a way that consistently reinforces our business principles of quality, unity and integrity.
Pro Bono works for the poor
MLF encourages its associates to use their legal understanding on a pro bono basis to help members of the local communities where we live and work, who otherwise do not have access to the services we offer.
In our offices in Kisumu and Nairobi, we work in partnership with organizations that share our commitment to providing legal assistance and knowledge to those in need.
Participation in pro Bono initiatives is open to all our lawyers. In some cases, our offices provide time off for colleagues to spend time on approved pro Bono projects while in others, we encourage and promote engagement by recognizing and rewarding those who give their time to participate in the work. Pro Bono.
From providing legal advice through local legal centers and clinics to assisting charities and non-profit organizations by offering assistance with legal matters, we offer our clients pro Bono the same high standards of customer service as our paying customers and, in return, our people have the opportunity to gain valuable experience and advocacy skills.
- Volunteering and Fundraising
We give back to our local communities both through monetary donations from our employees’ fundraising activities and by contributing time and skills to local community initiatives. Often our efforts encompass both. Within our companies, we have a range of volunteer programs in place that build on our charitable partnerships and internal committees. Our offices regularly organize fundraising initiatives, from casual days to annual events, and we focus on helping organizations that share our own goal of supporting the underprivileged and building social justice. In other cases, our people raise funds and volunteer their time to help meet specific local needs.
- Sustainable practice
We aim to minimize our impact on the environment – to protect the planet, ensure resources are available for future generations and create a better quality of life for all living things. We integrate sustainability best practices into all of our decision-making and business activities.
We recognize our responsibility to address environmental issues that threaten Earth’s ecosystems and the future of our communities.
We work to reduce our environmental footprint and are active on many pro Bono sustainability projects, including tree planting exercises.
PAUPER BRIEF PROGRAM
Equal access to justice remains a challenge for most people in Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania and DR Congo. Besides the limited provision of state-funded legal aid, large numbers of Kenyans, Burundians, Tanzanians and Congolese have few options for accessing the justice system with proper representation. As part of our corporate responsibility to our community, our lawyers at MLF have taken advantage of these opportunities to be able to represent various people facing capital offense charges under the court-run brief poor representation program. Through which we have helped dozens of people who otherwise could not afford to be represented.
FREE LEGAL AWARENESS WEEK
Every year, the Law Society of Kenya, Tanganyika Law Society, Burundi Bar Association and DRCongo Barreaux organize a free legal services awareness week. At MIALANO LAW FIRM, we have partnered with LSK, TLS, BBA, SDB in the most proactive way by actively encouraging all lawyers in our team to attend the program at least twice a week in towns across Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and DR Congo where our offices are located. Our satisfaction has always been the gratitude we see on the faces of the members of the company to whom we were able to give free legal advice.