A transatlantic team of attorneys from the international law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP, in partnership with lawyers from Firm client Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and the non-profit Lawyers Without Borders (LWOB) have joined together to produce a critical and comprehensive report on the land and property laws and inheritance and succession rights for disenfranchised women and children in Kenya entitled Kenya: Property, Inheritance & Succession Rights. The critical report includes strategic recommendations to help alleviate discrimination against women and expand access to justice within the court system.
As is the case throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has had a devastating impact on local communities. The HIV/AIDS tragedy has been compounded in epicenters like Kenya, where pre-colonial rules governing property and inheritance rights for women has left millions of women and children widowed and orphaned and lacking the right and power to inherit their families’ land and other types of property. It is estimated that 1.5 million people in the country are living with HIV, and approximately 2 million children have been orphaned as a result of the epidemic.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to raise awareness about a critical issue in East Africa and hope that our efforts will promote positive change in the face of the devastating AIDS crisis,” says Latonia Haney Keith, McDermott’s Pro Bono Counsel. “This crucial project, which seeks to alleviate discrimination against women in Kenya, is a great illustration of McDermott’s commitment to bridging the justice gap for low-income individuals by providing much-needed educational materials where they otherwise might not be available.”
To help raise awareness of this issue, and to help improve the rule of law for women and children in Kenya, the McDermott team and their partners distributed hard copies of the report to over 100 lawyers and judges in Kenya during LWOB’s Fourth Annual Kenyan Trial Advocacy Training Program, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya from August 3-12, 2011. LWOB’s team of trainers consisted of 33 lawyers and judges from the United States, and focused on teaching trial advocacy skills, including case analysis, witness preparation, direct and cross examination, opening statements, closing arguments, evidentiary issues, special challenges and Kenya’s new constitution and plea agreement laws.
“This report represents two important milestones of LWOB’s rule of law work in Kenya – the first, sharing with local stakeholders a legal issue that has been a concern to LWOB for several years, and the second, for the first time launching our efforts in the region directly with target communities of women and children in need,” says Christina Storm, Executive Director of LWOB.
A subset of the McDermott and Caterpillar team is currently working with LWOB to translate the core themes and recommendations in the comprehensive report into layman’s terms to create a graphic novel that will be distributed to Kenyan citizens and utilized by lawyers and judges to educate the public regarding their inheritance and succession rights.
“Our pro bono model depends nearly entirely upon the formidable contributions from its supporting partners, like McDermott Will & Emery, a firm that has committed firm resources to Lawyers Without Borders’ work on inheritance and succession in east Africa since 2007,” says Christina.
