THE BRIEF THAT CAN END YOUR LEGAL PRACTICE BEFORE IT EVEN STARTS — EKATERINA HANDA WARNS YOUNG ADVOCATES
In this week’s edition of Advocate’s Voice, Ekaterina Handa, Partner at Gitonga, Kinyanjui & Co. Advocates, offers a candid warning to young advocates and anyone building a legal practice: not every brief that comes through the door should be accepted.
Under the theme “The Brief That Can End Your Practice Before It Starts,” Handa examines the professional risks that lawyers may encounter when deciding which clients and instructions to take on.
She highlights issues including serial movers, professional red flags, conflicts of interest, questionable instructions, the handling of client money, and the importance of proper retainers, documentation and professional boundaries.
According to Handa, building a sustainable legal practice is not simply about pursuing every business opportunity. It also requires the judgment to identify instructions that could expose an advocate to professional, financial or reputational risks.
Her central message is that saying no to the wrong brief is not necessarily turning away business—it can be a way of protecting the practice, reputation and future a lawyer is working to build.
Handa invites advocates, particularly those at the early stages of their careers, to read, share and contribute their own experiences and perspectives on navigating difficult client instructions.
“Protect your name. Protect your practice. Protect your future.”
Ekaterina Handa
Partner, Gitonga, Kinyanjui & Co. Advocates
