Law graduates shut out of the Kenya School of Law (KSL) could soon have another way into the legal profession as new rules propose allowing accredited universities and other institutions to run professional advocates’ training.
The proposed Legal Education (Advocates Training Programme) Regulations, 2026 would open the Advocates Training Programme (ATP) to both public and private institutions, ending KSL’s decades-long position as the sole provider of the professional course.
The proposed changes would also give thousands of graduates who have been unable to join the programme a two-year window to seek admission through a transitional arrangement.
During the transition period, graduates who already hold law degrees but do not meet the current requirements for entry into the ATP would be allowed to sit a transitional pre-Bar examination. Those who pass would then be able to proceed to the professional programme.
Council for Legal Education (CLE) chairman Collins Odote said the measure was designed to address the situation of graduates who have completed university but remain unable to advance to professional legal training.
"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"" Prof Odote said.
He said the affected graduates would first undertake a bridging examination before moving on to the ATP.
Beyond the transition arrangements, the proposed regulations would establish clearer routes through legal education, allowing students to progress from diploma and A-level qualifications to law degrees and later to professional training.
Institutions that want to offer the ATP would also be required to meet specific conditions before receiving accreditation. The requirements would cover areas such as curriculum development, practical training, qualified teaching staff, research and regular quality checks.
Prof Odote said the changes were meant to resolve complaints that have persisted in the legal education sector over admission requirements, accreditation and examinations.
The proposed framework comes after a 2025 Court of Appeal ruling which, according to the CLE and Attorney-General, found the legal provisions supporting KSL’s monopoly unconstitutional. The court directed the council to set admission requirements and develop a framework through which other institutions could be accredited to provide professional legal training.
The proposed regulations would further replace the current licensing and quality assurance arrangements.
Prof Odote said the legal education sector has for nearly a decade relied on the 2009 regulations after the licensing framework introduced in 2016 was challenged in court and declared unconstitutional.
The draft rules also introduce a new approach to ATP examinations. Trainees would be assessed through project work, oral examinations and written papers, with a minimum mark of 50 per cent required in every unit.
A trainee would have five years from admission to complete the ATP. Anyone who does not finish within that period would be considered to have failed the programme, although they would retain the option of applying for admission again.
The rules would also give candidates who fail an examinable unit an opportunity to sit a resit after paying the required fee.
However, a trainee who fails to pass a unit within three years of making the first attempt may be required to take the unit again. Such a candidate would then have another two years to complete the outstanding resits.
The six-month full-time pupillage requirement would remain in place, with trainees working under the supervision of an advocate trainer. They would also be expected to keep workbooks recording the assignments they undertake during pupillage.
Attorney-General Dorcas Oduor said the proposed framework would settle years of uncertainty over access to the ATP while allowing additional institutions to participate in professional legal training.
She said the regulations would implement the Court of Appeal ruling by creating clear requirements for training providers and a structured accreditation process. The framework would also provide for KSL’s transition even as the institution retains its statutory mandate to administer the programme.
"For many aspiring advocates, the transition from university to professional legal training has, for some time, been characterised by uncertainty," Ms Oduor said.
She said the changes should safeguard students who are already undertaking their studies and ensure the reforms do not introduce another period of uncertainty.
"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