Lawyer Donald Kipkorir Defends Sh1.3 Billion Legal Fee Paid to His Law Firm by Nairobi County Gov’t

Flamboyant Kenyan attorney Donald Kipkorir has defended the payment of Sh1.3 billion legal fee to his law firm by the Nairobi City County government.

This comes after a certificate of taxation for a matter handled in the Environment and Land Court in Milimani showing Kipkorir’s law firm KTK Advocates billing City Hall a whopping Sh1,338,011,582.76 emerged online, eliciting mixed reactions.

Diana Orago, a deputy registrar in the court certified the amount as the bill of costs lodged by the firm on October 1st, 2020. The amount was taxed on May 10th, 2022, as costs incurred in Miscellaneous Application No. E056 of 2020. 

While confirming that his legal firm served the aforementioned bill, Kipkorir maintained that the amount was in line with The Advocates (Remuneration) Order.

"Legal Fees are regulated by The Advocates Act, Cap 16 and The Advocates (Remuneration) Order. Courts assess legal fees based on inter alia, the value of the subject matter, public importance, and complexity,” lawyer Kipkorir explained in response to those who questioned the huge bill.

“Are they saying The Advocates (Remuneration) Order that regulates fees be ignored? Are they saying we ignore established case law on computing legal fees?” he posed.

The Advocates (Remuneration) Order stipulates how an advocate’s fee should be calculated in relation to their involvement in sales, purchases and securities, leases and agreements for lease of land, company formations, incorporations and registrations, trademarks, estates, patents, designs, and utility models. 

“Are people saying a son of Katarina, a village housewife from Cheptongei and whose deceased father was unknown outside the village can’t raise the highest fee Note in Kenya’s litigation History?” Kipkorir added.

Lawyer Peter Wanyama also defended the bill, explaining that in the US, attorneys in big cities charge up to $2,000 per hour in complex cases and a retainer fee of $200,000. 

 “Donald has been instructed in a case where the subject matter is huge. Really big. So he deserves his fees. The law also provides a mechanism to challenge fees by way of reference to the High Court. Judges have on many occasions reduced the taxed fees. They have also upheld bills taxed according to scale,” he noted.