BUILDING YOUR CAREER AT KIMATHI & PARTNERS

Kimathi & Partners has a very unique corporate culture focused on delivering responsive, innovative and cutting edge legal advice to our clients in Ghana.

We are not, and do not strive to be, the law firm for every person or company. So, our goal is to be the firm of choice (which we are) for foreign governments, multilateral agencies, and multinational companies with respect to their most challenging legal issues, most significant business transactions and most critical disputes.

Because we provide an unrivalled responsive and world-class legal service, we have intense and long working days totally committed to our clients’ demands. Our lawyers are the first ones our clients call when contemplating an important decision.  For us, talent and experience mean nothing unless our clients succeed.

We seek individuals who are talented, motivated and committed in order to maintain our record of excellence. A career at Kimathi & Partners promises you a few things. You get to be part of a strong team and work on complex (rather than routine) transactions and disputes which provides greater work and self-satisfaction.

LIFE AT KIMATHI & PARTNERS

Simply, your typical day at Kimathi & Partners would involve thinking big, being open-minded, closing deals, resolving disputes and solving problems.

Ours is a hands-on approach. So, our lawyers, trainees and support staff all play a critical part in how we resolve that problem or close that deal for the client.

Our value for every worker at the firm is simple: “Performance buys freedom”.  So, it’s hard work, high expectations and no shortcuts. We guarantee that if you work hard then you will reap the rewards of your hard work.

To be sure, the level of client contacts and compensation, including the base salary, allowance, benefits and year-end bonus that we offer our associates is significantly higher than that of any other comparable top tier corporate law firm in Ghana.

There is fun at the office and we play hard.  We also have an in-house chef so proper lunch is taken care of.

We also have a professional growth support environment, so our lawyers and staff can grow and add value to themselves. We sponsor our lawyers to take part in international bar events and global training aimed at skill set addition and improvement.  Our lawyers also attend a mandatory training program in London organized by one of the best and largest law firms in the world.

OUR WORK

We think creatively about our clients’ problems to find the right solution. Our lawyers work together in teams and the advice we provide is technically sound.

To work here, then, you will need to work well in teams – ours and the clients’. You also need to accept diverse opinions and accept constructive criticism from colleagues. We also play hard, laugh loud, have fun and do not take ourselves too seriously.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Every year we receive hundreds of applications from the brightest graduates from Ghana and abroad, who intend to start their careers with Kimathi & Partners.

Competition for places is fierce because our training programme is the best in Ghana. If you are interested in a career at Kimathi & Partners, you will need to demonstrate that you are well-mannered, thoughtful and have what it takes ethically and intellectually.

You also need to understand what the expectations of a top tier corporate lawyer are and that you are up to the challenges this job presents.

Because we are available to our clients 24/7, the biggest challenge for you is not just the long hours you spend in the office but your availability to respond every time. The hours are challenging, the work is difficult and clients and colleagues have high expectations. To succeed, you require an adequate amount of commitment and a lot of stamina. We hope you are up to the challenge.

TRAINING PROGRAMME

We have an unrivalled training programme designed to turn the trainee into an exceptional all-round lawyer. The aim of our training programme is that at the end the trainee should be able to manage a complex transaction on his or her own with little or no supervision.

So our training programme is very intense and unforgiving. The trainee is taken through a very rigorous training programme, working closely with our lawyers and staff on complex transactions, high-end litigation and conducting painstaking research.

It leaves the trainees simply breathless but the programme is very fulfilling and intended to build the trainee’s confidence, knowledgebase, commercial sense, stamina, passion and thoroughness.

INTERNSHIPS

Unlike other law firms, we do not offer an internship programme.  We offer a specialized training programme, where the potential trainee goes through a very rigorous selection process.  The selected trainee is then taken through a two year training programme designed to equip the trainee with highly specialized skills which are required to work in a top tier law firm anywhere in the world. 

A few exceptions are made for people who come highly recommended and exceptional students.  So, apply for an internship position if you can exceed our very high expectations.

HOW TO APPLY

The recruitment process at Kimathi & Partners is managed by the Talent Hunt Committee (the “THC”) which works directly under the supervision of the Managing Partner.

The application process is in three stages:

First, we want to know you. So, at the first stage, you need to submit to kimathi@kimathilegal.com for review:

• • Curriculum vitae and cover letter.
• • Essay on 50 random things about yourself.
• • Undergraduate and law school transcripts/results.

Second, if your application is successfully considered by the Talent Hunt Committee, you are invited to submit the following:

• • A writing sample.
• • A letter of recommendation from any of your referees testifying to your professional fitness; analytical abilities, writing abilities, drive, attitude to work under serious pressure, your potential etc.
• • Personal statement. In the personal statement, develop a narrative that informs us about:
• • yourself; your passion, your accomplishments; your ambition; your likes; your dislikes; your strengths; your weaknesses; your expectations; your motivation;
  • the kind of law firm you really want to work at;
  • how much you expect to be paid;
  • any extracurricular achievements or activities;
  • any other relevant information; and
  • also, let us know how you truly stand out from your peers.
• • Perseverance essay. The essay should narrate a time when you succeeded at something that seemed impossible.

We consider the personal statement and the perseverance essay critical, so please pay particular attention to them. They can be as long as you wish. Please, note also that we cannot proceed to the next stage of the recruitment if your typing speed is below 40 words per minute.

Third, after your documents have been successfully evaluated, you are invited for an informal face-to-face discussion with one of our lawyers. The aim is to meet you in person in order to hear from you and also to give you the chance to ask all the questions about our firm.

Finally, if you are recommended by the lawyer, you are invited for an interview with the Managing Partner who does the final assessment and recommends your recruitment. Applications are open all year round. So, we hope to hear from you soon.