Decree Holder
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- Jul 19, 2015
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The Presidency of the TLS – Why now?
Dear Colleagues,
With the election of the next President of our beloved Law Society being only two weeks away, I feel that it is my duty to put before you my reasons for seeking your vote to become the next President of our Society. Before I go into the reasons for my candidature may I please take this opportunity albeit briefly to introduce myself to you as a person.
My name is Lawrence Kego Masha, more commonly known as “Lau” to my friends and collegues. I was born on the 11th of March, 1970; graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam Faculty of Law in November of 1991 and was admitted to the Bar in June of 1996. In addition to my LL.B , I hold an LL.M in International and Comparative Law from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. In spite of my busy schedule and work load, I am happily married and I am the proud father of four.
In my 21 years of practice, I have not once sat on the Council or vied for any position of leadership within the TLS. For the past 21 years I was satisfied with being a passive bystander with regard to the affairs of the TLS while contributing to my profession and Country in other ways. During the past few years however, I have been watching the Law Society carefully and listening to the discourse amongst members of the Society and have come to the conclusion that there is something terribly wrong. The unity of the Society I joined 21 years ago is no longer there; the respect for our profession and our Society has dwindled in the public eye. Somewhere over the years, our Society and our Profession have gone astray.
When I joined our Society at the age of 26, I felt honoured to mingle with the likes of Mohamed Ismail, Evarist Mbuya, Chief Mirambo, the Late Moses Maira and the Late Leopold Kalunga. These were men who would never miss a meeting of the Society and most importantly would never miss then much awaited annual dinner and dance. As it is within our profession, there was always respect for seniority, however interestingly enough age, gender, political affiliation or the size of ones law firm were never an issue for debate or discussion. We discussed the law, we discussed matters related to our profession, we discussed access to justice and the well being of our members. That is the law society I remember.
I am of the view that all of our members are important and that all their ideas are worth listening to. We might not always agree, but it is important that all are given a voice. Today’s young lawyer is tomorrows older practitioner and his or her needs must be considered by the Society at all stages of practice and life. Being a member of our Society should not be a burden on the Practitioner nor should it be a mere exercise in the fulfillment of a statutory obligation for which one sees no benefit other than obtaining a practicing certificate. The objectives for which the Law Society were established were noble objectives which if carried out would clearly show the nobility of our profession.
I decided to accept nominations to run for the Presidency of the Society because I believe that I have the experience necessary to unite the Society by bringing the concerns of all groups within the society together to ensure that we have a society that caters for all and carries out its objectives honourably. I believe that before us there is an opportunity to work together with members to revive our society and bring back the unity and vibrancy we once had. It is for these reasons that I seek your vote.
During this current election there are a number of issues which are of great importance to our members. I think that it is only fair that you have a clear understanding of my personal views on some of the pertinent issues of the day.
1.Membership to the East African Law Society
I do not believe that it should be mandatory for a member of TLS to be a member of the EALS, just as it is not mandatory for a member of the TLS to be a member of the IBA. The EALS has no bearing on a Tanzanian’s practice of law within Tanzania, and accordingly such membership should be voluntary. I would have no objection to membership being mandatory for those conducting cross-border practice, nor would I have a problem with TLS being an institutional member of EALS. I am therefore of the view that our regulations concerning TLS membership should be reviewed.
2.Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
I believe that CLE is necessary , however I am of the view that the current system requires an overhaul. Currently Advocates attend CLE only to obtain the points and not for the educative value of the CLE programs. The current CLE system is highly unfair to those advocates practicing outside of Dar es Salaam as the variety of topics availed is limited and the quality of CLE programs across the board leaves a lot to be desired. The current CLE program does not take into account the fact that many lawyers today are not general practitioners and thus more in depth practice area specific courses need to be availed.
3.Membership Fees
I believe that a study should be conducted to determine what the budgetary requirements are for the running of an efficient TLS at both National and Chapter levels. The Society is not and should not be collecting fees as a means of making a profit. Experience shows that the more fees are collected the more uses/activities will be found for such fees. Once an objective study is undertaken a proposal for an appropriate fee structure should be presented to the members.
4.Role of Chapters
As the number of enrolled advocates in Tanzania continues to grow and as our Chapters continue to grow in size, I believe the role of Chapters in the running of the Society should be increased. I believe that in so far as possible those functions of the Council and TLS Secretariat which can be decentralized to Chapters of sufficient size should be decentralized . I propose that a special committee of the Society be established to come up with a proposal to table before the HAGM. This Committee should include the respective Chapter conveners or delegates chosen by the respective Chapters.
Over the next few days, as a member of our Society you will have an opportunity to ponder over whom you believe will be the right candidate for the Presidency of the TLS. All 5 candidates who are currently running have been vetted by the nominating committee and qualify to be your president. It is you who has to make a decision as to who the better candidate is. It is my hope that I will be your choice. Should you have any questions that you would like to ask me, please feel free to contact me directly on lawrence.masha@gabrielco.legal .
Kind regards,
Lau Masha
March 5th, 2017
Dear Colleagues,
With the election of the next President of our beloved Law Society being only two weeks away, I feel that it is my duty to put before you my reasons for seeking your vote to become the next President of our Society. Before I go into the reasons for my candidature may I please take this opportunity albeit briefly to introduce myself to you as a person.
My name is Lawrence Kego Masha, more commonly known as “Lau” to my friends and collegues. I was born on the 11th of March, 1970; graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam Faculty of Law in November of 1991 and was admitted to the Bar in June of 1996. In addition to my LL.B , I hold an LL.M in International and Comparative Law from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. In spite of my busy schedule and work load, I am happily married and I am the proud father of four.
In my 21 years of practice, I have not once sat on the Council or vied for any position of leadership within the TLS. For the past 21 years I was satisfied with being a passive bystander with regard to the affairs of the TLS while contributing to my profession and Country in other ways. During the past few years however, I have been watching the Law Society carefully and listening to the discourse amongst members of the Society and have come to the conclusion that there is something terribly wrong. The unity of the Society I joined 21 years ago is no longer there; the respect for our profession and our Society has dwindled in the public eye. Somewhere over the years, our Society and our Profession have gone astray.
When I joined our Society at the age of 26, I felt honoured to mingle with the likes of Mohamed Ismail, Evarist Mbuya, Chief Mirambo, the Late Moses Maira and the Late Leopold Kalunga. These were men who would never miss a meeting of the Society and most importantly would never miss then much awaited annual dinner and dance. As it is within our profession, there was always respect for seniority, however interestingly enough age, gender, political affiliation or the size of ones law firm were never an issue for debate or discussion. We discussed the law, we discussed matters related to our profession, we discussed access to justice and the well being of our members. That is the law society I remember.
I am of the view that all of our members are important and that all their ideas are worth listening to. We might not always agree, but it is important that all are given a voice. Today’s young lawyer is tomorrows older practitioner and his or her needs must be considered by the Society at all stages of practice and life. Being a member of our Society should not be a burden on the Practitioner nor should it be a mere exercise in the fulfillment of a statutory obligation for which one sees no benefit other than obtaining a practicing certificate. The objectives for which the Law Society were established were noble objectives which if carried out would clearly show the nobility of our profession.
I decided to accept nominations to run for the Presidency of the Society because I believe that I have the experience necessary to unite the Society by bringing the concerns of all groups within the society together to ensure that we have a society that caters for all and carries out its objectives honourably. I believe that before us there is an opportunity to work together with members to revive our society and bring back the unity and vibrancy we once had. It is for these reasons that I seek your vote.
During this current election there are a number of issues which are of great importance to our members. I think that it is only fair that you have a clear understanding of my personal views on some of the pertinent issues of the day.
1.Membership to the East African Law Society
I do not believe that it should be mandatory for a member of TLS to be a member of the EALS, just as it is not mandatory for a member of the TLS to be a member of the IBA. The EALS has no bearing on a Tanzanian’s practice of law within Tanzania, and accordingly such membership should be voluntary. I would have no objection to membership being mandatory for those conducting cross-border practice, nor would I have a problem with TLS being an institutional member of EALS. I am therefore of the view that our regulations concerning TLS membership should be reviewed.
2.Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
I believe that CLE is necessary , however I am of the view that the current system requires an overhaul. Currently Advocates attend CLE only to obtain the points and not for the educative value of the CLE programs. The current CLE system is highly unfair to those advocates practicing outside of Dar es Salaam as the variety of topics availed is limited and the quality of CLE programs across the board leaves a lot to be desired. The current CLE program does not take into account the fact that many lawyers today are not general practitioners and thus more in depth practice area specific courses need to be availed.
3.Membership Fees
I believe that a study should be conducted to determine what the budgetary requirements are for the running of an efficient TLS at both National and Chapter levels. The Society is not and should not be collecting fees as a means of making a profit. Experience shows that the more fees are collected the more uses/activities will be found for such fees. Once an objective study is undertaken a proposal for an appropriate fee structure should be presented to the members.
4.Role of Chapters
As the number of enrolled advocates in Tanzania continues to grow and as our Chapters continue to grow in size, I believe the role of Chapters in the running of the Society should be increased. I believe that in so far as possible those functions of the Council and TLS Secretariat which can be decentralized to Chapters of sufficient size should be decentralized . I propose that a special committee of the Society be established to come up with a proposal to table before the HAGM. This Committee should include the respective Chapter conveners or delegates chosen by the respective Chapters.
Over the next few days, as a member of our Society you will have an opportunity to ponder over whom you believe will be the right candidate for the Presidency of the TLS. All 5 candidates who are currently running have been vetted by the nominating committee and qualify to be your president. It is you who has to make a decision as to who the better candidate is. It is my hope that I will be your choice. Should you have any questions that you would like to ask me, please feel free to contact me directly on lawrence.masha@gabrielco.legal .
Kind regards,
Lau Masha
March 5th, 2017
