What is International Lawyers for Africa (ILFA)?
ILFA is a pro bono/Corporate Social Responsibility initiative launched in 2006 by leading International law firms to contribute to the development of legal skills and expertise of African lawyers. ILFA provides 3 months of high quality work experience in leading UK international law firms and training in international law and key legal practice skills. The programme runs from the beginning of September to the end of November each year.
The placements offer an annual curriculum of the most relevant parts of the participating law firms' existing training programs. These include banking, project finance, and capital markets as well as talks and lectures from international lawyers from leading universities and international institutions.
ILFA grows annually, creating a far reaching legal network of African lawyers capable of providing guidance for anyone seeking commercial legal advice in Africa and preventing the exodus of work from the continent to more established international legal centres.
2011 marks ILFA's 5TH year of operation and it has gone from strength to strength. In 2010 lawyers from 16 African countries competed for places on the programme, including: Botswana; Cameroon; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; Namibia; Nigeria; Rwanda; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Sudan; Tanzania; Tunisia; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe
The programme is well respected internationally and has drawn praise from luminaries both in Africa and the UK. We are particularly proud of the support given by Law Society of England and Wales, Law Societies in Africa, the Commercial Bar Association, members of the Judiciary and prominent legal academics and institutions. As well as Corporates with operational or investment interests in Africa and the UK High Commissions and Embassies of participating countries.
