The Firm
A movement-centred, feminist, and decolonial law firm
We practise law with reflection and responsibility, recognising both the power and the limits of litigation.
Grounded in the African human rights system, we draw on rigorous research and almost a decade of embedded experience to push for jurisprudence that advances dignity, equity, and accountability. We work domestically and regionally, pursuing partnership across the continent.
We believe litigation is most powerful when it is complementary – to ongoing advocacy, to movement strategy, and to the lived realities of the communities we serve.
Our model is deliberate. A dual-engine practice that combines cutting-edge, movement-centred legal defence with traditional corporate, commercial, and conveyancing services – ensuring our institutional independence and continuously funding our advocacy work.
What Drives Us
Our Vision & Mission
Vision
A world in which the law advances the dignity and rights of the most marginalised, without discrimination.
Mission
To partner with communities, movements, and clients to unlock the transformative power of the law – through rigorous litigation, collaborative knowledge production, and movement-centred legal practice.
How we work
The Firm's Framework
Strategic Litigation
Advancing human rights and sexual & reproductive justice through carefully selected, movement-aligned cases.
systemic outcomes Beyond individual cases
Our Impact
Jurisprudence and normative development
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2014 - 2016
Right to health - TB incarceration
Constitutional challenge advancing the right to health as a positive obligation on the state. Concluded. Established precedent on state obligations under the right to health. -
2024 - 2025
Safeguarding - weaponised defamation precedent
Established that investigations conducted with proper precaution cannot constitute defamation - protecting organisations implementing safeguarding policies. -
2023 - Present
Safe abortion - normative framework
Petition advancing constitutional standards on safe abortion. Instructed by the Law Society of Kenya. Currently before the Supreme Court of Kenya.
Knowledge production
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Unmasking Patriarchy: The Family and Traditional Values Discourse and the Quest for the Reproductive Health and Rights of Women
An examination of how conservative rhetoric is weaponised to undermine women's reproductive rights in Africa, published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. -
Legal and policy audit - SRHR in East Africa
Comprehensive audit of the legal and policy landscape on sexual and reproductive health rights across East Africa.
Movement infrastructure
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INITIATIVE FOR STRATEGIC LITIGATION IN AFRICA (ISLA)
Pan-African collaboration infrastructure
Collaborations Guide, MEL Framework, and External Engagement Guides - enabling feminist litigation organisations to work across borders with clarity and rigour. -
2026
Rights Under Strain
A collaborative initiative between N.A. Were Advocates and the University of Chicago developing a modular training curriculum to equip Kenyan human rights NGOs with practical tools to counter anti-rights discourse and reclaim rights-based language in legal and advocacy spaces. -
2026
FANPEL - Feminist Action Network on Predatory Lending
Co-convened with Women's Collective Kenya, FANPEL is a coalition confronting predatory digital lending and its disproportionate impact on women, girls, and students - working through research, documentation, legal support, and advocacy for stronger consumer protection and regulatory reform.