Attorney Chris Kitchel Goes to Kenya Pro Bono

September 20th, 2011. By BrendaC

Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with Oregon Attorney Chris Kitchel of Stoel & Rives…

Attorney Chris Kitchel: “Rape is a way of life…and anyone who even tries to report a rape will be denigrated and called a “whore” or worse.”

Veteran trial attorney Chris Kitchel came away from two months as a volunteer lawyer in Kenya with, among other things, a fresh appreciation of the American justice system. “I have a renewed appreciation for our legal system, how valuable and precious it is and we as lawyers must continue to work hard to keep it a just system,” says Kitchel who has been a practicing trial lawyer for 31 years.

A partner in the firm Stoel & Rives, Kitchel decided to use her sabbatical to work with a group called Lawyers without Borders. Based in Hartford, Connecticut, Lawyers without Borders was established in 2000 to provide support for Rule of Law projects and human rights initiatives around the world using pro bono services of volunteer lawyers.

Kitchel heard about Lawyers without Borders for the very first time at a conference. When the Kenyan opportunity was put to her, this 61-year-old mother of three daughters, from a large Catholic family whose parents worked the night shift and stressed education to their children, jumped at the chance.

Kenya is a country of 40 million people, half are under the age of 18, the unemployment rate is 40 percent and its social and justice systems are racked by chaos and violence—much of the violence is perpetrated against women.

Kitchel wrote a daily blog describing her experiences with the Kenyan legal system, the people who run it and the people who find themselves before the courts.

“There are no trials, there are no juries,” says Kitchel. “Crimes are prosecuted by police prosecutors. They may call someone to testify, that person is cross-examined and they go on to the next case.”

“It may be months before that case comes before the judge again,” she adds. “If the judge changes, then the defendant has the right to continue with the new judge, or start all over again.”

“The records are kept at the courthouse and are supposed to be a verbatim hand-written record,” says Kitchel. “In many of the cases I went through I found just gibberish. It is just lines across the paper and there is nothing there that is usable for anyone to see what went on before.”

Lawyers without Borders asked Kitchel to look particularly at crimes against women. She found a sexually aggressive society where women of all ages and circumstances are vulnerable to sexual attacks and often with little recourse in the justice system.

“Rape is a way of life,” says Kitchel. Women from the Nairobi slums told Kitchel that reporting a rape is useless. “They said, ‘sure report it to the police, you are more likely to get raped by the police’.”

And anyone who even tries to report a rape will be denigrated and called a “whore” or worse adds Kitchel.

Changing the system in a two month tour, of course, is impossible. But Kitchel spent many hours with young female Kenyan lawyers, setting an example for them, talking about how the American system works and raising their hopes and expectations for the future.

“I come from a huge Catholic family in the midwest and my best hope was to marry well,” says Kitchel who grew up in the 1950’s and has benefited greatly from changing social conditions for women in America. “And my parents said education will set you free.”

Kitchel says her value to women in countries like Kenya with the Lawyers without Borders project lies “on a micro basis”. “It is not so much my experience as a trial lawyer, but as female lawyer coming up through a traditionally male structure.”

“I can talk about what kind of struggles and hurdles there are for them. I think that is the value—helping other women take a similar path—that’s how I can help them.”

Would she go again to another country where people are struggling in the justice system? You bet.

Chris Kitchel holds an M.B.A. from Portland State University and a J.D. from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College. Her practice focuses on employment litigation and she is a highly sought-after speaker.

Tags: Chris Kitchel, employment litigation, Kenya, Kenyan Justice, Lawyers without Borders, Pro Bono, Rape, Sexual Assault, Stoel & Rives

This was posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 at 7:32 am and is filed under Emerging Issues, Lawyers Giving Back . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.