AS THE world celebrates International Women’s Day, the legal exploits of a 34-year-old former St Mary’s Girls Secondary Head Girl have caught the attention of Africa’s legal fraternity landing her a spot among Africa’s Top 100 Lawyers as compiled by the prestigious Court Room Mail.
Misozi Masengu who has barely clocked 10 years in legal practice is being celebrated for doing “great things”.
She joins a small circle of three other Zambians who have all been practicing law for at least 20 years and have also made the cut.
Heroic people’s lawyer Linda Kasonde famed for her vibrancy and bravery while she served as the first female president of the Law Association of Zambia, University of Zambia professor of laws Chuma Himonga and veteran legal practitioner Mwangala Zaloumis are the other three.
The Courtroom Mail initially set out to list 100 of the best female lawyers on the continent but due to the rigorous criteria, only 62 made it on the prestigious catalogue.
“The women listed are women who are currently doing great things and we regard them as Super Heroes, Heroes, Influencers and disruptors,” the Courtroom editor explained.
Nigeria contributed 15 lawyers to the list, the highest number while South Africa and Kenya have 11 and seven respectively.
Top of the list is Ethiopia’s first female federal chief justice Meaza Ashenafi.
“Apart from Ashenafi Meaza who we listed as number one, every other person is listed randomly in no special order.”
That Misozi has been recognised among Africa’s best at only 34 with less than a decade of practice only goes to demonstrate her brilliance, focus, hardwork and probably a bright future ahead.
The beautiful Misozi is the founder and Managing Partner of NOVUS HM Legal Practitioners, a leading full service firm in Lusaka.
She is a Beit Scholar, holding a Master of Laws(LLM) in Commercial Law from the University of Durham in England and a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from the University of Zambia.
Misozi is a trial advocate and transactional lawyer, with expertise in commercial litigation and commercial transactions.
She has over 9 years’ experience representing clients in various commercial disputes including employment and labour relations, insurance, intellectual property, and capital markets.
She has successfully represented clients in landmark cases on the dissolution of Islamic marriages and creditors’ schemes of arrangement.
Her experience in transactional lawyering spans mergers and acquisitions, project finance, Islamic finance, private equity and corporate advisory and commercial.
She also has vast experience in advising leading commodity trading companies, particularly on acquisitions in the wholesale and FMCGs industry. She also has previously advised on acquisition financing in the banking sector and is a qualified corporate insolvency practitioner.
Misozi is passionate about seeking novelty in law and pushing the boundaries of legal practice. She is currently serving on various boards, as well as on various committees of the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), the International Bar Association (IBA) and the International Trademarks Association (INTA).
Misozi is also an author and has written widely on employment and labour law.
©Kalemba March 10, 2021
