Linda Kasonde becomes the first woman to be elected as President of LAZ

By Staff Reporter, LUSAKA 

Linda Kasonde has been elected as President of the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) at the Annual General Meeting held on Saturday, 16th April, 2016 at the Avani Victoria Falls Resort (former Zambezi Sun International Hotel), in Livingstone. 

She becomes the first woman to be elected President of LAZ. 

Ms Kasonde has served in various capacities in LAZ from an ordinary member, honorary secretary and was until now deputizing George Chisanga. 

Ms Kasonde obtained her LLB Degree from the University of Leicester in England in 2000. In 2007, Ms Kasonde obtained a commercially-biased Masters Degree in Law (LLM) from the University of Cape Town. 

She has been practicing law for over 14 years now. 

Since her admission to the Zambian Bar, Ms. Kasonde has worked as an Advocate at the National Legal Aid Clinic for Women and was employed at her current firm in 2004 and rose to the position of partner in 2009 and in 2014 became the first female to be elevated to the position of named partner in a top ranked firm in Zambia. 

Ms Kasonde is an alumnus of the Harvard University’s Leadership in the 21st Century Executive Programme 2013. 

She has also undergone training in law practice management on the IE University’s Lawyers’ Management Programme in Madrid and London in 2012. 

Ms Kasonde is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) in England and Zambia. 

Ms Kasonde was the Vice-President of the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and is also an officer of the Women’s Interest Group committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) and Convenor of the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Committee of LAZ. 

She is a former member of the inaugural Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, a 2014 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow, a 2014 alumni of the United States of America State Department’s International Visitor’s Leadership Programme (IVLP), Director of Fashion Retailers (Zambia) Limited (a member of the Foschini Group), a board member of a Zambian NGO called Alchemy Women in Leadership.