378 New Legal Practitioners Admitted to The Bar

Zambia admitted 378 new legal practitioners this year after a repeat sitting of the 2026 Legal Practitioners' Qualifying Examination produced 161 successful male candidates and 217 successful female candidates, with the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education using the milestone to caution graduates against leaning too heavily on artificial intelligence in their legal practice.

In an interview with ZANIS, ZIALE Director and Chief Executive Officer Fabian Mayondi told the newly admitted practitioners their first responsibility was to be good ambassadors for the institute that trained them. "ZIALE stands for high standards, and we expect that they'll go and make a contribution to the growth of the law, to the growth of our jurisprudence, and to be people that will add value to the growth of our democracy," Mayondi said.

Mayondi warned the new lawyers not to treat artificial intelligence as a substitute for independent legal thought. "There are certain things that technology cannot replace," he said, a message that comes as law firms and legal educators globally grapple with how AI tools are reshaping legal research and drafting.

He also acknowledged a structural challenge facing the profession: Zambia's law firms do not have the capacity to absorb every graduate ZIALE produces. "The law firms are not enough to absorb every student that we have at ZIALE," Mayondi said, adding that the institute now sees a need to develop its own infrastructure so it can absorb some of its own learners directly.

Chief Justice Dr Mumba Malila, addressing the newly admitted practitioners, emphasised that integrity remains the overriding test of fitness to practise law, underscoring a standard the institute says underpins everything from its curriculum to its assessment of readiness for the Bar.

The admissions add 378 new advocates to Zambia's legal profession, at a moment when the country's courts and law firms continue to face growing demand tied to commercial activity, constitutional litigation and the ongoing election period.