Meet Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu - 2021 Influential Women In Legal Tech Honoree

By ILTA Membership posted 03-04-2021 13:31

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Each week of March, ILTA will highlight a 2021 Influential Women in Legal Tech List Honoree in celebration of the U.S. National Women’s History Month. Each Honoree has answered five questions and shared advice to get to know more about their accomplishments and initiatives. Make sure to follow ILTA on Instagram and/or Twitter to hear their advice.

Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu is a lawyer working as a Public Policy Manager at Safaricom PLC, East Africa’s leading telecommunications company. Legal tech is her passion and she devotes her work hours and off-hours to the building of knowledge of the space. She is a seasoned speaker, leads policy initiatives in Kenya, pioneered the development of a public policy platform vellum.co.ke, mentors young women, and so much more. But let’s get to know more than what is stated in her bio.

ILTA: Describe your role as if you are speaking with a child.

Rosemary: I listen to and read decisions made by people who make rules (lawmakers) that can affect how Safaricom business works and then advise the company on the issues. Safaricom is a phone company that helps people make calls, texts, access the internet, and send mobile money. I also meet people interested in technology to discuss how the rules made by lawmakers can affect many businesses and people who work in technology. I also help Safaricom to review agreements.

What accomplishment in the legal space are you most proud of?

I am most proud of bridging the gap between techies and the law formation process. I help break down how various proposed policies and legislation can affect their operations and undertake multi-stakeholder engagements that contribute to the law-making process in the technology space through legislative and policy analysis followed by proposals made to lawmakers during public participation processes.

How do you make sure there are seats at the table for women in the industry?

I have been intentional about mentoring and bringing other women on board, both at work and in industry engagements, in legal tech at the Nairobi Legal Hackers, and through the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet). I am also part of Lean in Circle Lawyers in Technology (L.I.T) where we have regular engagements with fellow ladies in the legal tech space to share opportunities and our experiences in the legal tech space.

What is one challenge within legal technology you hope to help solve?

I hope to have more techies engaging with lawmakers and lawyers to ensure that the laws regulations being created ensure the maintenance of a conducive policy environment for technology to thrive. Now more than ever there is a need for greater collaborations between the tech industry and lawmakers as technology continues to shape our daily lives and as the world figures out the next regulations that will shape our digital future.

If you could spend one hour with someone who you feel has had a significant impact on your success (directly or indirectly), who would you spend it with, and what’s the one question you’d ask them?

If I could, I would spend one hour with my maternal grandmother Mary-Jacinta Soi. Growing up I was a strong-willed child and always got into serious debates on any topic from farming to politics and she would call me “Kirwogindet,” which is a name that is used to refer to an advisory judge in traditional Kalenjin culture, a role that was predominantly held by males. She predicted that I would one day make a good lawyer. I’d ask her how she managed to juggle her career as a leading county council officer while still managing to raise a large family. Her nuggets of wisdom would come in handy as she juggled both work and family in an era where most women stayed home to take care of their children and farms. She passed away in the year in the year 2009.