The Executive Members
Guidance, Inspiration and Support
Chair Person
Frances Smith
Frances is a dual qualified Lawyer enrolled as an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda and also admitted as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. She is an experienced senior advocate in both Jurisdiction and has successfully represented private clients and local governments. She has been contracted to legally represent different local governments in the UK such as Nottinghamshire County Council, Leicestershire Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Birmingham City Council and Northamptonshire Council in civil litigation matters. In Uganda she works as Senior Counsel with Twikirize & Co Advocates, Kampala.
Frances holds a university degree in French and Sociology from Makerere University (Uganda); a Law Degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Law (England); a Master’s degree (LLM) in Transnational Energy Oil and Gas from the University of Derby (UK).
Frances is also very enthusiastic about alternative dispute resolution (ADR); she is the founder and CEO of the Arbitration and Mediation Society of Uganda (AMSU). Frances is an Arbitration Practitioner with expertise in International Commercial Arbitration and has successfully handled several cases as Legal Counsel in this field. She is a certified member of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) in the UK and a full member of the Africa Arbitration Association (AfAA). She serves on the Arbitration Law Cluster Committee of the Uganda Law Society.
Frances is also a member of the East Africa Law Society and the Law Society of England and Wales.
Treasurer
Raphael Onyango
Raphael is a Director and Solicitor at Titan Solicitors located at Plumstead, South East London. He represents both privately funded and publicly funded (legal aid) clients in criminal matters. His areas of expertise include; immigration law, criminal law and family law.
​
In immigration, Raphael is experienced in applications under the European Economic Area (EEA) regulations, the EU Settlement Scheme, entry clearance applications, complex asylum based matters, and representing detained foreign nationals who are seeking to remain in the UK to seek international protection and/or enjoy family life in the UK in accordance with their Article 8 ECHR rights.
Raphael is experienced in conducting appeals before the Immigration Asylum Chamber and handling immigration related judicial review matters.
He is an accredited Police station representative. This accreditation allows him to represent clients through legal aid funding at police stations. Raphael is experienced in conducting litigation at Magistrates and Crown Courts as well as appeals at the Court of Appeal.
He regularly advises and represents clients in relation to divorce proceedings (including defended divorces), consent orders and child arrangement orders.
Kato Mpanga
Aspiring Lawyers Executive Representative
Mpanga holds a Law degree from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom (UK). He completed a Master of Laws in Legal Practice and a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Central Lancashire, UK.
Mpanga does Local Authority legal work in the UK, and he is a member of the Arbitration and Mediation Society of Uganda