Leyla specializes in commercial litigation, employment, and labour disputes, intellectual property, and constitutional and human rights matters.

She has particularly strong expertise in disputes in the telecommunication and aviation sectors. She is a Notary Public, a Commissioner of Oaths, a Certified Mediator, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She represents parties both in mediation and arbitration proceedings and sits as a mediator and arbitrator. She has been trained as a tribunal secretary and has sat as a tribunal secretary in several arbitral proceedings. She also advises on trade and investment matters.

Leyla is very passionate about alternative dispute resolution. In addition to her practice, she trains on ADR. Notable is that she has trained Women Members of County Assemblies drawn from various Kenyan counties in conjunction with the Frontier Counties Development Council on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and peacebuilding. She sits as a member of the Court Annexed Mediation Bar Bench Committee, High Court Commercial, and Tax Division Bar Bench Committee, and was instrumental in the formation of the Kadhis Court Bar Bench Committee where she is currently the Co-Convener. She is also a member of the Law Society of Kenya ADR Committee.

Leyla is currently the Co-Chair of the Executive Council of the Lagos Court of Arbitration Young Arbitrators Network (LCA-YAN) she is the Chair of the ICC Kenya, Customs and Trade Facilitation Commission and is a member of the African Users Council of the London Court of International Arbitration.

Leyla has been recognized for her expertise and skills. In 2019, Leyla’s paper titled ‘The Promise of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and its Effect on the Future of the East African Community’ won the second position in the East African Young Lawyers Essay Competition. She was nominated for recognition as one of Africa’s 50 Most Promising Young Arbitration Practitioners in 2020, an initiative of the Association of Young Arbitrators (AYA).

Leyla emerged as the winner in the ‘Young Lawyer of the Year category in the Law Society of Kenya Legal Awards, in 2020, and was the 1st Runner Up in 2021. She also won ‘the Young ADR Practitioner of the Year Award, 2022 in the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya) Excellence Awards.

Leyla has co-authored several publications including the Kenyan Chapter of the International Comparative Legal Guide – Business Crime 2019, as well Kenya’s chapter, within The Legal 500 Comparative Guide on Bribery and Corruption 2019 and 2020. She was part of the team that prepared a desktop review on Kenya’s Law and Disaster Preparedness and Response, a Multi-Country Synthesis 2019 Report by the International Federation of Red Cross, and Red Crescent Societies.

Leyla is a frequent speaker at ADR trade conferences and webinars.