The International Bar Association has named Mr. Kimathi Kuenyehia Sr, a Harvard-educated transactional lawyer as this year's Outstanding Young Lawyer. Mr. Kuenyehia is the first African to win the award. The prestigious award was established in honour of William Reece Smith, a former president of the IBA. The IBA Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year award which is open to all lawyers in the world up to the age of 35 is conferred on a lawyer who has distinguished him or herself and who has shown real commitment to ethical standards. Mr. Kuenyehia was honoured for his professional excellence, innovative approach to legal practice, community service and his reputation for the advancement of legal ethics and professional responsibility.Mr. Kimathi Kuenyehia is the Managing Partner at Kimathi and Partners, a leading law firm which is behind some of the recent high profile corporate and investment transactions in Ghana. Kimathi and Partners is one of the few preferred law firms for foreign investors doing business in Ghana. Early this year, Mr. Kuenyehia represented TiGO to win a landmark case against the National Lottery Authority.Mr. Kimathi Kuenyehia, who is admitted to practice law in Ghana and New York, has consistently been ranked as one of Ghana's top business lawyers by independent publications such as Chambers & Partners, IFLR 1000 and Legal 500.As part of his award, Mr. Kuenyehia will participate in the 2012 IBA Annual Conference, scheduled for September 30 to October 5, 2012 in Dublin, Ireland. The award will be presented to Mr. Kuenyehia during the IBA 2012 Annual Conference in Dublin.When reached for comments, Mr. Kimathi Kuenyehia who normally shy away from the media noted that the award came as a pleasant surprise to him, saying that "I give all the glory to God and a big thank you to the team and our clients."This is the second global award for Mr. Kimathi Kuenyehia this year. Five months ago, he was named by the Switzerland based World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader for his "professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world through inspiring leadership".The International Bar Association is the world's leading organisation of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. It has a membership of more than 40,000 individual lawyers and over 200 bar associations including the Ghana Bar Association.