As
we
complete
the
rollout
of
our
2025
Outside
Counsel
Rankings,
we
focus
this
week
on
the
law
firms
rated
highest
by
in-house
counsel
at
specific
types
of
organizations.
As
a
reminder,
our
survey
asked
more
than
500
in-house
attorneys
to
tell
us
which
firms
their
organization
engages
for
legal
services
and
indicate
the
highest
level
of
legal
work
for
which
they
engage
the
firms.
The
levels
of
work
were
defined
along
a
four-point
scale:
Cost-efficient,
bulk
tasks
Routine
matters
High-value,
complex
matters
“Bet-the-company”
matters
The
ratings
for
each
firm
were
averaged
and
the
law
firms
with
the
highest
scores
made
it
into
our
list
of
the
Top
Outside
Counsel.
We
also
drew
up
industry-specific
rankings
based
on
the
sectors
represented
by
the
in-house
lawyers
surveyed.
For
our
organization
rankings,
we
segmented
the
responses
based
on
the
type
of
organization
in
which
the
respondents
work
to
compile
lists
of
the
highest-rated
firms
among
eight
groups:
Small
Private
Companies
(with
fewer
than
100
employees)
Nonprofit
Institutions
The
firm
that
appears
most
frequently
across
types
of
organizations
is
Sidley
Austin,
which
ranks
in
six
different
categories.
Five
other
firms
feature
on
at
least
three
lists:
Sidley
Austin
(6):
Fortune
500,
Fortune
1000,
Other
Public,
Large
Private,
Midsize
Private,
Small
Private
Kirkland
&
Ellis
(4):
Fortune
1000,
Large
Private,
Midsize
Private,
Small
Private
Latham
&
Watkins
(4):
Fortune
250,
Other
Public,
Large
Private,
Midsize
Private
Cooley
(3):
Other
Public,
Small
Private,
Nonprofit
Institutions
DLA
Piper
(3):
Fortune
250,
Fortune
1000,
Large
Private
Morgan
Lewis
(3):
Fortune
250,
Fortune
500,
Nonprofit
Institutions
For
the
complete
lists
of
firms,
check
out
the
full
organization
rankings
here.
*
Judge
demands
to
know
why
Lindsey
Halligan
is
still
listed
as
“U.S.
Attorney”
when
she
is
most
definitely
not
a
“U.S.
Attorney.”
[Law360]
*
Could
law
firms
be
on
the
brink
of
a
financial
downturn?
[Reuters]
*
McGlinchey
Stafford
will
close
down.
Which
might
go
a
ways
toward
answering
the
prior
question.
[American
Lawyer]
*
“Mid-market
legal
powerhouse”
launches.
Which
might
go
a
ways
toward
further
complicating
that
question.
[ABA
Journal]
*
Texas
Supreme
Court
decides
to
break
with
ABA
and
do
its
own
law
school
accrediting.
So
now
would
be
a
very
good
time
to
start
a
shady
correspondence
law
school
with
a
vaguely
religious
name.
[Texas
Lawyer]
*
University
considers
suing
player
who
announced
intention
to
transfer.
[Yahoo]
This
Administration
Keeps
Knocking
At
The
Third
Amendment:
And
at
the
doors
of
Hilton,
no
less!
K-9s
Are
One
Thing,
But
Give
Me
A
Break:
AI
model
claims
officer
morphed
into
frog.
George
Conway
Is
Running
For
Congress:
The
former
partner
wants
to
represent
you!
Judge
Resigns
After
Obstruction
Conviction:
She
says
Milwaukee
Branch
31
deserves
to
start
the
year
with
a
judge
on
the
bench.
Cast
Your
Vote!:
Who
deserves
to
be
crowned
Lawyer
Of
The
Year?
According
to
early
reports
on
2025
Biglaw
financials,
which
Biglaw
firm
will
pay
equity
partners
$9
million
on
average
for
2025,
becoming
the
third
major
law
firm
to
hit
that
profits
per
equity
partner
(PEP)
threshold?
Hint:
The
firm
joins
Kirkland
&
Ellis
and
Wachtell
in
the
$9
million+
PEP
club.
Last
month,
I
reported
on
key
hires
and
a
rebranding
at
The
Masters
Conference,
a
legal
education
and
thought
leadership
forum,
as
it
announced
its
new
identity
as
Masters
LegalAI
and
brought
on
legal
industry
veteran Kevin
Vermeulen as
its
new
chief
executive
officer,
along
with
Mike
Dalewitz,
a
veteran
e-discovery
entrepreneur,
as
its
executive
chairman.
Now,
the
organization
has
made
another
key
hire,
appointing
Henry
Dicker,
who
long
ran
ALM’s
LegalTech
conferences
(later
renamed
Legalweek),
as
senior
vice
president
of
strategy
and
partnerships.
In
his
new
role,
the
company
said,
Dicker
will
focus
on
aligning
people,
markets
and
execution
to
drive
sustainable
growth
and
strengthen
Masters
LegalAI’s
position
as
a
leading
legal
industry
organization.
“We
are
thrilled
to
welcome
Henry
Dicker
to
our
executive
team,”
Vermeulen
said
in
a
statement.
“His
proven
ability
to
turn
complexity
into
durable
growth
is
exactly
what
we
need
as
we
enter
our
next
phase
of
expansion.”
Dicker
was
with
ALM
for
17
years,
from
1998
to
2016,
where
he
last
held
the
position
of
senior
vice
president,
global
services.
Under
his
leadership,
he
oversaw
the
growth
of
the
LegalTech
conference
from
a
trade
show
to
a
leading
event
for
law
firms,
corporate
legal
departments
and
technology
companies.
According
to
his
LinkedIn
profile,
he
was
responsible
at
ALM
for
a
revenue
portfolio
of
more
than
$25
million,
building
and
scaling
more
than
300
conferences
across
North
America,
Europe,
Asia
and
South
America.
He
also
established
and
developed
ALM’s
Business
of
Law
consultancy.
After
leaving
ALM,
Dicker
served
in
a
series
of
executive
roles.
As
group
president
of
Nexem
Legal
and
chief
client
engagement
officer
at
Lowers
Risk
Group,
he
modernized
legacy
businesses,
launched
technology-enabled
and
recurring-revenue
services,
and
helped
achieve
double-digit
growth.
Most
recently,
as
president
of
Bobit
Business
Media,
Dicker
led
the
transformation
of
its
event
portfolio,
restoring
profitability
and
positioning
the
business
for
a
successful
exit.
Welcome
to
2026,
with
hopes
that
this
coming
year
will
be
one
of
success
and
contentment
for
the
entirety
of
this
readership.
I
can
think
of
no
better
way
to
kick
off
the
year
than
to
share
a
written
interview
I
conducted
with
someone
who
was
a
major
contributor
to
one
of
the
IP
success
stories
of
2025,
namely
the
robust
market
for
patent
litigation
talent
in
the
face
of
what
seems
like
unprecedented
changes
in
big-ticket
patent
litigation
practice.
Our
interviewee
is
a
legal
recruiter,
whose
agency
placed
no
less
than
eight
patent
litigators
(out
of
a
total
of
15
placements)
in
2025
alone,
at
firms
with
elite
patent
litigation
practices
like
Gibson
Dunn,
Quinn
Emanuel,
and
Orrick.
With
a
Biglaw
background
in
patent
litigation
under
his
belt,
it
is
no
wonder
that
our
interviewee’s
approach
is
resonating
with
both
candidates
and
target
firms.
Let’s
meet
our
interviewee,
who
was
gracious
enough
to
agree
to
this
interview
at
one
of
the
busiest
times
of
the
year
for
legal
recruiters.
Khurram
Naik
is
a
partner
at
Freshwater
Counsel,
a
boutique
recruiting
agency
focused
on
placing
elite
patent
litigators
at
the
partner,
counsel,
and
associate
levels.
Before
founding
the
agency,
he
practiced
patent
litigation
at
Goodwin.
In
addition
to
his
recruiting
practice,
Khurram
also
serves
as
the
host
of
Khurram’s
Quorum,
a
podcast
with
in-depth
conversations
with
federal
judges,
first-chair
trial
lawyers,
and
chief
legal
officers
on
their
career
challenges
and
successes.
Khurram
also
shares
insights
on
LinkedIn,
where
I
personally
find
his
posts
about
his
experiences
as
a
recruiter
both
informative
and
genuine.
Now
to
the
interview.
As
usual,
I
have
added
some
brief
commentary
to
Khurram’s
answer
below
but
have
otherwise
presented
his
answer
to
my
first
question
as
he
provided
it.
Gaston
Kroub:
With
the
recent
upheaval
at
the
PTO,
what
timeless
factors
still
drive
demand
for
elite
patent
litigators?
Khurram
Naik:
Patents
keep
issuing,
products
keep
launching,
and
companies
must
keep
defending
market
share.
Whether
in
standards
or
biologics,
these
disputes
remain
high-stakes
and
often
bet-the-company,
which
means
demand
for
elite
patent
litigators
never
truly
softens.
In
life
sciences,
new
drugs
and
biologics
move
through
development,
regulatory
approval,
and
commercialization
on
a
continuous
cycle,
and
each
stage
creates
predictable
points
of
dispute.
Hatch-Waxman
litigation,
biosimilar
cases,
and
follow-on
patent
challenges
aren’t
distractions
from
core
businesses,
they’re
central.
A
single
patent
decision
can
determine
whether
a
company
secures
market
exclusivity
or
loses
it
overnight.
Humira,
the
top-selling
pharmaceutical
in
the
world,
generated
AbbVie
$20
billion
in
revenue
in
a
year
at
its
peak.
Following
biosimilar
entry,
Humira’s
revenues
dropped
more
than
half
the
following
year.
When
the
stakes
are
billions
of
dollars,
companies
don’t
downsize
their
litigation
strategy,
they
double
down.
GK:
It
probably
won’t
be
a
surprise
for
this
readership
that
industries
where
patents
have
historically
carried
outsized
value,
like
pharmaceuticals,
are
amongst
the
biggest
beneficiaries
of
the
changes
to
the
IPR
regime
that
has
so
dominated
patent
practice
for
over
a
decade.
Nor
should
it
be
a
surprise
that
demand
for
high-level
life
sciences
patent
litigators
remains
at
a
high
level,
particularly
because
those
cases
can
be
less
budget-sensitive
than
other
types
of
patents
cases,
given
their
importance.
We
have
also
already
seen
the
impact
of
the
changes
in
the
IPR
regime
on
patent
lawyers
whose
practices
focused
on
that
type
of
work,
at
least
of
whom
have
already
started
to
pivot
towards
a
focus
on
other
types
of
adversarial
patent
proceedings.
Outside
of
pharma
and
IPR
work,
what
will
be
interesting
to
monitor
as
we
head
into
2026
and
beyond
is
whether
demand
for
patent
litigators
with
real
experience
and
knowledge
in
the
area
of
litigation
funding
will
expand
or
contract,
especially
considering
the
headwinds
that
at
least
some
sectors
of
the
litigation
funding
market
have
been
dealing
with.
At
the
same
time,
many
IP
departments
at
leading
technology
companies
are
dealing
with
a
flood
of
funded
cases
filed
against
them,
which
may
lead
to
more
defense-minded
firms
looking
to
add
talent
with
true
knowledge
of
how
litigation
funding
works
in
the
patent
litigation
context.
Either
way,
Khurram
and
his
colleagues
should
continue
to
see
demand
for
their
services…
We
will
continue
with
Khurram’s
answers
to
questions
2
and
3
next
time,
which
will
center
on
both
how
his
experience
in
Biglaw
helps
him
in
his
current
role,
as
well
as
his
thoughts
on
where
there
is
demand
for
top-tier
patent
litigators
in
the
current
market.
In
the
meantime,
feel
free
to
reach
out
to
Khurram
if
you
think
2026
might
be
the
year
for
a
move,
or
if
your
firm
needs
additional
talent…
Please
feel
free
to
send
comments
or
questions
to
me
at
[email protected]
or
via
Twitter:
@gkroub.
Any
topic
suggestions
or
thoughts
are
most
welcome.
Gaston
Kroub
lives
in
Brooklyn
and
is
a
founding
partner
of Kroub,
Silbersher
&
Kolmykov
PLLC,
an
intellectual
property
litigation
boutique,
and Markman
Advisors
LLC,
a
leading
consultancy
on
patent
issues
for
the
investment
community.
Gaston’s
practice
focuses
on
intellectual
property
litigation
and
related
counseling,
with
a
strong
focus
on
patent
matters.
You
can
reach
him
at [email protected]or
follow
him
on
Twitter: @gkroub.
Highwood,
Illinois
knows
how
to
put
on
a
show.
Every
year
the
town
hosts
a
three-day
music
festival
called
Nashwood,
where
country
and
blues
acts
roll
in
from
across
the
country.
My
wife
and
I
spent
the
weekend
hopping
between
venues,
and
on
the
final
night
decided
to
do
something
unusual
for
us
—
we
winged
it
on
dinner.
We
wandered
into
a
long-standing
restaurant
that
looked
promising
but
was
completely
empty.
That
should
have
been
our
first
clue.
The
smell
hit
us
right
away.
My
wife
thought
it
was
gas,
but
after
years
working
in
restaurants,
I
knew
it
was
sticky
floors
and
a
lack
of
sanitation.
Still,
we
sat
down.
Five
minutes
passed.
No
menus.
No
water.
No
greeting.
Nothing.
We
just
sat
there
staring
into
the
void,
waiting
for
someone
to
acknowledge
we
existed.
After
waiting
a
bit
longer,
I
said,
“This
isn’t
working.”
We
got
up
to
leave.
Only
upon
reaching
the
exit
door
did
a
voice
yell
“Wait!”
from
across
the
room.
Too
late.
They
lost
us,
not
just
that
night,
but
forever.
We
walked
a
few
doors
down
to
a
place
we
knew.
Busy,
welcoming,
responsive.
They
squeezed
us
into
a
booth
without
a
reservation.
Menus
in
hand
immediately.
Halfway
through
dinner,
a
server
noticed
the
water
glass
was
low,
disappeared,
and
came
back
seconds
later
to
refill
it.
That’s
what
great
service
looks
like
—
quality,
consistency,
responsiveness.
No
wonder
this
particular
restaurant
is
widely
known
as
the
best
in
town.
The
contrast
between
those
two
experiences
made
me
think
about
law
firm
client
service.
Because
here’s
the
truth:
lawyers
lose
clients
the
same
way
restaurants
do.
Not
with
one
catastrophic
failure,
but
with
little
lapses
in
responsiveness,
inattention
to
quality,
and
inconsistency.
If
you
want
clients
to
stay,
grow,
and
refer
others,
you
need
to
deliver
on
these
three
things.
1.
Responsiveness
is
Everything
When
a
client
calls,
emails,
or
reaches
out,
silence
is
deadly.
Today’s
clients
aren’t
leaving
voicemails
and
waiting
patiently.
They’ll
move
to
the
next
lawyer
who
answers.
Responsiveness
doesn’t
mean
you
personally
pick
up
the
phone
24/7,
but
it
does
mean
you’ve
built
systems,
so
someone
always
does.
That
can
be
a
receptionist,
an
assistant,
or
an
intake
team
—
anyone
who
makes
the
client
feel
heard
and
cared
for
in
real
time.
Set
expectations
on
availability,
sure,
but
don’t
make
the
mistake
of
letting
messages
or
emails
pile
up.
In
law
firm
client
service,
just
like
in
restaurants,
“we’ll
get
to
you
when
we
get
to
you”
means
the
client
is
already
halfway
out
the
door.
2.
Quality
Service
Must
Go
Beyond
the
Myth
There’s
a
dangerous
myth
in
legal
circles:
if
I
provide
good
service
and
fair
pricing,
my
clients
will
never
leave.
That’s
outdated.
Procurement
departments
are
constantly
shopping
for
alternatives,
and
other
lawyers
are
knocking
on
your
clients’
doors
every
single
day.
Good
isn’t
enough.
You
need
to
go
above
and
beyond.
That
means
being
proactive:
sending
relevant
articles,
introducing
them
to
helpful
contacts,
checking
in
on
their
business
challenges,
or
even
just
remembering
their
favorite
soccer
team
won
over
the
weekend.
When
you
demonstrate
that
you
see
them
as
more
than
a
file
number,
you’re
building
a
relationship
that’s
hard
to
displace.
Think
about
it
this
way:
if
your
law
firm
client
service
only
meets
expectations,
you’re
vulnerable.
If
it
consistently
exceeds
expectations,
you’re
indispensable.
3.
Consistency
Builds
Loyalty
Responsiveness
and
quality
service
don’t
mean
much
if
they’re
inconsistent.
You
can’t
be
attentive
in
January,
vanish
in
March,
and
expect
loyalty
in
June.
Clients
value
steady,
reliable
attention.
That’s
where
a
client
retention
plan
comes
in.
Identify
your
A,
B,
and
C
clients.
A’s
get
the
most
personalized
attention,
because
they
represent
the
biggest
opportunities
for
long-term
value
and
growth.
B’s
still
get
strong
service,
but
maybe
fewer
touchpoints.
C’s
get
baseline
quality
without
draining
resources.
Treat
everyone
with
respect
but
invest
your
time
where
it
matters
most.
Consistency
in
outreach,
updates,
and
check-ins
is
what
cements
relationships.
Without
it,
clients
drift.
With
it,
they
get
sticky,
grow,
and
refer.
Bringing
It
Back
to
Dinner
We’ll
never
return
to
that
first
restaurant.
The
smell,
the
silence,
the
inattention
—
it
all
added
up
to
one
clear
message:
“We
don’t
care.”
The
other
place,
the
one
that
noticed
my
water
glass.
We’ll
go
back
again
and
again.
Your
clients
are
making
the
same
calculations
every
time
they
interact
with
you.
Are
you
the
restaurant
they
can’t
wait
to
revisit,
or
the
one
they’ll
never
give
a
second
chance?
Law
firm
client
service
isn’t
just
about
winning
cases.
It’s
about
being
responsive,
delivering
quality
beyond
expectations,
and
doing
it
consistently.
Nail
those
three,
and
your
clients
will
stay
loyal,
bring
more
work,
and
introduce
you
to
others.
Client
retention
is
important,
but
it’s
just
a
part
of
the
puzzle.
Effective
business
development
is
a
learned
skill.
If
you’re
ready
to
sharpen
your
client
service
strategy,
grow
your
book
and
build
a
stickier
practice,
let’s
talk.
I’m
Steve
Fretzin,
and
you
can
reach
me
at
[email protected]
or
DM
me
on
LinkedIn.
Steve
Fretzin
is
a
bestselling
author,
host
of
the
“Be
That
Lawyer”
podcast,
and
business
development
coach
exclusively
for
attorneys.
Steve
has
committed
his
career
to
helping
lawyers
learn
key
growth
skills
not
currently
taught
in
law
school.
His
clients
soon
become
top
rainmakers
and
credit
Steve’s
program
and
coaching
for
their
success.
He
can
be
reached
directly
by
email
at [email protected].
Or
you
can
easily
find
him
on
his
website
at www.fretzin.com or
LinkedIn
at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin.
Immediately
after
Trump
won
the
second
election,
the
most
popular
flavor
of
cope
was
to
throw
up
one’s
hands
and
ask
“How
bad
could
it
really
be?”
Things
then
proceeded
to
become
really
bad
—
the
administration
attacked
private
industries
with
executive
orders,
student
journalists
and
protestors
faced
deportation
risks
for
sharing
thoughts
the
state
deemed
unacceptable,
and
the
FBI
started
arresting
judges
who
didn’t
cooperate
with
sending
immigrants
to
torture
prisons.
Judge
Hannah
Dugan’s
case
made
it
clear
that
ICE
was
no
longer
in
the
business
of
excluding
courthouses
from
their
patrol
range.
That
was
the
norm
prior
to
2018
and
there
was
wisdom
to
it;
ICE
is
scary.
Federal
agents
standing
around
courthouses
posed
an
access
to
justice
issue,
as
any
attempt
to
get
a
restraining
order
or
complain
about
a
landlord’s
crappy
property
upkeep
could
result
in
a
deportation.
While
the
threat
of
ICE
making
a
mess
of
general
proceedings
still
stands
for
many
judges,
Dugan
won’t
have
to
deal
with
that
any
more.
She
resigned
shortly
after
being
convicted
of
obstructing
federal
agents.
You
can
read
her
resignation
letter
on
the
tweet
below:
Nice
to
know
that
she
still
has
some
hope
in
the
process.
Now
to
see
if
it
was
well-placed.
Her
resignation
moots
the
effort
to
impeach
her
off
the
bench
and
opens
it
to
whomever
the
governor
appoints
in
her
stead.
Big
shoes
to
fill.
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.
We
are
nine
people
who
are
in
an
arranged
marriage.
We
don’t
pick
our
colleagues,
but
we’re
going
to
be
colleagues
for
a
very,
very
long
time.
—
Justice
Amy
Coney
Barrett,
in
comments
given
during
a
recent
fireside
chat
at
Notre
Dame
Law
School,
where
she
likened
her
relationship
to
her
fellow
justices
on
the
Supreme
Court
bench
to
an
“arranged
marriage.”
Barrett
went
on
to
say,
“You
need
to
always
assume
the
best
about
those
with
whom
you
disagree.
If
you
are
looking
for
bad
faith,
you’ll
find
it.
Assume
the
best,
until
proven
otherwise.”
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.
HARARE,
Zimbabwe
(AP)
—
When
Tafara
Muvhevhi,
a Zimbabwean driving
instructor,
began
work
16
years
ago,
his
job
was
simple:
teach
the
highway
code
and
prepare
learners
to
ace
their
driving
test.
Today,
his
priorities
have
changed.
His
main
concern
is
no
longer
just
the
exam,
but
whether
his
students
will
survive
some
of
the
world’s
deadliest
roads.
This
is
vital
in
a
country
where
road
crashes
rank
among
the
top
killers,
according
to
the
national
statistics
agency,
and
road
accident
fatality
rates
are
among
the
continent’s
worst.
In
Zimbabwe, a
crash
hits
every
15
minutes
and
five
die
and
38
are
injured
each
day,
according
to
the
country’s
traffic
safety
agency.
“Back
then
we
were
teaching
by
the
book,
it
was
all
by
the
book,”
Muvhevhi
said
while
coaching
his
latest
student
through
parallel
parking
and
smooth
reversing
into
spaces
marked
by
blue
drums
on
a
dusty
and
worn-out
tarmac
training
ground
on
the
outskirts
of
the
capital,
Harare.
Once
known
for
orderly
traffic
and
well-kept
roads,
Zimbabwe’s
road
safety
steadily
has
deteriorated
since
the
2000s,
degenerating
into
traffic
chaos
in
the
2010s
as
economic
decline
gutted
road
maintenance,
informal
public
transport
boomed
and
enforcement
weakened.
Despite
renewed
repairs
and
policing
efforts, dangerous
driving remains
deeply
entrenched.
“The
other
drivers
are
no
longer
patient
with
us,
they
hoot,
they
overtake
illegally,
putting
pressure
on
the
students
so
our
students
are
basically
trying
to
adjust,”
he
said,
before
his
student
navigated
through
streets
where
both
drivers
and
pedestrians
have
little
regard
for
rules.
For
the
student,
19-year-old
Winfrida
Chipashu,
a
university
accounting
major,
the
roads
of
Harare
are
more
intimidating
than
balancing
ledgers.
“You
cannot
really
compare
it
to
accounting
because
(in
accounting)
you
have
all
the
concepts,”
Chipashu
said.
“When
you
are
driving
in
the
jungle,
you
are
confused
by
other
people
who
are
not
following
the
road
rules.”
Roads
become
more
dangerous
The
southern
African
nation’s
roads
turn
most
lethal
during
festive
seasons
and
other
holidays,
but
peril
lurks
daily,
driven
largely
by
dangerous
driving
that
the
government
says
is
of
alarming
concern.
Zimbabwe
has
one
of
Africa’s
highest
road
accident
fatality
rates,
with
the World
Health
Organization estimating
nearly
30
deaths
per
100,000
people.
On
the
roads,
the
contradictions
are
stark.
Minibus
taxis
bearing
“safety
first”
signs
swerve
wildly
into
pedestrian
lanes
and
oncoming
traffic.
Fare
collectors
hang
off
doors
and
the
back
of
moving
vehicles
shouting
for
customers.
Sedans
jammed
with
12
passengers,
including
in
the
trunk,
defy
five-seat
limits.
Authorities
say
94%
of
road
accidents
in
the
country
of
15
million
people
are
caused
by
human
error.
Cellphone
distractions
among
drivers
and
pedestrians
cause
about
10%
of
deaths,
said
Munesu
Munodawafa,
head
of
the
Traffic
Safety
Council
of
Zimbabwe.
“That
is
frightening,”
said
Munodawafa.
“For
such
a
small
population,
those
numbers
are
alarming.”
A
regional
problem
Zimbabwe’s
crisis
mirrors
a
wider
African
pattern.
Road
accidents
here
kill
about
300,000
people
annually,
about
a
quarter
of
the
global
toll.
The
continent
has
the
world’s
highest
fatality
rate
at
26.6
deaths
per
100,000
people,
compared
with
a
global
average
of
about
18,
according
to
the
U.N.
Economic
Commission
for
Africa.
This
is
despite
the
continent
of
1.5
billion
people
accounting
for
just
about
3%
of
the
global
vehicle
population.
Road
traffic
deaths
in
Africa
are
also
rising
quicker
than
in
any
other
region,
with
fatalities
jumping
17%
between
2010
and
2021,
according
to
the
World
Health
Organization’s
latest
Africa
road
safety
report
released
in
mid-2024.
The
WHO
links
the
surge
in
part
to
weak
road
safety
laws
and
enforcement,
reckless
driving,
and
rapid
urbanization
and
motorization.
Vehicle
registrations
in
Africa
nearly
tripled
between
2013
and
2021,
driven
by
imported
used
vehicles
and
a
sharp
rise
in
motorcycles
and
three-wheelers.
Pedestrians,
cyclists
and
riders
of
two-
and
three-wheelers
account
for
about
half
of
all
fatalities,
according
to
the
U.N.
agency.
To
increase
road
safety,
police
in
Zimbabwe
have
recently
acquired
body
cameras
and
breathalyzers
and
are
pushing
for
a
review
of
the
driver
licensing
system,
including
docking
points
for
offenders
and
a
revamp
of
driver
training
programs
to
highlight
the
dangers
of
reckless
driving.
“Drivers
are
not
licensed
to
be
killers,
they
are
licensed
to
practice
road
safety
and
safeguard
lives
on
the
road
but
sadly
that
is
not
the
case,”
said
police
spokesperson
Paul
Nyathi.
For
instructors
like
Muvhevhi,
survival
has
become
the
lesson.
“When
we
are
teaching
our
students,
it’s
no
longer
an
issue
of
just
obtaining
the
driver’s
license,”
he
said.
“We
teach
them
to
stay
alive
in
spite
of
incorrect
actions
of
other
road
users.”
