Litigation & Arbitration

Litigation

Our litigation practice area is comprised of a diverse team of seasoned advocates, focused on achieving successful outcomes in an expeditious and cost effective manner. We represent a broad spectrum of clients, including small to middle market companies, individuals, local and regional banks, real estate developers, NGO’s and Government parastatals. We approach cases from the client’s perspective, working to formulate strategies that best protect and advance each client’s interests.

We specialize in debt recovery, security enforcement, regulatory compliance, election petitions, constitutional petitions, judicial review, competition law, real estate and construction disputes and general civil matters before tribunals such as the Political Parties Tribunal, Environment Appeal Tribunal, Co-operative Tribunal, Public Procurement Admin Review Board, other tribunals as well as the Magistrate’s Courts, the High Court and related Courts, Court of Appeal as well as the Supreme Court.

The Department handles the following matters:

• Employment and employee benefits
• Insurance and reinsurance disputes
• Family law disputes
• Probate and administration
• Real estate and construction disputes
• Commercial litigation
• Tax disputes
• Election Petitions

Other general civil matters

Arbitration

We are adept in concluding arbitrations on a global scale; swiftly mobilizing teams to manage major disputes and regularly working across our extensive network. Our experience stretches across all the sectors of the economy.

We respond rapidly in high pressure scenarios, delivering, bespoke and flexible services depending on the nature of dispute. In doing so, we adopt a pragmatic and results oriented approach, in order to ensure that the interests of our clients are protected at all times.

INSURANCE

We provide a broad range of services on general claims to the Kenyan insurance sector. We handle full range of insurance claims from high volume of employers, public liability and personal injury and industrial negligence claims to complex indemnity and disaster litigation, as well as acting for various insurance companies in defending similar claims.

FAMILY LAW AND SUCCESSION

We act for clients in matters relating to preparation of the last will, codicil and testament, setting up of trusts, applications for grants of letters of administration and probate, confirmation of grants, revocation of grants, guardianship, pre and post nuptial agreements, divorce and separation, children matters including custody, local and international adoptions, financial claims, domestic, cohabitant’s claims, family wealth protection as well as alternative dispute resolution in family matters.

EMPLOYMENT AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

We prepare advisory and legal opinions on all facets of labour/employment laws in Kenya, for example collective bargaining agreements (CBA), unfair and wrongful dismissal, work injury benefits, occupational health and safety management, conduct of proceedings in the Industrial Court of Kenya, non-solicitation clauses, redundancies, employment rights, restrictive covenants, reorganization and restructuring, employment policies, discrimination and pensions.

We help review and prepare employment related documents such as employment contracts, human resource policies and manuals, staff handbooks, transfer and separation documents. We advise employers on how to handle employees on human resource matters in the events of restructuring, set up of employee share ownership plans/ schemes (ESOPs), retirement benefits and employee training on their rights and obligations as well as conducting compliance audits to ensure compliance with labour and employment laws.

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

We provide legal services to various upstream, midstream and downstream companies in the oil, gas and geothermal energy industry.

IMMIGRATION LAW PRACTICE

We advise and assist in obtaining business/visitor visas, entry permits, permanent residence, citizenship, special passes, dependents’ passes, student passes, research passes, internship passes and foreign (alien) registrations on behalf of eligible persons

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & ICT

We advise on and handle matters concerned with registration of legal rights associated with creative efforts, commercial reputation and goodwill such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and industrial designs.

We also enforce intellectual property related claims and infringement actions, anti-counterfeiting raids, due diligence investigations and reports, drafting of licensing and franchise agreements, trade mark oppositions, trade mark cancellations, and IP dispute resolution.

In ICT, AGO advices on drafting and/or negotiation of information technology agreements such as software license or assignment agreements, revenue sharing agreements, escrow agreements and software maintenance agreements on either seller/licensor or buyer/licensee side.

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Government regulation has a profound impact on a company’s business operations. It is a crucial factor in corporate strategic planning because regulatory enforcement actions by the government and state agencies can impose significant costs. Changes to the commercial, legal and societal landscape have meant that financial institutions are faced with increasingly complex and interconnected challenges, risks and opportunities.

Many of those changes, in turn, have resulted in governments, shareholders, consumers, employees and other stakeholders placing a greater emphasis on concepts like governance, oversight, accountability, transparency and compliance. We are experts in guiding clients through their regulatory obligations in a practical, commercial way, providing bespoke technical advice on complex legal and regulatory issues.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND DEBT RECOVERY

We handle diverse commercial litigation matters, specializing in debt recovery, security enforcement, regulatory
compliance, employment and employee benefits, public procurement, intellectual property, Election Petitions, constitutional petitions, judicial review, competition law and construction dispute and general civil and criminal litigation before tribunals such as the Political Parties Tribunal, Environment Appeal Tribunal, Co-operative Tribunal, Public Procurement Admin Review Board, other tribunals as well as the Magistrate’s Courts, the High Court and related Courts, Court of Appeal as well as the Supreme Court.

CORPORATE SECRETARIAL

Our competent team of Certified Company Secretaries deals with incorporation of various business entities, listing and post listing support, annual compliance, corporate governance advisory, domesticating foreign companies, conversion of entities e.g. partnerships to companies, administration and management of dividends, maintaining a company’s register of members and other matters affecting shareholding, preparation of documents and submissions to the Registrar e.g. appointment, removal and resignation of a director, change of shareholders, local and foreign investment regulation, progressive application of Companies Act and corporate restructuring