The Commercial Department
This Department is headed by William Maema and operates under 2 Sections, namely: -
a) Corporate: which deals with the Capital Markets, mergers, acquisitions, private equity funds, private equity and venture capital investments, buyouts, investment transactions, incorporation and registration of local and foreign companies and business names; preparing and filing board of directors’ and shareholders’ resolutions; attending to changes to Memoranda and Articles of Association; company secretarial responsibilities; preparation of sale agreements; preparation of all manner of commercial agreements including leasing and clearing contracts; appointing and liaising with Receivers and Managers of Companies; preparation of Trust Deeds and Rules of Pension and Provident funds; obtaining work permits on behalf of foreign clients; preparation of debentures, chattels mortgages, lenders agreements for syndicated loans on behalf of banks and perusing security documents for companies borrowing money; liaising with the Capital Markets Authority and Nairobi Stock Exchange; general advice to local and international clients on all manner of legal queries relating to labour laws, immigration and other aspects of commercial law.
This section is manned by 3 partners namely James Kamau, William Maema and Beatrice Nyabira, assisted by various qualified Associates in the Department
We have a broad, industry-based IT and Telecommunications practice dealing with all contentious and non-contentious aspects of this area and provide specialist advice on e-commerce matters. Apart from acting for major IT, Internet and telecommunications companies, we also focus on new entrant operators; act for infrastructure builders as well as resellers.
We have extensive experience in managing telecommunications projects across Africa including licensing and regulatory issues, network building, diverse contractual matters, financing, investments and litigation arising from such matters.
The contact partner in this Section is James Kamau who allocates the work depending on the unique requirements of the client.
b) Intellectual Property: which deals with registrations, assignments and renewal of trademarks and Registered User Agreements for local and overseas clients, registration of patents under the Industrial Property Act, the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) and the Africa Regional Industrial Property Organisation (ARIPO) protocol, registration of industrial designs, payment of annual maintenance fees on behalf of clients, liaising with the Kenya Industrial Property Office to facilitate speedy processing of clients’ applications, advising on copyright and plant breeders’ rights including applications for grant of such rights and liaising with the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) and protection of intellectual property rights advising on appropriate policies, legal framework and novel laws and tactics to counter piracy and counterfeiting and drafting appropriate legislations and supporting the Litigation Department to deal with IP related litigation matter.
The Partner in charge of this Section is William Maema, assisted by the various Associates in the Department.
