the law firm

Africa is increasingly regarded as an attractive investment destination for businesses from all over the world. This surge of interest in Africa brings with it the need for high-quality legal advice at the local level and, in many situations, at a cross-border advisory and transaction management level.

At Coulson Harney our aim is to assist our clients in achieving their objectives as smoothly and efficiently as possible whilst minimising the legal and regulatory risks, both within Kenya and further afield around Africa. Whilst first-class technical advice is always important, the ability to deliver that advice in a coherent and relevant way, combined with excellent transaction management and presentation skills is essential to the supply of high-quality legal services.

Coulson Harney has more than 25 lawyers and is one of the largest corporate law firms in Kenya. Since it was founded in 2008 the firm has moved quickly up the rankings of the international legal directories such as Chambers Global, Legal 500, PLC and International Financial Law Review.

Coulson Harney has eight partners, including the hugely experienced and well-recognised founding partners, Richard Harney and Philip Coulson, and a wealth of talented senior lawyers and associates with qualifications and work experience in Kenya, the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada and Australia. Our lawyers work on Kenyan domestic matters and transactions, and on international and cross-border advisory mandates for a wide range of clients.

clients and recent deals

At Coulson Harney we advise clients from the public and private sector doing business in Kenya and across the African continent. These include banks, insurance and financial services institutions, manufacturing and services companies, technology and telecommunications companies, infrastructure, transport and construction companies, property development companies, agriculture and farming concerns, hotels, tourism and conservation organisations, local businesses, companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, government and non-governmental organisations and private individuals.

We also work with many international law firms and other consultants and their clients on Kenyan and regional matters and transactions.

Read an up-to-date list of our recent deals.

our talent and our expertise

The staff at Coulson Harney are an energetic and enthusiastic group of people who enjoy their work and the clients they work for.  Good humour and a determination to deliver high-quality advice makes for a positive working atmosphere.  We are a modern firm made of seasoned lawyers and eager young professionals.  We are not hidebound by the past but are also wise enough to know that what clients want from their law firm is excellence, efficiency, creativity and integrity.

Our lawyers are diverse and multi-talented.  We have brought together a group of professionals with experience of working abroad who are outward-looking and progressive.  Our partners are knowledgeable and well-versed in the local legal and business environment.  Through our association with Bowman Gilfillan and the other members of the Bowman Gilfillan Africa Group we seek to expand our ambitions beyond Kenya’s borders – to the East African region and the continent beyond.  We have worked on projects in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Cameroon.

At Coulson Harney our aim is to ensure that the legal advice and services we provide to our clients is not only accurate and relevant but is also delivered in a friendly and client-oriented manner.  Our advice seeks to be:

• pragmatic in the sense that it needs to fit in with the solutions you are looking for.  Thus we aim to develop creative approaches to protect, and enhance, your interests
• accurate  in so far as it must be based on a sound legal footing - in order to ensure that the arrangements you enter into are legally correct and accurately reflect the commercial position you are seeking
• results-driven – through finding the right answers and structures to meet your requirements even when the solution is not obvious
• efficient – by ensuring that you are kept informed of how the matter is progressing
• modern in the sense that we review our service delivery against the benchmark of the expectations of multinational clients and the standards of major international law firms
• cost effective.

Our size, resources, combination of breadth of skills, communications, facilities and geographic spread enable us to handle the largest and most time-critical transactions when required.  We are fully aware of the need for legal advice and legal structures to be compatible with the needs of modern commerce, industry and finance.

bowman gilfillan africa group

Bowman Gilfillan Africa Group advises clients throughout Africa. The group has offices in four countries in Africa – Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda and has a "best friends" relationship with leading Nigerian firm, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie.

The group has approximately 350 lawyers in 5 cities in Africa: Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Kampala and Nairobi and Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie has offices in Lagos and Port Harcourt.