lawyers
The firm comprises of six (6) partners, Richard Harney, Philip Coulson, Joyce Karanja, Angela Waki, John Syekei and Christine Mweti and one Director of International Legal Services, Rainbow Field. In addition, the firm has a total of eleven associates and has engaged four pupils who augment its research capacity and service delivery.
Judy has a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree in Intellectual Property from the University of Manchester, England. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from the University of Nairobi, in December 2005 and was subsequently admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya in February 2008 on completion of a Post graduate Diploma from the Kenya School of Law.
She works with the Intellectual Property team at CH and also undertakes various corporate commercial assignments within the firm.
Judy’s experience at CH has principally been:
- Litigation in trade mark infringement and passing off actions before the High Court and the Kenya Industrial Property Institute, including preparing and filing court documents, preparing evidence to discharge burden of proof, and preparing submissions and arguments;
- Pursuing counterfeit actions on behalf of clients in conjunction with the relevant authorities such as the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Anti-Counterfeit Agency;
- Giving legal advice and preparing legal opinions on various aspects of intellectual property, in respect of both contentious and non-contentious matters, such as trade mark protection, product registration, infringement actions, passing off claims, patent registration, industrial design protection, contracts, leases, agreements;
- Drafting and reviewing corporate commercial contracts including sale agreements, contracts, lease agreements, trust deeds, group ranch constitutions;
- Undertaking and reporting on due diligence reviews for various entities;
- Undertaking Patent, Trade mark, and Industrial design filing and prosecution in Kenya and Eastern Africa as well as internationally through ARIPO, Madrid and PCT systems;
- Preparing, drafting and filing submissions, notices and statutory declarations for trade mark, patent and industrial design infringement actions, passing off actions, and opposition proceedings;
Prior to joining CH, Judy worked with the Kenya Industrial Property Institute, Kenya’s Intellectual Property Office. She previously also worked at the international firm KPMG in Kenya within the Forensic department, where she was involved in number forensic engagements in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
After admission as an English Solicitor in 1991 and spending three years with London firm Joelson Wilson & Co. he joined Kaplan & Stratton in Nairobi in 1994 before founding Coulson Harney with Richard Harney in 2008. He is a member of the Law Society of England & Wales, the International Bar Association and the Law Society of Kenya.
His experience covers company and commercial law, land development, conservation and environmental law, acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate restructuring and telecommunications and franchising.
Philip Coulson has had numerous citations as one of the leading lawyers in Kenya from Chambers Global Guide to the Worlds’ Leading Lawyers, Legal 500 and IFLR.
In recent years some of his key clients and transactions include the following:
- 2010 - Advising WPP Group plc on the reorganisation of Ogilvy East Africa Limited and the acquisition of Ogilvy by Scangroup Limited
- 2010 – Advising the African Media Initiative on establishing its operations in Kenya
- 2010 – Advising WPP Group on its corporate restructuring
- 2009/2010 - Advising on several ongoing Kenyan and cross-border mergers and acquisitions
- 2009/2010 – Advising several international conservation organizations on various wildlife and community conservation management opportunities in Kenya
- 2009/2010- Advising The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy on corporate re-organisation
- 2009 – Advised Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited and the Government of Kenya on the sale of 50% of shares to Essar Energy Limited of India, for the re-development of East Africa’s only oil refinery at Mombasa
- 2009 - Advising Regional Reach Limited on re-organisation of its television and radio assets
- 2009 - Advised MWEB Africa on completion of the buy-out of management shares following its acquisition of a internet service provider operating in several African countries
- 2009 - Advised Centum Investment Company Limited on a variety of corporate issues
- 2009 –Advising Wananchi Group Holdings Limited and East African Capital Partners Limited on various acquisitions across the region
- 2009 - Advising various secured lenders on receiverships and realisations
- 2009 – Advising NIC Bank Limited on its proposed acquisition of Savings & Finance Commercial Bank Limited in Tanzania
- 2009 – Advised Tamimi Limited on the purchase of the Giraffe Manor property in Nairobi
- 2008 – Advised Actis Agribusiness Fund on its investments and disposals in Kenya, Ivory Coast and Zambia
- 2007/08 – Adviser to Wananchi Online Limited and WiLife Networks Limited on expansion and acquisitions
- 2007 – Advised Multichoice Africa Limited on its acquisition of a Kenyan internet service provider
- 2006 – Advised Kingdom Hotels Limited on its acquisitions of leading hotels and lodges chain in Kenya
- Legal adviser on several joint venture developments in conservation projects and the establishment of various not-for-profit organisations
- Legal adviser to various companies in the FMCG sector.
Rainbow Field was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor by the Western Australian Supreme Court in 2006 and worked in Perth WA for two years. She moved to Kenya in December 2006 and worked at Kaplan & Stratton (from early 2007) until joining Coulson Harney in March 2009.
Her practice areas are in mergers and acquisitions, mining and energy law, joint ventures, company and commercial law, employment law, private client and wealth management law.
Key recent assignments include:
- 2010 – Advising Barclays Bank PLC and Barclays Bank of Kenya on the Kenyan aspects of the sale by Barclays of its pan-African custody services business to Standard Chartered Bank. Bowman Gilfillan advised Barclays on the entire project covering eight jurisdictions
- 2010 – Advising Lewa Wildlife Conservancy on the management and operation of camps on the Conservancy
- 2009 – Advising TV Africa Holdings Limited on its establishment of new media group covering television, radio and newspaper publication
- 2009 – Advised Chloride Exide Kenya on its joint venture for solar panels manufacture with Centrotec of Holland
- 2008 - Advising WPP Group plc on its US$20 million investment for 27% in Scangroup Limited, listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange – media services sector
- 2008 - Acquisition by Equity Bank Limited of Uganda Micro-finance Limited
- 2008 - Acquisition of Signode Kenya Limited
- 2007 - US$175 million investment in Equity Bank Limited by Helios Investment Partners LP.
Joseph Githaiga joined the firm in October 2009 after returning to Kenya from Australia where he spent the last 10 years practising law, primarily as an in-house counsel for some of Australia’s leading banks, including latterly Macquarie Bank Limited where he was for 5 years. He is admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the New South Wales Supreme Court.
He has wide-ranging experience in financial services and investment-management work. His current practice areas cover due diligence, mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganisations and company and commercial law where he supports the partners at Coulson Harney.
Key assignments in which Joseph has been involved in are:
- 2010 - Advising WPP Group plc on the reorganisation of Ogilvy East Africa Limited and the acquisition of Ogilvy by Scangroup Limited
- 2009/2010 – Advised Renaissance Partners and other investors in their proposed acquisition of a large coffee estate in Kenya
- 2010 - Advising WPP Group on its corporate re-structuring
- 2009 - Advised Centum Investment Company Limited on a bid for construction of a diesel fuel electricity power plant
- 2008 – Advised Macquarie Bank Limited on legal aspects pertaining to the establishment of the Macquarie Cash Management Account and the Macquarie Cash XL, bank deposit products developed by Macquarie in mid to late 2008 as a strategic response to the global economic downturn and increased investor aversion to risk. The products raised in excess of A$1 billion
- 2008 - Advised Macquarie Investment Management Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Bank, on legal aspects pertaining to the establishment of the Queens Street Emerging Managers Fund, a structured fund of fund product design to invest in start-up and early stage investment management firms
- 2007 – Advised Macquarie Bank Limited on the acquisition of Brook Asset Management Limited, one of New Zealand’s leading investment management firms
- 2007 - Advised Macquarie Bank Limited on the acquisition of a minority stake in Omega Global Investors, a start up investment manager of fixed income securities
- 2004-2009 – Advised Macquarie Investment Management Limited on legal aspects pertaining to the establishment and ongoing administration of the Macquarie Professional Series, a suite of managed funds that raised in excess of A$ 2 billion
- 2004 – 2009 – Advised Macquarie Bank Limited on legal aspects pertaining to the ongoing administration of the Macquarie Cash Management Trust, Australia’s oldest and largest managed fund. Fund value – in excess of A$15 billion.
Richard Harney is an experienced lawyer who qualified in the UK (1985) and worked as an English Solicitor at Clifford Chance LLP and Baker & McKenzie LLP for seven years. He then spent 14 years in Kenya with Kaplan & Stratton, one of Kenya’s leading firms. He is a member of the Law Society of England & Wales, the International Bar Association and the Law Society of Kenya.
His practice areas include company and commercial law, privatisation, banking, finance, capital markets, acquisitions, public offerings, take-overs, joint ventures, investments, corporate restructuring and general commercial contracts.
Richard Harney has numerous citations as one of the leading lawyers in Kenya from Chambers Global Guide to the Worlds’ Leading Lawyers (equal first place in 2009 & 2010), Legal 500 and IFLR.
In recent years some of his key clients and transactions include the following:
- 2010 – Advising Barclays Bank PLC and Barclays Bank of Kenya on the Kenyan aspects of the sale by Barclays of its pan-African custody services business to Standard Chartered Bank. Bowman Gilfillan advised Barclays on the entire project covering eight jurisdictions
- 2010 – Advising France Telecom/Orange East Africa on a range of shareholder matters and potential claims against the Government of Kenya involving its acquisition of Telkom Kenya Limited
- 2009/2010 – Advising the Privatisation Commission along with PricewaterhouseCoopers on the privatisation of National Bank of Kenya
- 2010 - Advising the Privatisation Commission on behalf of the Government of Kenya, on the privatisation of Kenya Pipeline Company Ltd and the privatisation of Consolidated Bank Ltd, as part of the PricewaterhouseCoopers consortium
- 2009/2010 – Advising Liberty Group of South Africa on its proposed acquisition of the insurance companies (Heritage and CfC Life) owned by Standard Bank’s Kenya subsidiary CfC Stanbic Holdings Limited, corporate reorganisation, demerger and new listing on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE)
- 2009/2010 – Advising East African Breweries Limited on a range of corporate matters, including on proposals to acquire Serengeti Breweries Limited in Tanzania
- 2009/2010 – Advised Renaissance Partners and other investors in their proposed acquisition of a large coffee estate in Kenya
- 2009 - Advised Centum Investment Company Limited on a variety of corporate issues, including on its acquisition of 22.6% of Carbacid Investments Limited (NSE listed)
- 2009 – Advised NSE listed Equity Bank Limited on a number of corporate transactions, including its cross-listing on the Uganda Securities Exchange
- 2009 - Advised Silverbird Africa (from Nigeria) on the acquisition of the Kenya cinema and media store business of Nu-Metro owned by Avusa Limited
- 2009 – Advising TV Africa Holdings Limited on its establishment of new media group covering television, radio and newspaper publication
- 2008 - Advised NSE listed CFC Bank Limited on the US$280 million merger transaction with Stanbic Bank Kenya Limited, Kenya’s biggest bank merger transaction – banking sector
- 2008 - Advising WPP Group plc on its US$20 million investment for 27% in Scangroup Limited, listed on the NSE – media services sector
- 2008 - Advising Equity Bank Limited on its acquisition of Uganda Microfinance Limited – banking and micro-finance sector
- 2008 - Advising Kenya’s Trans-Century Limited on its acquisition of Tanzania’s Chai Bora Limited – tea commodity sector
- 2008 - Advising Steadman Group International Limited on its sale to Synovate Holdings Limited of the UK – media services sector
- December 2007 - Advising Equity Bank Limited on the US$180 million investment by private equity fund Helios Investment Partners – banking sector
- 2007 - Advising France Telecom SA on its US$390 million acquisition of 51% of Telkom Kenya Limited from the Government of Kenya – telecoms sector
- 2007 - Advising on the US$140 million acquisition by Kenya Oil Company Limited, listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange of Kobil Petroleum – petroleum industry
- A number of transactions for East African Breweries Limited and its parent company Diageo in general corporate, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions
- Advice on the 2005 merger of the hotel and tourism interests of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and Tourism Promotion Services in Kenya and Tanzania and listing of TPS Eastern Africa Limited on the Nairobi Stock Exchange – tourism sector
- The privatisation of Kenya Airways Limited, including the 26% investment by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and listing on the Nairobi Stock Exchange in 1996
- Listings by way of cross-border introductions for Kenya Airways Limited and East African Breweries Limited on the stock exchanges in Tanzania and Uganda respectively.
Joyce Karanja was admitted as an Advocate in 2005 and trained and worked at Kaplan & Stratton before joining Coulson Harney in September 2008.
Her practice areas and experience covers company and commercial law, telecommunications law, conservation and environmental law, land law, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and due diligence work.
Key recent assignments in which Joyce Karanja has been involved in include:
- 2010 – Advising an international conservation organization focusing on Africa on various conservation management opportunities in Kenya
- 2010 – Advising the African Media Initiative on establishing its operations in Kenya
- 2010 – Advising the Diagnostic Centre Kenya Limited and Diagnostic Imaging Clinic on the sale of their assets to Aga Khan Health Services, Kenya
- 2009/2010 – Advising Liberty Group of South Africa on its proposed acquisition of the insurance companies (Heritage and CfC Life) owned by Standard Bank’s Kenya subsidiary CfC Stanbic Holdings Limited, corporate reorganisaton, demerger and new listing on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE)
- 2009/2010 – Advising the Privatisation Commission of Kenya along with PricewaterhouseCoopers on the privatisation of National Bank of Kenya
- 2009 - Advised Silverbird Africa (from Nigeria) on the acquisition of the Kenya cinema and media store business of Nu-Metro owned by Avusa Limited
- 2009 - Advising a number of telecommunications companies on Kenya licensing and M&A transactions
- 2009 – Advised Tamimi Limited on the purchase of the world famous Giraffe Manor property in Nairobi
- 2008 - Sale of Steadman Group International to Synovate Holdings Limited
- 2007 - France Telecom’s acquisition of 51% of Telkom Kenya Limited
- 2007/08 - Merger transaction between CFC Bank Limited and Stanbic Bank Kenya Limited
- 2007 - Advising Trans-Century Limited on its acquisition of 80% of ABB Tanalec Limited in Tanzania.
Cornelius Kigera was admitted as an Advocate in 2008. He trained and worked at Anjarwalla & Khanna Advocates from 2005 until joining Coulson Harney in November 2009. He is also a Certified Public Secretary.
His experience covers banking, finance, property and conveyancing law and general corporate and commercial law.
Key recent assignments include in which Cornelius was the lead associate include:
- 2009/10 – Preparation, review and registration of securities documentation for various banks. Due diligence on various securities documentation and the realization of various securities for banks
- 2010 – Advising a company in the Kenyan horticulture industry on an ongoing merger with other local and international companies in the same industry
- 2010 – Advising various companies on corporate re-organisation
- 2009/2010 – Advised Renaissance Partners and other investors in their proposed acquisition of a large coffee estate in Kenya
- 2008 2009 - Project structuring and transaction documents for various developments of town houses, residential apartments and villas as well as their sale by way of long term leases
- 2007 - Advised First Rand Bank of South Africa on a US$45m loan facility to a commodity company carrying on business in various countries in Africa
- 2007 - Advised Standard Chartered Bank, Dubai on facilities to a large group of companies based in East Africa and Dubai
- 2007 - Advised Société Générale on a US$80m loan and letter of credit facilities to a major oil company in East and Central Africa.
- 2006 - Advised DEG & Proparco on an equity investment in Investment & Mortgages Bank Limited, one of Kenya’s leading privately held commercial banks.
- 2006 - Advised Rand Merchant Bank on US$45m loan facility to a leading oil company in Kenya
- 2006 - Advised IFC on a loan facility to a group of companies based in East Africa developing pharmaceutical products.
Haanee Khan completed his Legal Practice Course (LPC) in the United Kingdom where he was attached to a commercial law firm for a year before returning to Kenya and joining Coulson Harney where he has been since January 2010. He has successfully completed the Advocates Training Practice (ATP) course in Kenya and was admitted as an Advocate to the High Court of Kenya in November 2011.
Areas of Practice- joint ventures and corporate restructuring
- competition law - mergers and acquisitions
- aviation and maritime law
- general corporate & commercial law
- employment and immigration
- corporate due diligence
- Bachelor of Sciences (BSc)(Hons) in Business Management with Law degree (Manchester - UK)
- Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree (Nottingham - UK)
- Legal Practice Course (LPC) certificate (Nottingham - UK)
- Advocates Training Practice (ATP) course (Nairobi - Kenya)
- Advised Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL) on its financial services mandate agreement with Standard Chartered Bank for the modernisation and expansion of its Mombasa refinery valued at approximately USD $ 1.3 billion.
- Advised CARE USA on its incorporation status in Kenya.
- Conducted a due diligence exercise on behalf of Bimeda Holdings plc in relation to its acquisition of Assia Animal Heatlh Care Limited.
- Advising the Poverty Eradication Network (PEN) on incorporation of its management consultancy arm.
- Advising and setting up SamaSource Inc.’s (USA) ‘not for profit’ entity in Kenya.
- Advised WEC Lines (K) Ltd on various aspects of Kenyan Maritime legislation.
- Provided a number of international clients with advice on Kenya’s recently enacted Competition legislation and filing requirements.
- Advising various international clients on a wide range of immigration and employment issues.
- Tel: +254 712 205 000, +254 386 1526
- Mobile: +254 71 818 5897
- h.khan@coulsonharney.com
- Contact Haanee
Martha was admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya in November 2009. She holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree in International Commercial Law from the University of Birmingham, England. She specialized in the following key areas: Financing International Trade, International Oil & Gas Law, International Investment Law and International Commercial Arbitration. Prior to this, Martha attained a Diploma from the Kenya School of Law in 2008 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from the University of Nairobi in 2007.
Martha’s practice areas include advising on commercial contracts, corporate restructurings, transaction legal due diligence work, banking, finance and insurance advisory, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, investments, employment law and some aspects of land transactions.
Prior to joining CH, Martha worked at Mohammed Muigai Advocates, where she undertook various tasks, principally:
- acting for an outdoor advertising company in the acquisition of its business assets. This entailed advising the client on the transaction, drawing up agreements and attending negotiation meetings;
- providing advisory services on the Competition Act 2009 and on Regulations to the Energy Act;
- participating in the review of insurance laws in Kenya and reviewing and advising on the Unclaimed Assets Bill 2008;
- participating in the development of an East Africa Community Policy on Anti-counterfeiting, Piracy and other Intellectual Property Rights violations;
- participating in the review of anti-corruption cases in Kenya and preparing a case digest;
- providing advisory work to corporate and private clients;
- preparing legal opinions on litigious matters; and
- preparing civil and criminal pleadings for filing before the Magistrates’ Courts, the High Court and the Court of Appeal and appearing before the Magistrates’ Courts and the High Court on behalf of private clients.
Martha has also worked as a Legal Assistant at the Legal Department of Barclays Bank Kenya where she was responsible for managing in-house enquiries on the legal help desk and providing support to the in-house legal counsel on day to day tasks.
Daniel Mwathe Mburu was admitted as an Advocate in December 2010. He undertook a pupilage at Kibuchi & Company Advocates and joined Kairu & McCourt Advocates in February 2011. In November 2011 he joined Coulson Harney.
Areas of Practice
- Commercial contracts
- Joint ventures and business formation
- Commercial property
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Laws - Moi University
- Certified Public Secretary
Contact Information
- +254 712 205 000, +254 20289 9000
- Mobile + 254 723 975416
Mweti, Christine (Partner)
Christine Mweti was admitted as advocate of the High Court of Kenya in 1997. She holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Nairobi and is a qualified Certified Public Secretary. She is also a certified trainer in corporate governance.
Her practice areas focus primarily on capital markets and securities law, M&A and advising financial institutions.
Christine has worked for the two key regulators of capital markets in Kenya, having served as an Assistant Manager in the Legal and Compliance Department of the Nairobi Stock Exchange and later, as the Chief Legal Officer and Authority Secretary at the Capital Markets Authority. In recent years, Christine moved to the private sector and headed the legal departments of two leading investment banks, Renaissance Capital Kenya and Equity Investment Bank Ltd, before joining Coulson Harney in April 2010.
As a regulator Christine has important levels of responsibility for the following:
- supervision of all aspects of the Capital Market Authority’s legal and compliance function
- development and harmonization of the legal and regulatory framework for capital markets in the East Africa region
- drafting of various laws and regulations relating to capital markets in Kenya
- licensing of various players in the capital markets sector in Kenya
- approval of various public offerings of securities and listings
- training of directors and other officers of various companies on their duties and responsibilities, disclosure and reporting
- enforcement of the legal and regulatory framework
- co-ordination of market restructuring and introduction of automated trading and settlement at the Nairobi Stock Exchange
- secretary to the Capital Markets Authority with responsible for governance
- Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee of the East African Securities Regulatory Authorities and responsible for relations with the International Organisation of Securities commission (IOSCO)
In investment banking Christine gained experience in:
- advising a wide-range of clients and maintenance of key client relationships
- management and the legal and compliance functions
- providing advice on transactions in securities trading, investment and merchant banking
- business strategy and business development.
At Coulson Harney Christine is:
- advising Barclays Bank PLC in the sale of its custody business in Africa to Standard Chartered Bank
- advising a leading investment bank in Kenya in the setting up of an employee share ownership plan (ESOP).
Alex Githinji Njage was admitted as an Advocate in 2007. He worked in the commercial department at Kaplan & Stratton since September 2007 until joining Coulson Harney in July 2009.
His practice areas and experience covers property law, environmental/conservation law, securities, general corporate and commercial law, joint ventures and due diligence work.
Key recent assignments in which Alex G. Njage has been the lead associate include:
- 2009/2010 – Acting as local counsel for an acquirer in a cross-border acquisition of a mining, oil and gas company listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ
- 2010 – Advised one of the leading high-class tourist lodges in the sale of its shares to investors
- 2010 – Acting for a local company in the sale of land to investors – deal value US$ 3 million
- 2010 – Preparation, review and registration of securities documentation for various banks and on-going advice in relation to due diligence on various securities documentation and the realization of various securities
- 2010 - Advising various companies on a range of corporate commercial and property law issues
- 2010 – Advising an international conservation organization focusing on Africa on various conservation management opportunities in Kenya
- 2010- Advising The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy on corporate re-organisation
- 2009 - Advised on a number of clients on conservation models and transaction documentation namely: African Wildlife Foundation in the lease of various parcels of land in Amboseli for purposes of conservation and protection of the elephant migration corridor; Soysambu Conservancy Limited in the setting up of Soysambu Conservancy in Elementaita and an international conservation organization in the acquisition of a ranch for wildlife conservation
- 2009 - Project structuring and transaction documents for various developments of town houses, residential apartments and villas as well as their sale by way of long term leases
- 2008 – 2009 - Advised various clients on the establishment/acquisition of various high class tourist lodges, tented camps and conservation areas
- 2008 - Advised a company listed on the NSE on the acquisition of three properties by way of private treaty in a sale by a mortgagee under its statutory powers of sale – deal value KES 1.3 billion.
Prior to joining Coulson Harney in 2011, Njeri spent over twelve years practicing law in the United States and Canada. In her years of practice, Njeri has dealt primarily in technology law related transactions and has also undertaken various corporate commercial projects, with a focus on information technology and intellectual property law issues. She is admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Law Society of Upper Canada and is also an active member of the State Bar of California, USA.
Among other roles where she provided legal advice and counsel, Njeri worked as Senior Legal Counsel at Sun Microsystems, Inc., headquartered in Silicon Valley and in Canada, she trained and worked at the law firm, Gowling Lafleur Henderson.
Transactions and projects that Njeri has been engaged in while at Coulson Harney include:
Advising a leading multi-national technology developer and vendor on the state of legislation and regulation in Kenya, governing products that utilize Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and payment system technologies.
Advising on and managing the legal aspects of a transaction where UAP Holding Company Limited was acquiring an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution comprising of software, hardware and professional services provided by Microsoft and its regional partners. The project involved the implementation of the ERP system across borders for use by multiple subsidiaries.
Advising on and developing novel e-commerce agreements for Bank of Africa, aimed to incorporate complex technology systems into their daily banking, payment and transaction functions with the potential of drastically impacting their earnings.
Involvement in a due diligence exercise for the purpose of listing a leading regionally based financial services company on the Nairobi Stock Exchange in compliance with the regulations of the Kenya Capital Markets Authority. The exercise involved a detailed review of the entity’s technology contracts and intellectual property assets.
Working with the Partners at Coulson Harney on advising Wananchi Group Limited in the negotiation and drafting of a WiFi agreement with Google and an equipment supply contract with BelAir Corporation, Canada
Constructing a merchant and e-commerce agreement to launch an online payment system for a large global enterprise.
Other projects that Njeri has been engaged in include:
Advising and acting for Sun Microsystems Inc. on various legal, business and policy matters including the development, sale, lease and licence of technology and the protection of the company’s intellectual property.
Drafting and negotiating various agreements for a transaction between Sun Microsystems, Inc and a leading technology vendor involving the sale and licensing of technology, the provision of consulting services and the development of new intellectual property.
Advising on and constructing agreements relating to the procurement of information technology and related services by financial services giant, Visa International for the purpose of their various payment systems, taking into account prevailing banking and financial industry regulations and data privacy laws.
Development and negotiation of a transaction for the procurement of hardware, software and related consulting services by leading international credit card company, American Express and its affiliated entities. The transaction required the observance of prevailing banking and financial industry regulations as well as data privacy laws.
Drafting and negotiation of various agreements for the procurement of hardware, software and related consulting services by the Capital Group Companies.
Advising on the creation of a solution centre for Sun Microsystems, Inc. and various development partners to set up an incubation and innovation centre for technology development, taking into account various intellectual property rights considerations.
Advising on the legal aspects of a transaction involving Sun Microsystems, Inc., a large technology developer pursuing the acquisition of complementary Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) technology through the purchase of SeeBeyond Technology Corporation.
Participation in the development and supervision of a software usage audit and software asset management program for SeeBeyond Technology Corporation, Inc.
Advising on the legal aspects of a joint software development transaction of two global pioneers in software and hardware development ensuring that issues related to the ownership of intellectual property and other valuable assets were addressed.
Development of agreements and policies for a channel and partner distribution program for a leading global technology developer and technology related service provider.
Advising on and constructing source code escrow arrangements and agreements for various global software developers and vendors.
Participation in a project involving the securitization of the assets of SLMsoft.com, Inc., a Canadian technology company.
Advising on a debt financing transaction of a large North American hotel chain, involving mortgages and mortgage extensions.
Kerubo Kemunto Ombati was admitted as an Advocate in December 2010. She undertook her articles of pupillage at Ochieng', Onyango, Kibet & Ohaga Advocates and joined Judy Thongori & Co. Advocates in March 2011 as an associate. She joined Coulson Harney in October 2011.
Areas of Practice
- Employment
- Commercial contracts
- Arbitration
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Law- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
- Bachelor of Commerce (Economics)- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
- Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Contact Information
- +254 712 205 000, +254 20289 9000
- Mobile + 254 734275442
John Syekei was admitted as an Advocate in 2005. He trained at Daly & Figgis Advocates and Deloitte and headed the Intellectual Property Department at Muriu Mungai & Co Advocates as a Partner until joining Coulson Harney in March 2010.
His practice areas and experience cover commercial intellectual property advice, advice on drafting and /or negotiation of information technology agreements on seller or buyer side, and advice on the protection and enforcement of trade mark, patent, copyright and industrial designs. He practices across Africa directly for local and international clients. He also acts for clients in intellectual property infringement actions, anti-counterfeiting raids, due diligence investigations and reports, drafting of licensing and franchise agreements, trade mark oppositions, trade mark cancellations and domain name dispute resolutions before WIPO.
John Syekei has had numerous citations as one of the leading intellectual property lawyers in Kenya from a number of international legal directories. John has been highly rated in the International Who’s Who of Trade Mark Lawyers, ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers, the International Who’s Who of Patent Lawyers and the IP Media Group and ranked in Band 1 by Managing IP. He has been nominated by his peers as being one of the world’s leading practitioners in this field.
John is also Head of the Intellectual Property Committee, Law Society of Kenya and sits on the Working Group of the Licensing Executives Society International that is drafting a Standard Technology License Agreement for use in Developing Countries as its African representative.
John also sits on the Law Society of Kenya’s Advocates Remuneration Committee and is regularly asked to provide I-HUB, (-the only innovation hub for technology entrepreneurs in Kenya) with pro bono legal advice and to appear as a guest speaker at their meetings.
He is a member of the International Trade Mark Association (INTA), Federation of Private Practitioners in Patent law (FICPI) and Licensing Executives International Society (LES).
In recent years some of his key clients, assignments and transactions include the following:
- 2012 - Successfully represented 24.com, a South African subsidiary of the leading multinational media group Naspers, in relation to a domain dispute by a Nigerian entity. The matter was decided by the World Intellectual Property Organisation Arbitration Dispute Resolution Centre as the domain host was based in the United States and the parties based in different jurisdictions.
- 2011 - Currently advising various international law firms from US, UK, South Africa and South America on the prosecution of their respective clients trademark , design and patent portfolios in East Africa, legal opinions and litigation matters.
- 2011 - Advising Vestergaard Frandsen Group SA in a complex Patent Entitlement and Breach of Confidentiality action in the High Court of Kenya as well as a Patent entitlement action before the Industrial property Tribunal 2009,2010,2011. This action is being litigated in 9 other countries simultaneously.
- 2010 - Advising Philip Morris International on changes to the Kenyan tobacco industry regulations and compliance with product labeling standards
- 2010 - Advising a leading Financial services company on the commercialisation of its IP portfolio, valuation of its IP, assignment of its IP to its Mauritian entity and licensing of the IP to the Kenyan company, restructuring of its balance sheet to reflect its IP as an asset
- 2010 – Advised PineBridge Investments East Africa Limited on the sale of its information tracking software system to Craft Silicon
- 2010 – Advised Safaricom Limited on its recording artiste joint venture with Homeboyz Entertainment Limited and assignment of copyright from the music artistes to Safaricom Limited
- 2010 – Advised GSK PlC in relation to the filing of a Counterfeit action before the Kenyan Anti- Counterfeit Agency resulting in the successful raid , seizure and destruction of a consignment of counterfeit products infringing on the protected trademark rights of GSK
- 2010 – Advised ADIDAS GmbH in relation to the filing of a Counterfeit action before the Kenyan Anti- Counterfeit Agency resulting in the successful raid , seizure and destruction of a consignment of counterfeit products infringing on the protected trademark rights of ADIDAS.
- 2010 – Advising GSK PlC in a High Court litigation action against a Korean Pharmaceutical Company infringing its trademark in Kenya
- 2010 – Advising Wananchi Group Limited in the negotiation and drafting of a Wifi Agreement with Google and Equipment supply contract with BelAir Corp, Canada
- 2010 – Advising Centum in a Joint venture technology transaction with ETranzact Global and assignment of IP and technology to a local Kenyan company and a Mauritian entity
- 2010 – Advising Potomac Tobacco Limited in a litigation action against BAT SA ( Brands) Limited in Kenya
- 2010 – Advising Bimeda Pharmaceutical PLC, Ireland, a leading veterinary pharmaceutical company, in an M & A transaction- purchase of the entire issued share capital in Assia Kenya Pharma limited from Phibro Corporation
- 2010 – Advising Steptoe & Johnson LLP in the sale of Sara Lee Corporations Biocidal local product brands and registrations to Johnson & Johnson PLC
- 2010 – Advising MIH East Africa in a copyright infringement action with PW Andrews ( Universal Music Group) before the Kenya Copyright Board
- 2010 – Advising Tanga Pharmaceutical and Plastics Tanzania Limited in the reorganization and protection of its trademark portfolio in Kenya
- 2010 – Advising Mjengo Limited in the in the reorganization and protection of its trademark portfolio in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi
- 2010 – Advised Engineering Development Limited in the drafting and filing of a national and PCT patent application
- 2010 – African speaker and contributor to the recent developments in intellectual property law and practice at the INTA Annual Meeting, Boston, United States of America
- 2009 – Advised Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Patent Expungement action in respect of an ARIPO patent against Les Labaratories Servier
- 2009 – Advising Safaricom Limited on the assignment of its MPESA trade mark in East Africa to Vodafone
- 2009 – Advising Dafra Pharmaceuticals on the registration and protection of its trade marks in Africa
- 2007 to 2009 – Advising numerous leading intellectual property law firms from around the world and their clients on the registration and protection of trademarks and patents in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Seychelles and Rwanda. This included filing large numbers of trade mark and patent applications, renewals, recordals and assignments, licenses, conduction availability and registrability searches, providing validity opinions, filing trade mark opposition and expungement actions.
Angela Waki was admitted as an Advocate in 2005 and trained and worked in the litigation department at Kaplan & Stratton until joining Coulson Harney in September 2008.
Her practice areas and experience cover general commercial law, employment law, land law, forensic investigations, due diligence and dispute resolution (litigation, arbitration and mediation in commercial transactions, industrial claims, property disputes, debt collection, libel and negotiation of settlements).
Key recent assignments include:
- 2010 – Advising France Telecom/Orange East Africa on a range of shareholder matters and potential claims against the Government of Kenya involving its acquisition of Telkom Kenya Limited
- 2010 – Advising the Privatisation Commission of Kenya as part of the PricewaterhouseCoopers consortium on the privatisation of Kenya Pipeline Company
- 2010 – Advising various clients on a wide range of employment issues including redundancy and retrenchment of employees
- 2009/2010 – Advising various clients on possible claims, for or against them, in commercial law related disputes
- 2009/2010 – Advising various companies, including NSE listed Centum Investment Company Limited, on a wide range of corporate issues
- 2009 – Advising a large construction company in Kenya on the possible acquisition of its shares/assets by a strategic investor
- 2009 – Advising PricewaterhouseCoopers on the forensic investigation into the dealings between Triton Petroleum Limited and Kenya Pipeline Company Limited
- 2009 – Advising PricewaterhouseCoopers on the forensic investigation into the maize dealings between various people and the National Cereals and Produce Board
- 2009 – Advised Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited and Government of Kenya on the sale of 50% of shares to Essar Energy Limited of India, for the re-development of East Africa’s only oil refinery at Mombasa
pupils
Coulson Harney has engaged four pupils who augment its research capacity and service delivery.
View profiles of our team members.
The Kenya Industrial Property Journal
The Kenya Industrial Property Journal (the Trademarks and Patents Journal - Kenya) where all trademarks and patents are published before registration and grant respectively is now available online on the Kenya Industrial Property website at www.kipi.go.ke, and click here to download the journal.
The New Kenyan Merger Control Laws
The anticipation for up to date antitrust laws in Kenya is over. The recently promulgated Competition Act (the Act) came into effect on 1 August 2011 and replaces the Restrictive Trade Practices Monopolies and Price Control Act (the RTPA). On the whole, it aims to promote and safeguard competition in the national economy, protect consumers from unfair and misleading market conduct and provide for the establishment, powers and functions of the Competition Authority (the Authority) and the Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal). The Authority is the oversight body which is mandated to implement the Act while the Tribunal is the first point of reference for aggrieved persons with competition concerns.
Getting The Deal Through - Mergers and Acquisitions 2011
Mergers and Acquisitions in Kenya.
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Advised Hass Consult on the development of nine exclusive villas and forty residential apartments in Nairobi. Advice was also given on the acquisition of land, joint venture structuring and sale of the residential units.
SOPHIA KAREN LIMITED
Advising Sophia Karen Limited on the development and leasing of an international school in Nairobi to GEMS Education. Advice was given on the acquisition of land, negotiation of the purchase agreement, development agreement and lease to GEMS Education, the various construction contracts and project financing in relation to the land acquisition and construction of the school.
SAFARICOM AND SEVEN SEAS TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Drafting and negotiating a co-operation agreement between Safaricom Limited and Seven Seas Technologies Limited for collaboration in the research and development of innovative technology products, including the use of cloud computing.
THE LEWA WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY & THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
Advising The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy in the acquisition of approx. 28,500 acres of land in Laikipia, Northern Kenya by a third party for the purposes of the permanent preservation and protection of land and wildlife. The transaction involved due diligence, complex corporate and property structuring, developing a tax efficient conservation model compliant with Kenyan law and included drafting and negotiating lease-back agreements, easements, granting of various options, rights and conservation management agreements.
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