CMS Daly Inamdar Advocates > Nairobi, Kenya > Firm Profile
CMS Daly Inamdar Advocates Offices
ABC TOWERS, 6TH FLOOR
ABC PLACE, WAIYAKI WAY, PO BOX 40034
NAIROBI 00100
Kenya
- Go to...
- Rankings
- Firm Profile
- Main Contacts
- Press Releases
- Legal Developments
- Comparative Guides
- Legal Briefings
CMS Daly Inamdar Advocates > The Legal 500 Rankings
Kenya > Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 2
CMS Daly Inamdar Advocates advises large local and international commercial banks on loans facilities to borrowers looking to expand and grow their offering in the Kenyan market. The team is also able to advise payment service providers on regulatory compliance and licensing matters. Julius Wako is the main contact at the firm and Nishit Maru also leads on banking and finance transactions. Stella Situma is another key lawyer.Practice head(s):
Julius Wako
Other key lawyers:
Nishit Maru; Stella Situma
Key clients
Stanbic Bank Kenya
Standard Chartered Bank
I&M Bank Kenya
ABSA Bank
NCBA Bank
Victoria Commercial Bank
Bank of Baroda
Kenya > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 2
The team at CMS Daly Inamdar Advocates advises clients on M&A transactions, special purpose vehicles, restructuring work and general corporate, tax and competition compliance. The firm has a growing client base consisting of large Kenyan clients such as Standard Chartered Bank Kenya. Dual qualified in England and Kenya, senior partner Hamish Keith is the practice head and has experience of large business transactions and privatisations. Shitul Shah has recently been involved in asset and share purchases as well as restructuring. Cheryl Mageto is also noted.Practice head(s):
Hamish Keith
Other key lawyers:
Shitul Shah; Cheryl Mageto; Alex Muchira; Haanee Khan
Testimonials
‘A great team that is highly respected in Kenya. Quick turnaround time and responsive.’
‘Hamish Keith and Cheryl Mageto were great to work with. Highly respected by competitors and known as tough but reasonable in negotiations. I valued their responsiveness and negotiating skills.’
‘The service provided by the team at CMS Daly Inamdar, namely Hamish Keith and Cheryl Mageto, is highly effective in terms of experience and communication. They are significantly more effective than other legal firms we have dealt with in Nairobi.’
‘Hamish Keith led the team and was assisted by Cheryl Mageto. Both individuals were exceptional throughout.’
Key clients
Jubilee Insurance Company Kenya
InfraCo Africa Limited
Teita Estates Limited
Stanbic Bank Kenya Limited
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited
I&M Bank Kenya Limited
Base Camp Explorer Limited
Ramco Group Limited/ASL Packaging Limited
ADM Capital
Kenya > Dispute resolution Tier 3
At CMS Daly Inamdar Advocates, the dispute resolution team’s varied workload spans commercial, admiralty and maritime, employment, and real estate issues. Samir Inamdar heads up the group, and has established experience in handling shipping, construction and medical negligence disputes. George Muchiri and Abdulhafeez Noorani are recognised for their expertise in handling arbitration matters. Other key practitioners to note are Grace Kinyanjui and Collette Akwana.
Practice head(s):
Samir Inamdar
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The team has an in-house conference to discuss the challenges faced by each dispute which involves the whole team producing a strategy for the partner to work with.’
‘They care and pay attention to detail.’
‘Very reliable people.’
‘Their presentation is professional.’
Key clients
Old Mutual Group PLC
Nyali Academic Services Ltd t/a The Mombasa Academy
Packaging Manufacturers (1976) Limited
Sterling Wilson and Solar
East African Portland Cement Company
Zarara Oil & Gas Limited
Gulf Energy Limited
Farmers Choice Limited
Freight Forwarders Kenya Limited and Union Logistics Limited
Kilifi Boatyard Limited
Kenya Ports Authority
The Salvation Army – Kenya West Territory
John Grossert & Company Limited
Mistry Premji Gangji (Investments) Limited
Kenya > Real estate and construction Tier 3
The team at CMS Daly Inamdar Advocates regularly advises a client base of construction, education and insurance sector companies on purchases and sales of land. Harpreet Ubhi, who specialises in real estate and property law, heads up the practice, in which Stella Situma and senior partner Hamish Keith are key names to note.Practice head(s):
Harpreet Ubhi
Other key lawyers:
CMS Daly Inamdar Advocates > Firm Profile
CMS Daly Inamdar Advocates (CMS DI) is the oldest law firm in Kenya tracing its origins to 1899 with offices in Nairobi and Mombasa, and is part of CMS, a future-facing international firm with more than 5,000 lawyers across more than 70 offices in 40 countries worldwide.
CMS-DI is one of the most reputable full-service civil law practices, engaging in all aspects of corporate, commercial, real estate, and dispute resolution services. With over 40 experienced lawyers, a number who are dual qualified (England and New York), handling significant, ground-breaking, and noteworthy commercial transactions, CMS-DI’s clients include Kenyan-owned companies, multinational corporations, development institutions, foundations, and private clients conducting business across Africa.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate and commercial | Hamish Keith | ||
| Corporate and commercial | Abdulhafeez Noorani | ||
| Corporate and commercial | Shitul Shah | ||
| Corporate and commercial | Julius Wako | ||
| Corporate and commercial | Nishit Maru | ||
| Foreign direct investment | Hamish Keith | ||
| Foreign direct investment | Shitul Shah | ||
| Foreign direct investment | Samir Inamdar | ||
| Capital markets | Hamish Keith | ||
| Capital markets | Abdulhafeez Noorani | ||
| Banking and finance | Julius Wako | ||
| Banking and finance | Abdulhafeez Noorani | ||
| Construction | Samir Inamdar | ||
| Litigation and dispute resolution | Samir Inamdar | ||
| Litigation and dispute resolution | George Muchiri | ||
| Intellectual property | Shitul Shah | ||
| Property and real estate | Harpreet Ubhi | ||
| Property and real estate | Lillian Lofty | ||
| Property and real estate | Nishit Maru | ||
| Maritime and admiralty | Samir Inamdar | ||
| Maritime and admiralty | Nishit Maru | ||
| Insurance | Hamish Keith | ||
| Insurance | Samir Inamdar | ||
| Regulatory compliance | Abdulhafeez Noorani | ||
| Mining and energy | Hamish Keith | ||
| Mining and energy | Julius Wako | ||
| Employment | Shitul Shah | ||
| Employment | Abdulhafeez Noorani | ||
| Employment | George Muchiri | ||
| Immigration | Shitul Shah |
Staff Figures
Number of Lawyers : 40 :Languages
English Hindi KiswahiliMemberships
CMSOther
Contacts : Samir Inamdar (Samir.Inamdar@CMS-DI.com) Contacts : Oliver Manyasi (Oliver.Manyasi@CMS-DI.com) Other office : Mombasa Dual qualified : 6 :Press Releases
CMS ADVISES ROOJAI ON ITS US$42 MILLION SERIES B FUNDRAISING
22nd August 2023 CMS has advised Ignite Thailand Holdings Limited (trading as “Roojai”), a managing general agent developing its own retail insurance products and distributing them digitally on a B2C model in Thailand and Indonesia,CMS ADVISES BITDEFENDER ON ITS ACQUISITION OF HORANGI CYBER SECURITY
22nd August 2023 CMS has advised Bitdefender, a global cybersecurity leader, on its cross-border acquisition of Singapore-based Horangi Cyber Security to address the growing demand for advanced, streamlined management of cybersecurity, compliance, and governance of multi-cloud environments.Legal Developments
Expanding the scope of digital oath taking in Singapore
8th August 2023 The Oaths, Declarations and Notarisations (Remote Methods) Bill was passed in Parliament on 2 August 2023.Roadmap to Terminate the SGD Cheque Truncation System Eliminating Corporate Cheques by 2025 (MAS’ response to feedback received)
7th August 2023 Introduction- As part of its Smart Nation Vision, Singapore aims to transition into an innovative e-payments society where everyone has easy access to swift, simple and secure payments. To facilitate this transition, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) consulted[1] financial institutions, members of industry associations, government agencies and members of the public on proposed initiatives to:
- eliminate centrally cleared cheques issued by corporates (“corporate cheques”) by 2025; and
- assist and encourage remaining users of centrally cleared cheques (including individuals) that are able to switch to alternative payment methods to do so.
- Respondents noted that cheques are commonly used in property-related transactions. For example, cheques are often used for the payment of stamp duties to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, and flat purchases from the Housing Development Board. To this end, MAS highlighted that the Electronic Deferred Payment (“EDP”) solution, which will be launched by 2025, can serve as a cheque alternative for property transactions. More information on the EDP solution can be in Annex B of MAS’ response[3]. The Singapore Land Authority is also developing a Digital Conveyancing Portal (“DCP”) that seeks to digitalise the existing manual and paper-based conveyancing process, thereby eliminating cheques from the process as well. The DCP is targeted for full commissioning in 2026.
- As for the legal sector, respondents noted that while the Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Accounts) Rules has been amended to allow for the use of e-payments in respect of payment of monies out of client accounts, the requirement for such e-payments to be made with the authorisation of two solicitors using biometric authentication made it operationally and technically difficult. In response, MAS highlighted that the Law Society of Singapore has completed its review of the challenges relating to the use of e-payments for the payment of monies out of client accounts and has published a revised Practice Direction 3.3.11 for its members. The revised Practice Direction 3.3.11, which came into operation on 23 May 2023, clarifies the technical requirements for digital payments from client accounts.
- All Domestic Systematically Important Banks (D-SIBs)[4] in Singapore will impose charges on SGD-denominated cheques by 1 November 2023, while the rest of the banks will do so by 1 July 2024. This will encourage payment users to switch to cheaper and more convenient alternative payment methods, where available. The financial industry will not adopt a baseline rate to be charged in view of anti-competition rules.
- There are also plans to implement charges for USD-denominated cheques for both corporate and retail users. Timelines for this and related initiatives will be set out in MAS’ second public consultation.
Footnotes[1]p011_consultation-paper-on-roadmap-to-terminate-the-sgd-cts---eliminating-corporate-cheques-by-2025.pdf (mas.gov.sg)[2] response-to-consultation---roadmap-to-eliminate-corporate-cheques.pdf (mas.gov.sg)[3] response-to-consultation---roadmap-to-eliminate-corporate-cheques.pdf (mas.gov.sg)[4] These banks are Citibank, DBS Bank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB.
Legal Briefings
Doing business in the UAE
CMS’s John O’Connor and Harkee Wilson discuss the challenges and issues businesses face operating in the UAE and investigate some of the recent changes in the business environment.