Oraro & Company Advocates’s employment team is well-equipped to advise on a wide scope of employment matters and is commended by clients for being ‘friendly, seasoned and readily accessible’. Chacha Odera steers the team and has extensive knowledge in employment and labour law, and John Mbaluto is another key member of the team, specialising in employment-related disputes.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Mentions
Profile
Work Department
Arbitration; Dispute Resolution; Employment and Labour; Private Client
Position
Senior Partner
Career
Chacha is a Senior Partner at Oraro & Company Advocates and practices in the dispute resolution practice group. With over 34 years of experience, he has represented local and international clients in commercial disputes, constitutional law, electoral disputes, employment and labour law, insolvency, and property law.
Chacha has been ranked by leading international legal directories such as Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 as a leading lawyer in dispute resolution and employment. In the Chambers Global Guide 2021 rankings, Chacha received a plethora of praise from the Kenyan legal community, with market observers regarding him as “an extremely able advocate and a gentleman in all manner of the word.”
Chacha was also recognised as the overall lawyer of the year in 2019 at the Nairobi Legal Awards, hosted by the Law Society of Kenya, Nairobi branch.
Chacha is a member of the London Court of International Arbitration Users’ Councils and a Commissioner for Oaths and Notary Public.
Aside from his legal practice, Chacha is an adjunct lecturer at the Strathmore Law School. He has chaired two adhoc committees of the Law Society of Kenya namely the Committee for In-house Counsel and the development of a comprehensive Code of Conduct for Advocates. He has also served in various capacities at the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal and the Council of Legal Education.
Chacha is a passionate philanthropist and is currently a honorary member of the Rotary Club of Milimani as well as a Paul Harris Fellow. He previously served as a founding trustee of the Matibabu Foundation and the Msaada Kenya Trust.
Languages
English and Kiswahili
Memberships
Law Society of Kenya
East Africa Law Society
Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association
Education
Diploma in Law, Kenya School of Law, Kenya
LLB, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Content supplied by Oraro & Company Advocates
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Employment law in Kenya is dynamic and evolving really fast, with courts churning out decisions that are affecting the employment space on a daily. It is therefore important to have an agile and robust partner in this field who will not only defend us but also advise and help in mitigating risks associated with this field. Oraro has been this partner for us.’
‘The team is friendly, seasoned and readily accessible and available to assist and respond to queries. John Mbaluto is a seasoned advocate of over 17 years' practice and has cut a niche in the Employment space.'
Key clients
- TelPosta Pension Scheme
- Kenya Railways Corporation
Work highlights
Acting for the pension scheme in defending a judgment by the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal for unpaid retirement dues of approximately KES13.4bn by former employees of Telkom Kenya Ltd.