Rankings for Iseme, Kamau & Maema Advocates in the Legal 500 EMEA 2018 guide
Iseme, Kamau & Maema Advocates (IKM), a member of DLA Piper Africa, has been recognized in six key practice areas in the latest edition of Legal 500 Europe, Middle East and Africa 2018. Banking and Finance, Projects and Infrastructure and Employment have been ranked Tier 1. The firm's Corporate and Commercial, Dispute Resolution, and Real Estate and Construction practices were ranked Tier 2. IKM was also recognized as “one of the leading and fastest growing commercial law firms in Kenya” by the Legal 500 guide.
Additionally, three senior partners were named as "leading individuals" in their respective practice areas: James Kamau in Corporate and Commercial and Projects and Infrastructure; Kamau Karori in Dispute Resolution and William Maema in Employment.
James Kamau is notably recognized as an ‘excellent all-round lawyer’ who is ‘very resourceful, innovative and knowledgeable’. Legal 500 2018 also recognizes James Kamau as ‘seasoned and respected’, ‘sees the bigger picture’ and ‘has a reputation for facilitating transactions rather than hindering them’. Kamau Karori is recognized as ‘one of the top litigation lawyers in the country’,
and partner Beatrice Nyabira is recognised as ‘very proactive, diligent and goes the extra mile’.
IKM regularly advised key clients such as IFC, KCB Group, CMI Africa Holdings and Auto-Sueco Kenya on a wide range of matters. Over the last few months, the firm has been involved in high-profile deals including:
- Counseled the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on its approximately USD35 million investment in Britam Holdings.
- Advised Gulf African Bank on arranging a Tier II subordinated debt facility from Eastern and Southern Africa Trade and Development Bank
- Advised Uber on the review of its restrictive covenant agreements and employment contracts.
- Acted for KCB Group on a proposed KES10 billion rights issuance, including in relation to the requirements of Kenya's Capital Markets Authority.
- Advised the County Government of Nakuru and the World Bank on a solid waste management PPP project
- Represented KTDA Power on the financing and development of four run-of-river hydropower projects.
- Advised Cummins in relation to a joint venture project with Car & General.
- Advised the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in the financing and development of a greenfield multispecialty hospital in Nairobi with a primary focus of providing affordable cardiac care as well as specialty services such as nephrology, cancer and general surgery and intensive care.
DLA Piper Africa Legal 500 rankings have increased from only three of the 19 offices, to seven of the 19 offices ranked in 2018, including the DLA Piper Africa office in Kenya. The number of lawyers named ad "leading individuals" in Africa has also grown from 3 to 11.