McKay is a full-service law firm based in Nairobi, Kenya. We have been providing high-quality advisory and transactional legal services for over 10 years. At McKay, we understand that a client requires a tailored experience, and we devote ourselves to realizing exactly that. We provide bespoke, practical, and commercially-focused legal solutions through a relentless focus on client's needs and teamwork. Our service delivery is always grounded on the following service standards: Swift responsiveness to clients; Bespoke application of the law to a client’s needs; and service delivery with integrity.
McKay has a well-established client base growing in tandem with economic developments and increased investments in the East Africa region. Our client base transcends all major economic sectors, including manufacturing, telecommunications, renewable energy, real estate, oil & gas, sports & gaming, finance & private equity, government, and quasi-government bodies, amongst others. To deliver efficient and bespoke legal solutions to clients, McKay continually invests in growing its human resource capacity. The Firm currently has over 35 staff comprising senior partners, senior associates, associates, and support staff with specialized knowledge and experience in the specific areas they work on.
McKay advises both acquirers and target undertakings in national and cross-border M&A transactions in diverse sectors. Our team has affable relationships and experience dealing with regulators, enabling us to efficiently turn around complex and time-sensitive transactions.
We also advise on pre-contractual negotiations, regulatory compliance, as well as post-M&A integration or separation, including employment issues and sector-specific regulatory approvals.
Some of the recent transactions that we have handled include:
Healthcare: advised a leading investor in healthcare infrastructure in Kenya together with its founding shareholders in a re-acquisition of a majority stake in the company from a private equity fund;
Fintech: advised a licensed payment services provider (PSP) in Kenya on all aspects of a proposed investment in the company by a US-registered unified PSP. The investment involved the acquisition of a 25% stake in the Kenyan PSP;
Energy: advised a Norway-based renewable solutions company in the intended sale of its 75% shareholding in a Kenyan entity involved in the solar energy space to another Norway-based solar and green energy company;
Infrastructure: advised a Kenyan company with commercial interests in the construction of telecommunication towers, together with its existing shareholders, in an acquisition of a majority stake in the company by an American private equity fund;
Engineering: advised an international Chinese company with interests in civil engineering on all aspects of its successful acquisition of 100% shareholding in a real estate company operating within Nairobi;
Infrastructure: advised a Korean conglomerate with interest in infrastructural development on all aspects of the acquisition of a 100% stake in a Nairobi-based four-star hotel where it intends to set up its East African headquarters;
Energy: advised a Hong Kong-registered company on all aspects of its successful acquisition of a 50% shareholding in a geothermal energy company with a concession to finance, design, construct, install, operate and maintain one geothermal modular power plant of 35MW at Menengai area of Nakuru County;
Biochemistry: advised the shareholders of a Kenya-registered company involved in the research and development of biopesticides processes and products in the sale of a majority stake to a Swiss-based bio-solutions company;
Tourism: advised the shareholders in the sale of their entire shareholding in a local company with interests in camping establishments to a local investor in the sector;
Finance: advised a Dutch-incorporated company in the divestiture of its majority stake in a local company that operates in the financial services sector;
Private wealth: acted for an investor in relation to the intended registration and setting up of money transfer and foreign exchange business operations in Kenya;
Education: advised a local investor who operates a string of early-childhood campuses in the sale of one of its campuses to international investors in a business and assets purchase transaction; and
Technology: advised an individual shareholder in a leading African internet service provider offering solutions over satellite, fibre optic and wireless networks in a disposal of equity stake in the company to a Mauritian-based company.
Our Debt Recoveries & Advisory Practice provides seamless legal advice relating to all types of debt management including auditing securities, negotiation of payment plans, guiding debt restructuring, acting on behalf of our clients in court and through ADR.
We have a robust team of lawyers, recoveries managers, asset tracing managers and auctioneers thus ideally placed to collect debts in various sectors including the financial services sector.
Our team has experience in dispute resolution and offers practical professional debt management solutions to clients having worked in this field for many years. The team’s work predominantly involves helping clients collect debts from third parties by employing superior and proven techniques to recover all kinds of distressed debt which are useful in enabling our clients to maximise returns on investments while also safeguarding our client’s interests and relationships.
We counsel both local and international clients on family law matters, estate planning and probate.
We have successfully taken on matters ranging from highly complex and contentious Estate management matters to general probate and administration. Our expertise is inclusive of, but not limited to:
Preparation of wills;
Conducting in-house training and succession matters;
Providing solutions for family disputes; and
Guiding parties in matters of divorce, separation and matrimonial property.
We approach family matters in an open and caring manner owing to the delicate dynamics of family. Our team is highly experienced and has the expertise to deliver timely and actionable guidance. We pride ourselves in listening to our clients keenly, comprehending all aspects of their cases and assisting them in arriving at realistic and favourable solutions.
McKay advises and assists businesses and individuals on all aspects of the Kenya immigration law requirements and procedures.
We assist clients in varied economic sectors and manage the application process for special passes, work permits, permanent residence, citizenship and other forms of registrations for foreign nationals. Our clients include companies in energy, mining, development finance, telecommunication, education, amongst others.
McKay provides comprehensive and practical advice on all intellectual property matters, media and sports law. Our Sports Law Practice routinely advises gambling clients around the world on all legal and regulatory matters concerning their gaming business operations in Kenya. We also advise individual athletes, public sports authorities, gaming operators and clients in the entertainment sector particularly in film and television.
Some of the notable work we have recently done include:
Betting: advised a Kenya-registered online gaming company on all legal aspects of operating an online betting business in Kenya including the license application process, on a software licensing agreement and on the legal aspects of capital injection from international partners and on IP aspects involving its business, amongst others;
Software: advised a Kenya-registered company and drafted the necessary reseller agreement for the grant of exclusive supplier rights in Kenya of a licensed gaming software from a Belize-registered company;
Software: In collaboration with an international law firm, advised an international software developer company and gaming operator that currently operates several online social and real money slots in the UK and other European countries, on all legal and taxation aspects of the Kenyan phase legal regulatory framework on gambling and gaming;
Financial intermediary: In collaboration with an international law firm advised a company involved in providing payment services to gaming operators, on legal and regulatory environment governing their support services to a number of gaming companies providing gaming services remotely;
Remote betting: advised a number of other international gaming operators on legal and regulatory environment governing the provision of online gaming services remotely;
Digital advertising: advised a top 4 football club in the English Premier League on all legal aspects relating to joint-digital advertising of a bookmaker’s services on their social media pages; and
Betting & lottery: advised a Malta-headquartered company on all legal aspects of the establishment of a gaming business in Kenya and in three other African countries.
McKay offers clients efficient and strategic advice while employing creativity in solving the most complex matters through strategic case management and a progressive approach to dispute resolution. We focus on commercial disputes, environment and land disputes, employment and labour relations, property disputes, constitutional and human rights law, public procurement disputes, succession law, insolvency, commercial arbitration, data protection and cyber-security.
Some of the notable work we have recently done include the following:
Commercial: provided commercial litigation services to a number of banks and financial institutions in suits relating to the exercise of statutory power of sale;
Constitutional: represented a petitioner in a high profile public interest constitutional litigation involving the protection afforded to public servants with respect to whistleblowing rights;
Environmental: Represented a County Government before the National Environmental Tribunal in a suit by an investor challenging the County Government’s involvement in the process of revocation of an Environmental (EIA) license by NEMA. The suit was with respect the Kimana wildlife corridor;
Employment & labour relations: represented a County Assembly in the Court of Appeal in relation to an employment dispute relating to the appointment of the clerk of the said County Assembly;
Employment & labour relations: represented a County Government in a dispute in which the Claimant had sought compensation for the sum of KES 25,000,000 for wrongful and unfair termination;
Employment & labour relations: represented a leading water service provider in various petitions filed in the employment and labour relations court involving complex and novel issues;
Real estate & construction: represented a leading real estate developer in various matters ranging from tenancy disputes, evictions and contractual disputes relating development and purchase of houses;
Insolvency: represented a number of creditors in insolvency proceedings filed against various Kenyan leadings supermarkets;
Procurement: represented an electricity transmission and distribution company in relation to a dispute emanating from unpaid supplier invoices;
Constitutional: acted for a digital marketing company in a dispute filed before the constitutional court involving personality and privacy rights;
Commercial: represented a data management system company in relation to a software installation dispute;
Employment & labour relations: represented a leading Kenyan telecommunication operator in a number of labour disputes relating to retrenchment of staff;
Real estate & construction: represented one of Kenya’s oldest pension schemes at the Business Premises Rent Tribunal and the Rent Restriction Tribunal in various tenancy and rent disputes with its clients ranging from disputed rent increments, evictions, exercise of distress for rent, among others;
Real estate & construction: acted for a number of Kenyan companies in arbitration proceedings in relation to disputes arising out of project management and finance agreements, construction agreements, business and asset purchase agreements (BAPA);
Commercial: acted for an individual in a dispute relating to the bank’s improper exercise of its statutory power of sale;
Insolvency: acted for a petitioner in insolvency proceedings commenced against a debtor Company;
Procurement: represented a Government of Kenya state parastatal mandated to execute surface geothermal development in an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in relation to the recovery of an unhonoured advance payment guarantee (APG) issued in its favour by a Hong Kong based drilling company.
