We manage a wide range of corporate transactions or independent dealings including corporate commercial law, tax and finance. They are in charge of drafting and negotiating the necessary contracts. An example of a complex transaction is the sale of assets such as contracts, staff, systems, and premises.
The firm’s commercial lawyers also draw contracts for business operations such as the supply of goods and services, technology licensing and lease agreements.
The firm’s commercial lawyers have a deep understanding of business. A critical and peculiar feature of commercial law is the need to have a rich understanding of how individual businesses operate. The firm’s clients range from local businesses to multinational corporations and global financial institutions.
There are normally three stages for each job: diligence, where one discovers the client’s needs and inner dealings; drafting contracts; and negotiation, where the contract is redrafted and finalized to include the agreement reached by the parties,
In the early stages of transactions, much more time is spent in the negotiations – if the client is an international firm either the client will come to us or we may be required to go overseas.
The B M Musau & Company, Advocates LLP’ commercial lawyers may be handling as many as five large transactions simultaneously, along with any number of smaller contracts. A complex transaction may require a team of as many as 3 to 9 people working in different practice areas.
The hours are long – most days the firm’s commercial lawyers are in the office for more than ten hours and stay on call for emails late into the evening.
Although all-night stints and weekend working are not a regular part of the job, there will be periods when the commercial lawyers work through the night. One difficulty of the job is being unable to predict when they will be busy.
The firm’s commercial lawyers take interest because best element of the job is the variety of work. The subject matter is wide as commercial law typically takes you across the whole field of industries and sectors.
The firm clearly understands that legal departments in banks and companies are under pressure to minimize their costs and external expenditure on law firms. Businesses aim to conclude most commercial work through B M Musau & Company, Advocates LLP because we offer a satisfactory standard at a reasonable cost.
However, the financial crisis has also thrown up complex challenges where corporations and banks need law firms to help on tricky business separation jobs. Banks have required regulatory advice and companies have sold off assets.
The firm’s commercial law trainees still arrive thinking they will be photocopying or filing. Nothing of the sort – trainees are involved in research tasks such as looking into a particular question of law.
They are asked to help organize information from clients on large deals. With large transactions, lawyers work in multiple offices so there is invariably a role for trainees. They can get to see negotiations play out and help to draft whatever’s been agreed.
The firm’s range of commercial legal services include:
- Corporate & commercial law;
- Company secretarial services;
- Privatizations;
- Foreign investment in all major sectors in Kenya including power production, distribution, e;
- Entry permits and local approvals;
- Shares Sale Agreements;
- Shareholders Agreements;
- Joint ventures, acquisitions, mergers, take-overs and public issue of securities;
- Banking law and finance (bank standard forms, documentation, trade finance law, loan and equity debt schemes, including the law of banking and financial institutions, banks, internet banks, credit unions, etc.);
- Banking and financing security perfection;
- Tax (anti-avoidance and tax risk management);
- Tax planning;
- International tax planning;
- E-commerce tax implications;
- Anti-money laundering;
- Information security and cybercrime;
- Franchising;
- Capital markets including listing and de-listing of securities;
- Insolvency law and practice including receiverships and liquidations;
- Property law including conveyancing, leases and property development;
- Commercial and business law: e-commerce, contract and business law and practice (standard form contracts, warranties and representations), licensing, dissolution of businesses and the structure of business entities;
- Incorporation of companies as well as advising them on compliance with Kenya company law: companies limited by shares and companies limited by guarantee; companies with and without share capital;
- Compliance with Section 975(2) of the Companies Act, No. 17 of 2015 by companies incorporated outside Kenya upon establishment of operations or branches in Kenya;
- Taxation, trusts, retirement benefit schemes and provident funds; and
- Dairy and agriculture la
Areas of law used by the B M Musau & Company, Advocates LLP’ commercial lawyers:
- Contract law;
- Intellectual property law;
- Data protection law;
- Employment law;
- Corporate law;
- Banking law;
- Capital markets law;
- Anti-money laundering law, among others.
The firm’s commercial lawyers have a strong command of written English, confidence in speaking to clients and colleagues, good commercial awareness, the willingness to understand what makes individual businesses tick, and confidence when confronting something they have not done before.