“He has great interpersonal skills and is very patient with clients.” – Chambers and Partners 2025.
James is recognized as one of Kenya’s leading dispute lawyers. He is an astute practitioner, with a career spanning over 36 years.
He is versatile and experienced in diverse areas of complex commercial litigation encompassing tax, banking, insurance, and many others. As a Senior Partner, he has litigated several landmark cases that have made important contributions to jurisprudence in Kenya. He is a master of constitutional interpretation and has successfully argued important cases on the recognition and enforcement of fundamental rights in the Constitutional Courts. He is described as a captivating presence in the courtroom. He advises many high-profile clients in a variety of sectors ranging from automotive, banking, manufacturing, and construction, as well as public sector institutions.
James is a Chartered Arbitrator and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He holds a master’s degree in The Role of Law in Development and Economic Law from The University of Warwick. He is a member of the Judiciary’s Chitembwe Tribunal, a tribunal formed in May 2022 to investigate the allegations of judicial misconduct of a former Kenyan High Court Judge.
He has won many accolades for his work including most recently a Band 1 ranking in Dispute Resolution by leading global directory Chambers and Partners in 2024.
“Tom is a joy to work with. He is very quick in gaining an understanding of the situation, and his approach is business-oriented.”- Chambers and Partners Global Guide 2025.
Tom Onyango is a Senior Partner in the Real Estate, Banking & Finance Team. He has a reputation for providing innovative, well-reasoned, and commercially sensitive advice to every client in his portfolio.
His core practice centers around financial services and real estate development. He has extensive experience in a wide range of real estate transactions, including offering advisory and due diligence services in major capital investments. He has advised developers on raising real estate development finance and advised financial institutions on the perfection of securities. He has also structured several large-scale real estate projects and has put together numerous innovative commercial property transactions including some award-winning projects. In addition, he advises many businesses in Kenya and sits on the boards of several companies.
A knack for astute legal interpretation and meticulous attention to detail has seen Tom carve a very distinctive niche in commercial real estate and conveyancing matters. Adding to previous accolades, he was ranked in Real Estate by the leading global directory Chambers and Partners in 2025.
Jinaro Kibet, SC has the rank of Senior Counsel, the highest level of recognition for an advocate in Kenyan legal practice.
He has 34 years of post-qualification experience during which he has garnered a wealth of experience in securities advisory, corporate restructuring, banking, and insurance law advisory for local and international corporates, private equity and investment advisory, public-private partnerships, capital markets and securities, mergers and acquisitions, and other financial services.
Due to his significant advisory experience and cutting-edge solutions to the legal needs of diverse clientele, Jinaro has been internationally recognized for his work by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. He was recently ranked in The Legal 500 Europe, Middle East & Africa 2023 as a Recommended Lawyer in the Commercial, Corporate, and M&A practice as well as in the Employment practice.
He has deep capital markets expertise, having previously served as chairperson of the Capital Markets Tribunal. He also serves as a Board Member in numerous organizations in the Kenyan commercial landscape both in the private and public sectors. He has been an avid ally of the Kenyan athletics fraternity, currently serving as Vice-President of Athletics Kenya. In addition, in 2020 he was appointed to the World Athletics Governance Commission and the Human Rights Working Group.
“John Ohaga is creative and able to provide practical and out-of-the-box solutions”– Chambers and Partners Global Guide 2025.
Clients have described John as “one of the foremost litigators in the country” and “…an absolutely superb disputes lawyer.”
John has 34 years of dispute experience and is an acknowledged expert in high-stakes domestic and international cases. His broad practice focuses on banking, finance, technology, procurement, energy, and commercial. He is a Chartered Arbitrator, an accredited mediator, and a member of the governing board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration.
John is ranked in Band 1: Dispute Resolution in Band 1: Arbitrator by Chambers & Partners. In addition, he has been featured as one of the Top 50 Arbitrators in Africa by Legal 500: Arbitration Powerlist and the Africa Arbitration Academy. He sits on boards and committees of several arbitration organisations. These include a role as the Chairperson of the National Steering Committee for Formulation of the ADR Policy. Kenya has nominated him to the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators and the ICC Commission on Arbitration.
He has advised multinational companies, blue-chip companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, and various other private companies besides Kenya’s largest state corporations. In addition, he has provided expert opinions and appeared as an expert witness on Kenyan law before the courts of England and Wales and the United States of America.
He also served on the inaugural board of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration for eight years. He is also the Convenor of the Law Society of Kenya’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and a member of the Mediation Accreditation Committee and the Judiciary Task Force on Court-Annexed Mediation. In 2013, he was appointed the Chairman of the Kenya Sports Disputes Tribunal.
He sits on the boards of several companies, is a Trustee of the M-PESA Foundation, and is a director of the M-PESA Foundation Academy, which aims to provide a world-class education to gifted but economically disadvantaged students from across Kenya.
Elias is a dispute resolution expert with more than 19 years of post-university experience.
He started his career in maritime and international law. His current dispute practice is broad covering among other areas energy, environmental, and natural resources law. In energy, he has notably worked in high-profile matters for several international players.
He also has experience handling sports and entertainment law matters. Testament to his experience in these areas he has represented clients in several important cases before Kenya’s Court of Arbitration for Sports. He has been recognized for his dispute work in The Legal 500 EMEA rankings of 2023. Elias is also currently the partner in charge of the firm’s pro bono scheme which oversees the provision of free legal services to needy members of society.
Marysheila is the Managing Partner.
She specialises in constitutional and administrative law, procurement law, environmental law, and judicial review. She provides strategic counsel to clients across diverse industries, including airlines, banking, manufacturing, and telecommunications, handling complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
An accredited mediator, Marysheila is recognised for her expertise in Family Law. She serves as a member of the High Court (Family Division) Bar-Bench Committee and Convenor of the Chief Magistrates Court’s (Children Division) Bar-Bench Committee.
Her expertise in employment law has earned her international recognition in The Legal 500 EMEA. She is highly regarded for her ability to craft effective dispute-resolution strategies, ensuring favourable outcomes for clients in and out of court.
Stephen is a partner in the Corporate & Commercial Practice.
He has expertise in several specialized areas of law, including capital markets, energy, financial services, gas, mining, oil, structured, and project finance. He further provides advice to clients on regulatory compliance, public policy, and legislative engagement.
He is constantly pushing the knowledge boundary in emerging areas of practice. This is evidenced by the fact that he is one of the pioneering lawyers in Kenya in Public-Private Partnerships. Notable is that he has advised parties on both the public and private sides on large PPP projects that have since successfully achieved commercial and financial close.
He also has a passion for teaching and has taught at several leading institutions including the Kenya School of Law. He is also a certified Corporate Governance Trainer. As a former senior public sector executive, he has extensive networks with key decision-makers across the region and has a reputation as a consummate dealmaker and a go-to lawyer in structuring or unlocking unconventional commercial transactions.
Stephen was formerly the first executive director of a formidable, best-in-class intellectual property protection and enforcement agency with national and regional reach. In this role, he developed intellectual property legislation aimed at eradicating the menace of counterfeit goods in the Kenyan market through the application of two primary policy tools – enforcement of intellectual property law (within the TRIPS framework), and public outreach and sensitization.
Brian heads the firm’s Corporate & Commercial Practice and is noted for his international expertise in corporate finance, capital markets and corporate governance matters.
He is highly recommended for his client-centric problem-solving skills and is a key resource in matters of general financial structuring and capital markets transactions.
He has advised on various complex, high-value commercial transactions across a broad range of sectors including healthcare, public-private partnerships, banking, telecommunication, insurance, manufacturing, competition, and construction. He regularly conducts legal and compliance audits for several publicly listed companies. He is regularly invited to speak at international arbitration forums as well as to conduct training on corporate governance.
Brian is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of the United Kingdom Branch and Kenya Branch. In 2017, he was the youngest individual in the 53-year history of the Kenya Branch to have earned a Fellowship. He leverages his specialization in commercial arbitration and international arbitration in his commercial advisory services to clients. He has a keen interest in impacting society and sits on multiple steering committees that target special interest groups primarily comprised of members who are aged 40 and below.
Kenvine has a keen interest in comparative constitutional law, human rights law, election, judicial review, intellectual property law, land, environmental and natural resource law, and commercial litigation.
Kenvine holds a master’s degree in law, Governance, and Democracy from the University of Nairobi and has won various academic excellence awards such as the David and Mary Kiamba Memorial Prize for 2009/2010 Best Final Year Student in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Nairobi.
He is a trained Arbitrator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Kenya. He is also a Certified Professional Mediator with the Mediation Training Institute. His interest cuts across the entire dispute resolution space where he has successfully acted in several high-profile cases including constitutional, administrative law, environment and land, tax, and procurement matters for government agencies, transnational corporations, private corporations, and individuals.
Kenvine was part of the team that successfully represented Bidco Africa Limited (one of East Africa’s leading FMCG manufacturers) against the Kenya Revenue Authority over the methodology and parameters of assessment of duty under the East African Community Customs Management Act. The case involved a demand of USD 250 million. This case won the team an Award for the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Team of the Year at the 2022 African Legal Awards.
Kenvine was also part of the team that put together a strategic defense for the Central Bank of Kenya in a matter before the East African Court of Justice concerning the collapse of Imperial Bank. This case won the team an award for the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Team of the Year at the 2023 African Legal Awards.
Renice possesses a wide breadth of experience in real estate transactions. She particularly demonstrates expertise, efficiency, and commercial awareness in dealing with all property matters pertinent to compliance, regulatory, due diligence, and project development.
She has been extensively involved in and acted as a lead lawyer in several high-value complex property development projects. She has a key understanding of the real estate and banking sector and is in touch with the commercial needs of client banks and borrowers alike.
In addition, Renice has also worked in the firm’s Litigation team handling succession matters, divorce proceedings, and child custody.
Kiche Co-Heads the Firm’s Dispute Resolution Team with over 10 years of work experience as Counsel rendering personalized, impactful and meaningful legal services to clients.
Kiche is an Arbitrator and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is also a Mediator. Kiche is a member of the YMG Steering Committee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Kenya Branch. He is also a member of the Association of Turnaround & Insolvency Kenya. He is also a member of both the American and French Chamber of Commerce, Kenya.
Kiche has a specialty in banking and finance law, tax, employment law, arbitration, construction law, intellectual property, constitutional and human rights law, insolvency and company law.
He has made his contributions to jurisprudence in several instances, such as being part of the team that successfully represented several local bottlers against a contentious tax demand by the Kenya Revenue Authority on returnable containers for over Kshs. 5.6 billion. He was also part of the team that successfully represented a State Corporation in an oil shipping dispute with a value in excess of USD 11.3 million. He was co-Counsel in an international commercial arbitration between a Lebanese company and a Kenyan company on termination of a contract for corrupt practices. He successfully represented a telecommunications service provider in a copyright infringement claim involving a computer program. In the employment law sphere, Kiche successfully represented a State Corporation in the energy sector against a claim lodged by a senior manager for unfair termination arising from misuse of public resources and the case was dismissed both at the Employment and Labour Relations Court and Court of Appeal.
Kiche was assisting counsel in international commercial arbitration involving a financial service provider and a foreign university on recovery of loans advanced to the tune of USD 11.3 million. The case succeeded and an award was rendered in favour of the financial service provider and the awarded adopted by the High Court of Kenya.
Kiche was also part of the team that successfully represented a client at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (United Kingdom) against allegations of gross misconduct and integrity.
William holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) 2nd Class Honours Upper Division from Kenyatta University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law.
He is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya). He has a keen interest in dispute resolution in International Dispute Settlement, Commercial Arbitration, Tax and litigation.
William has over nine years of experience in representing clients in Civil disputes, Commercial and Tax disputes, Public Procurement disputes, Environment and Land disputes, Employment and Labour relations disputes, Probate and Administration disputes, Constitutional Petitions; Commercial Arbitration and Adjudication. William has sharp skills that get him to the core of a matter in a record amount of time.
William has attended a Summer Programme on the International Criminal Court as well as the International Criminal Law and the Impact of the Holocaust on the Development of International Criminal Law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights NUI Galway and Creighton University School of Law respectively and is currently pursuing various professional certification courses with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) in Arbitration and Adjudication.
Leyla specializes in commercial litigation, employment, and labour disputes, intellectual property, and constitutional and human rights matters.
She has particularly strong expertise in disputes in the telecommunication and aviation sectors. She is a Notary Public, a Commissioner of Oaths, a Certified Mediator, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She represents parties both in mediation and arbitration proceedings and sits as a mediator and arbitrator. She has been trained as a tribunal secretary and has sat as a tribunal secretary in several arbitral proceedings. She also advises on trade and investment matters.
Leyla is very passionate about alternative dispute resolution. In addition to her practice, she trains on ADR. Notable is that she has trained Women Members of County Assemblies drawn from various Kenyan counties in conjunction with the Frontier Counties Development Council on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and peacebuilding. She sits as a member of the Court Annexed Mediation Bar Bench Committee, High Court Commercial, and Tax Division Bar Bench Committee, and was instrumental in the formation of the Kadhis Court Bar Bench Committee where she is currently the Co-Convener. She is also a member of the Law Society of Kenya ADR Committee.
Leyla is currently the Co-Chair of the Executive Council of the Lagos Court of Arbitration Young Arbitrators Network (LCA-YAN) she is the Chair of the ICC Kenya, Customs and Trade Facilitation Commission and is a member of the African Users Council of the London Court of International Arbitration.
Leyla has been recognized for her expertise and skills. In 2019, Leyla’s paper titled ‘The Promise of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and its Effect on the Future of the East African Community’ won the second position in the East African Young Lawyers Essay Competition. She was nominated for recognition as one of Africa’s 50 Most Promising Young Arbitration Practitioners in 2020, an initiative of the Association of Young Arbitrators (AYA).
Leyla emerged as the winner in the ‘Young Lawyer of the Year category in the Law Society of Kenya Legal Awards, in 2020, and was the 1st Runner Up in 2021. She also won ‘the Young ADR Practitioner of the Year Award, 2022 in the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya) Excellence Awards.
Leyla has co-authored several publications including the Kenyan Chapter of the International Comparative Legal Guide – Business Crime 2019, as well Kenya’s chapter, within The Legal 500 Comparative Guide on Bribery and Corruption 2019 and 2020. She was part of the team that prepared a desktop review on Kenya’s Law and Disaster Preparedness and Response, a Multi-Country Synthesis 2019 Report by the International Federation of Red Cross, and Red Crescent Societies.
Leyla is a frequent speaker at ADR trade conferences and webinars.
Winnie is a Senior Associate and Deputy Head of Corporate & Commercial Practice at TripleOKLaw LLP.
With over eight (8) years of post-admission experience, she has developed a deep specialization in high-value real estate transactions, offering clients a distinct combination of legal expertise and industry-specific insights.
Currently seconded as External Counsel to a leading telecommunications company, Winnie manages their extensive property portfolio with precision and strategic foresight. She also advises on complex property development projects in Nairobi’s thriving residential and commercial sectors, providing guidance on due diligence, acquisitions, property development, asset and risk management, financing, disposals, and project finance.
Winnie is highly regarded for her counsel to investors, banks, and financial institutions on multi-faceted financial transactions, leveraging her in-depth knowledge of Kenya’s property laws and financial frameworks. Her experience working with both local and international investors position her as a sought-after advisor for high-value developments.
Winne also advises clients on business formation, corporate restructuring and company incorporation, delivering a holistic and strategically grounded approach to their legal and commercial needs.
Justus has advisory expertise on business transactions, legal rights, tax dispute resolution, and environmental and land matters.
His work in tax dispute resolution has had him represent one of the leading oil marketers and a leading FMCG manufacturer before the Tax Disputes Tribunal on a dispute worth USD 9.4 million (KES 1.4 billion) and USD 18.7 million (KES 2.8 billion) respectively.
He has vast experience in banking law, having represented several banks in contract disputes and having handled disputes between banks and the supervisory body including participating in bank insolvency and liquidation proceedings. He has also represented clients in public procurement disputes. He was an assisting counsel in a landmark case involving the procurement for the design and supply of new currency in the country. He has also represented several individuals and corporations in land disputes. He has participated in the recovery of several parcels of land belonging to the Railways Corporation across the country worth over USD 66.8 million (KES 10 billion).
Justus has excelled in sports law and has appeared before international tribunals including the IAAF Ethics Board and the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Switzerland representing clients. His practice also covers commercial litigation and constitutional and human rights law.
Justus is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya, a Certified Public Secretary, and a Certified Information Systems Auditor. He holds a master’s degree in law (LLM) in public finance and financial services law from The University of Nairobi and is presently pursuing a doctoral degree (PhD) in Law from The University of Nairobi.
Justus previously served as a member of the Privatization Appeals Tribunal and presently serves as a member of the Privatization Review Board. He also serves as a legal committee member in the Presidential Taskforce on the Review of Laws and Regulations governing Religious Organisations.
