Why Kenya’s growing ambitions need disputes lawyers at the table

Disputes lawyers have valuable insights to offer businesses long before a disagreement reaches court, says Kevin Kinuthia, a partner at fast-growing, internationally recognised Nairobi-based firm ADRA Advocates LLP.

In Kenya’s expanding commercial landscape, he believes they should be involved early enough to understand a client’s plans and identify where trouble might arise.

“Dispute avoidance is actually an integral part of our practice,” says Kevin. “We try to find ways in which we can resolve some of the issues and litigate on really what cannot be agreed upon, as opposed to litigating on everything.”

Led by Managing Partner Pearlyne Omamo, ADRA’s work ranges from complex cross-border litigation and international arbitration to construction, employment, insolvency, intellectual property, shipping, and technology disputes.

Kevin says disputes lawyers bring a perspective that can be overlooked when investments and agreements are being planned. Having dealt with conflicts after commercial relationships break down, they know which provisions may prove difficult to apply, and which problems could have been addressed far sooner.

“There are things which we encounter as we resolve disputes which are not contemplated in agreements of whatever nature, be it an investment agreement, a contractual agreement, an employment agreement,” he says.

At a recent business summit in Nairobi, conversations about foreign direct investment, cross-border data flows and trade reinforced that point.

A disputes lawyer may seem an unexpected participant at such a gathering, says Kevin, but understanding what investors and businesses hope to achieve helps ADRA’s team see potential conflicts in their wider commercial and regulatory setting, rather than only as briefs that arrive after something has gone wrong.

That approach is particularly relevant to major projects, where disagreements can deepen while work continues.

Kevin recalls representing a public university in a construction claim involving delays. He believes that involving an adjudicator during the project could have prevented a substantial part of the eventual dispute. “Some of the things are left to fester, and they result in huge losses,” he says.

For ADRA, the search for a practical resolution also does not end when legal proceedings begin. The firm will continue to look for issues the disputing parties can still settle, concentrating litigation or arbitration on what remains contested.

For Kevin and his colleagues, that discipline is part of serving clients’ commercial interests, alongside the ability to pursue a case when necessary.

The fast-growing specialist firm’s outlook extends beyond Kenya.

Kevin says ADRA Advocates’ partners share a vision of strengthening disputes practice across Africa, through relationships with like-minded, independently operating firms, while fostering collaboration with international counsel.

That matters when a client’s business interests or legal risks cross borders.

As Kenya attracts investment across a variety of key sectors, and its businesses pursue opportunities across the wider region, ADRA’s argument is straightforward: lawyers who understand how disputes unfold should have a place in the conversations that could prevent such disputes in the first place.

For more information, visit ADRA Advocates' website.