CM Advocates LLP has defied every theory of law firm growth and evolution and earned the accolade of Kenya’s fastest-growing law firm and a true unicorn of East Africa’s legal sector. For a law firm yet to celebrate its 7th Anniversary, CM Advocates has registered phenomenal rise in headcount and office footprint soaring from a handful of advocates in a single Nairobi Office to becoming one of the top 10 law firms with over 50 Qualified and Specialist Advocates spread across 5 offices situated in East Africa’s commercial capitals.
Today, CM Advocates is one of East Africa’s premier legal, company secretarial and business advisory firm in Kenya by providing clients with a one-stop-shop for all their legal and business advisory needs and exceptional customer experiences. The firm is recognized for its legal practice in Dispute Resolution, Commercial and Business Law, Corporate Law, Real Estate, Banking and Finance Law, Energy, Infrastructure and Projects Law, Aviation, Shipping and Logistics Law and Debt Recovery, Restructuring and Insolvency.
The firm has achieved its recognition by consistently delivering on its promise to offer world-class legal services by being results-driven and clients-focused in its service delivery. CM Advocates is on a mission to be a distinguished legal solutions provider in Kenya and in the Eastern Africa Region. The firm strives to add value its clients, protect their interests in the best possible way and assist them to succeed. This is based on the CM Advocates philosophy that it can only succeed and grow as a firm only when the same happens to our clients.
CM Advocates espouses six (6) values in engaging, serving and relating with its clients namely, professionalism, respect, commitment, excellent service, speed and integrity. The firm leadership has also deliberately fostered a working environment and culture that fosters respect for and rewards diversity, team work, continuous learning, knowledge sharing and peer review amongst its team of lawyers.
CM Advocates Practice Teams and Units
CM Advocates is organized into 14 business units including traditional legal practice areas of dispute resolution, corporate and commercial law, conveyancing, real estate and banking securities. The firm has also established robust emerging law practice units such as Energy, Mining and Infrastructure (EMI) Unit, Tax Law Advisory Unit and Aviation, Shipping, Logistics and Admiralty Law Unit, Debt Recovery, Restructuring and Insolvency (DRI) Unit, Forensics and Regulatory Compliance Unit, Corruption and Bribery Defense Unit, Asset Tracing and Recovery Unit and Entertainment and Sports Law (ESL) Unit.
CM Advocates has ensured that each of these units is overseen by the partner who is an advocate specialist in the practice area assisted by dozens of senior associates and competent associates to keep the firm on the cutting edge of legal practice in the specialist area. The firm has four partners led by Cyrus Maina, the firm’s Managing Partner, Njomo Kamau, the head of commercial and business law unit, Francis Kakai, the business head unit of corporate law, trusts and charities and Wilfred Lusi, the firm’s head of dispute resolution practice.
The firm’s lawyers have broad expertise in law as esteemed Advocates, in accountancy as Certified Public Accountants (CPA(K) and in company secretarial as Certified Public Secretaries (CPS) and majority of them hold Master of Laws (LL.M) in relevant thematic area adding value to clients. The lawyers also have multi-faceted experience in law gained working in legal departments of leading corporate organizations in senior positions and as lawyers in some of the top law firms in Kenya which has equipped them to provide clients responsive, considered and competent solutions.
CM Advocates Clientele, Partnerships and Future
Over the years, CM Advocates has attracted diverse clientele both local and international and from various sectors of our economy hence the need to offer legal services that touch every aspect of commerce from founding, staffing, financing, growing, scaling, protecting and exiting business. The firm’s clients include leading banks and financial institutions, manufacturers and industries, real estate developers and property companies, government entities, state corporations, religious and charitable organizations, small and medium sized businesses, startups individual clients and investors from across East Africa.
In order to better serve, meet and exceed the expectations of its clientele who often engage the firm for matters and transactions that go beyond Kenyan borders, CM Advocates has established strong direct and collaborative working partnerships with many other like-minded professional service firms and consultants from across East Africa. The firm has affiliate CM Advocates firm in Kigali, Rwanda, which is home to five (5) Rwandan Advocates and affiliate offices in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Kampala Uganda combining its resources and sector expertise to work on cross border transactions directly in the market and regions important to its clients.
CM Advocates is also prolific in thought leadership and publishes regular legal alerts, news and articles in its website and monthly email newsletter. The firm is at the forefront in challenging the status quo by constantly innovating to come up with new and original ways deal with complex legal challenges facing its clients. One thing is clear: the young CM Advocates team remains strategically placed to provide clients with consistent, timely, high quality, innovative and commercially relevant legal advice. It is just a matter of time and CM Advocates LLP will be Kenya’s No. 1 law firm.