Hamilton Harrison & Mathews Advocates (HH&M), one of Kenya’s oldest and largest law firms has entered into an agreement to combine with Dentons, the world’s largest law firm. The proposed combination is subject to requisite regulatory approvals.
The combination will uniquely position Hamilton Harrison & Mathews Advocates (HH&M) to meet client needs in East Africa and around the globe.
Upon regulatory approval, HH&M will become part of Dentons, a combination that will enable the firm to offer clients access to top-drawer legal services in Kenya, East Africa and around the world through a blend of Denton’s suite of services, experience and global footprint covering over 73 countries. Equally, the HH&M team has robust credentials across each of Denton’s key practice areas that are relevant to Africa’s legal landscape, growth areas and opportunities.
HH&M has been associated with Dentons for more than 10 years and has built on that relationship to enable both firms to connect their respective talents and opportunities.
Speaking on the new development, Joe Andrew, Dentons’ Global Chairman commented: “This combination provides clients domiciled in East Africa, and clients from other jurisdictions with a made-to-fit suite of legal services premised on local knowledge, depth and scalable options that only Dentons can offer.”
HH&M boasts of expertise in Banking and Finance, Corporate, Dispute Resolution, Real Estate and TMT (Telecommunications, Media and Technology) sectors. Clients and international legal directories have consistently rated the firm as one of the top-tier firms in Kenya. Chambers Global, a global ranking service for lawyers and law firms ranks the Kenyan firm at Band 1 in the Dispute Resolution, Employment and Real Estate Sectors, and Band 2 in the Corporate/Commercial and Banking and Finance Sectors. Lawyers are ranked in bands 1-6 with Band 1 as the best. The ranking assesses technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by the clients.
Commenting on the proposed combination Noor Kapdi, CEO of Dentons’ Africa region and Managing Partner of Dentons South Africa. “Our expansion in Kenya with one of the largest firms there will help us build our East Africa presence in Uganda, as well as our pan-Africa presence.”
Dentons traces its presence in Africa to the establishment of an office in Cairo, Egypt, circa 1964. It also has offices in Casablanca, Morocco, and Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, as well as Uganda. These combinations will further allow Dentons to pursue its Africa strategy to become a pan-African law firm.
“Each firm is proud of its reputation for helping clients achieve their business objectives. Building on outstanding practices, each firm will offer even greater value by providing a more robust legal platform in all of the markets clients do business while maintaining the personal connection and commitment of the lawyer each client knows and trusts,” said Richard Omwela, Senior Partner of Hamilton Harrison & Mathews.
Both HH&M and Dentons have handled landmark corporate and commercial transactions in the market including mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, privatizations, corporate restructurings and financing projects. Both firms have been involved in many high profile commercial litigation cases both in Kenya and overseas.
