Kenyan law firm Anjarwalla & Khana named top in Africa

From left: Kenya Property Developers Association CEO Robyn Emerson, chairperson Hamish Govani and Tom Odongo, Nairobi County Executive for Housing, Lands and Physical Planning, confer at a forum to discuss the housing master plan October 30, 2013. Photo/DIANA NGILA  Nation Media Group

By SIMON CIURI

In Summary

• The Africa Legal Awards declared Anjarwalla and Khana the continent’s law firm of the year from a shortlist of six firms that included Kenya’s Daly & Figgis.
• Its clients include Diageo, Standard Chartered Bank, Citi Bank and foreign firms exploring oil in Kenya.
• The firm is led by UK-trained Karim Anjarwalla who took over its management in 1990s from his father Safuddin Anjarwalla — who founded it in 1958 in Mombasa.

A Kenyan corporate law firm has been declared Africa’s top legal house, helped by big-ticket deals that the firm has handled in recent years.

The Africa Legal Awards declared Anjarwalla & Khana the continent’s law firm of the year from a shortlist of six firms that included Kenya’s Daly & Figgis.

Players in the industry reckon that the firm was feted for handling cross- border deals involving multinational clients and cementing its rankings that has seen it receive favourable ratings from Chambers and Partners and the IFRL1000—which rank law firms globally.

The roll acts as reference tool for multinational companies looking for advice in a market where advertising is controlled.

“The firm has created an impressive internationally exposed team with UK qualified legal consultants,” says IFRL1000.

Anjarwalla and Khana beat top Africa law firms like South Africa’s Bowman Gilfillan, Cliffe Dekker and Webber Wentzel as well as Accra-based Oxford & Beaumont.

Private equity, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and project finance in the telecoms, real estate and energy sector are the key strengths for the 50-lawyer team at Anjarwalla & Khanna. Its clients include Diageo, Standard Chartered Bank, Citi Bank and foreign firms exploring oil in Kenya.

The firm is led by UK-trained Karim Anjarwalla who took over its management in 1990s from his father Safuddin Anjarwalla — who founded it in 1958 in Mombasa