Moses Gitau

I have practiced law for 16 years at Muthoga Gaturu & Company Advocates, a busy law firm in Nairobi, Kenya. I am striking out on my own effective 1st January 2009 to build a new law firm. The areas of practice I have been involved in include administrative and constitutional law litigation, admiralty law, adoption law, aviation law, appellate litigation, arbitration and mediation, banking law, business, commercial law and investment law, civil and commercial litigation, construction law, credit and debt collection law, disciplinary proceedings, electoral law disputes, insurance law, medical malpractice law, probate, professional negligence, securitization of debts, telecommunications law, and consultations on legislation and corporate governance. Accumulated experience and competence in: gathering, evaluating and analyzing evidence, directing and supervising like activities by legal assistants, private investigators, client representatives and interns/trainees; identifying the issues requiring canvassing, in-depth research of the applicable law, preparation of complex pleadings (statements of claims, defenses and rejoinders as needed), preparation of skeleton and detailed written submissions; tried numerous cases in the Superior and Appellate Courts, polishing my ability to effectively communicate both in writing and orally in such environment; Legal Advisor to the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board of Kenya, including in its role as a Disciplinary Tribunal, with duties including guiding the Board's Preliminary Inquiry Committee through its investigations, preparing legal advisory briefs, drafting charge sheets against practitioners or institutions, analyzing and advising on the defenses and submissions tendered by parties, conducting examination of witnesses on behalf of the Board in the event that complainants do not engage independent legal counsel(common with indigent complainants), preparing all draft rulings and orders of the Board and representing the Board in Court when its procedures are questioned in the Judicial Review and Constitutional Law Division of the Superior Court and also when its final orders are challenged in statutory appeals; gathering evidence in a remote parts of Kenya for electoral disputes, conducting such dispute through the Court system and on one occasion obtaining a favorable outcome in the Court of Appeal which recommended a change in the law, a recommendation Parliament accepted; preparing and identifying voluminous documents essential in sizeable commercial arbitrations; honing my negotiating skills in the arbitral tribunals I have participated in; preparing and conducting numerous cases in the Superior Court's Judicial Review and Constitutional Law Division, thereby acquiring a thorough understanding of the practical application of legislation to disputes, including the application of international statutes to disputes in municipal Courts; tried a handful of criminal cases; drafting and advising on contracts, agreements, mortgages and other legal documents; being a member of my firm�s legal team in a number of Government consultancies in respect of restructuring statutory corporations and reviewing various laws, and being the Team Leader for one such team; practical experience throughout in reading and analyzing voluminous documents, arranging and cataloging them on my worktop, conducting the necessary physical and electronic research on complex legal matters, preparing legal briefs and submissions and presenting complex cases before Courts and Tribunals. On the management side, leadership ability recognized early, making Partner after 2 years employment; took charge of two branches of the firm working unsupervised and supervising others; at Head Office, been Chairman of Administration Committee (crafted and implemented policy of gender and cultural inclusiveness in recruitment), Chairman of Information Technology Committee (current), Head of Internship Programme, Head of the Litigation Department and the Commercial Law Department (current). I intend to develop a medium sized law firm by Kenyan standards.