JMiles & Co specialises in international arbitration, mediation and fraud and asset recovery and is a recipient of the Law Society of England and Wales Excellence Award for international legal services. We have acted for African governments and private clients in Africa and elsewhere across the world. The team consists of lawyers who have qualified and practised in England, Kenya and Singapore and have a deep understanding of the legal and commercial realities of doing business in Africa and is one of the only entities in East Africa providing specialised advice and representation to clients on international arbitration.
International arbitration
The team has a combined experience of over 50 years in representing clients in international arbitrations before tribunals constituted under ICSID, ICC, LMAA, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, GAFTA, FOSFA and UNCITRAL. The team represents clients in a wide range of commercial disputes. Notable recent representations include:
- A shareholder dispute concerning a 4* hotel in Rwanda under the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Rules.
- Concurrent ICC and ICSID proceedings against an East African government, concerning a gas-powered power plant. The dispute is in excess of US$500m.
- The enforcement of an international arbitration award in excess of US$70m against the assets of an East African country, in Canada and the UK.
- A family dispute concerning assets in a number of jurisdictions.
Fraud and asset-recovery investigations
JMiles & Co has carried out forensic investigation on behalf of industry regulators in Kenya and corporate investigations on behalf of private clients. Investigations have resulted in successful conviction against fraudsters and asset-recovery proceedings in a number of jurisdictions.
John Miles is the Kenyan member of FraudNet, the leading independent network of lawyers specialising in fraud, white-collar crime and asset recovery.
Consultancy and capacity building
JMiles & Co’s legal consultancy work ranges from general legal advice concerning disputes, sector reviews and reports, training government ministries on alternative dispute resolution, drafting publications and involvement in legislative reviews for governments. Notable recent engagements, include:
- Training the governments of Ethiopia and Somalia on alternative dispute resolution.
- Training the Kenya Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on the use of alternative dispute resolution in the recovery of assets.
- Instructed by Transparency International to carry out a review of Kenyan legislation to ascertain Kenya’s compliance with its international obligation relating to disclosure of beneficial ownership information. Provided an international perspective during the drafting process of legislation relating to disclosure of beneficial ownership information in Kenya.
Mediation
John Miles and Nicola Muriuki are CEDR-accredited mediators. They both have a wealth of experience mediating suitable resolutions for complex disputes for both individuals and corporations in a variety of sectors. John and Nicola recently mediated a dispute between British nationals concerning assets located in Kenya and are often nominated by international companies to mediate commercial disputes in Kenya.
John Miles
Managing director
Email: jmm@jmilesarbitration.com
John has over 30 years’ experience working in Africa and has represented governments and the private sector in international arbitrations before major arbitral institutions. John has also been appointed to sit as an arbitrator in a number of LCIA and UNCITRAL arbitrations. He is a co-author of the book Arbitration in Africa: A Review of Key Jurisdictions, Sweet & Maxwell – a leading authority on arbitrating in Africa. Prior to founding JMiles & Co, John ran the Dentons office in Beijing (1989-98) and Cairo (1998-2001) and was chair of the Africa Legal Network (ALN).
John also has significant experience in fraud investigation and is listed in Who’s Who Legal (WWL) for his experience in asset recovery. WWL says ‘John Miles draws effusive praise from peers across the globe for the depth of his asset-recovery expertise as well as his experience in Africa.’ John is also chair of the Kenyan Chapter of the Indian National Bar Association.
Nikhil Desai
Assistant director
Email: ngd@jmilesarbitration.com
Nikhil is a Kenyan-qualified lawyer with over ten years’ experience in international arbitration, dispute resolution, fraud and asset chasing and has an extensive background in litigation in Kenya. He has represented clients in various international arbitrations and has a focus on energy disputes. He has also represented and advised clients in investment arbitrations before the World Bank’s International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Nikhil has extensive experience in fraud investigations having recently successfully concluded two investigations into public listed companies in Kenya.
He is often called upon to speak and provide training on international arbitration and fraud investigation and recovery.
Nicola Muriuki
Assistant director
Email: nbm@jmilesarbitration.com
Nicola is an English-qualified solicitor and a CEDR-accredited mediator, with over ten years’ experience of advising clients on commercial disputes. Nicola worked in London for seven years (Mills & Reeve and Kingsley Napley) before moving to Nairobi in 2012.
Nicola regularly advises companies both in and out of Africa on pursuing or defending claims via international arbitration and/or the resolution of claims via mediation. She has represented clients under the auspices of the DIFC-LCIA, UNCITRAL and the English Arbitration Act.
Nicola also advises private companies and regulators on conducting investigations in cases of suspected fraud, bribery and/or corruption.
Rubin Mukkam-Owuor
Assistant director
Email: rpm@jmilesarbitration.com
Rubin has specialised in dispute resolution ever since she qualified as a lawyer in 2010. Her speciality is in litigation and arbitration. She has represented clients in commercial litigation in the Supreme Court of Singapore, and in international commercial arbitrations before tribunals of the SIAC, DIFC and ICSID. She also worked as a legal counsel for Barclays Bank in Singapore. She regularly advises on mining disputes, energy disputes, investment arbitration, corporate contractual negotiation and pre-dispute matters, and on due diligence and regulatory investigations.
JMiles & Co
5th Floor, The Oval
Westlands
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 (20) 434 3159
Mob: +254 (0) 700 000 106
Email: info@jmilesarbitration.com
