William Maema, SC

William Maema, SC is a Senior Partner at IKM Advocates, specialising in intellectual property law, corporate and commercial law, employment law, and not-for-profit advisory. He is a leading Corporate Commercial lawyer with over thirty years of post-admission experience and a former lecturer of law at the University of Nairobi and Kenya School of Law.

William is widely regarded as the father of intellectual property law in Kenya, having introduced the subject in the country at the University of Nairobi in the mid-1990s. He advises both local and international clients on transactions of varied complexity and has gained wide experience in handling sophisticated transactions locally, regionally and internationally. His client base spans across the globe, and he serves as the trusted legal advisor for Ivy League US Universities and their local operations in Kenya. He has also distinguished himself in the non-governmental and not-for-profit sector, advising some of the most prestigious Foundations and charities in the world, and is a renowned expert in employment law, assisting clients on recruitment, terminations, and redundancies.

William holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the University of Nairobi. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.

He is a prolific writer and a regular columnist in the Business Daily newspaper, and serves as the current Chairman of the Advocates Disciplinary Tribunal, where he represents the Attorney General of Kenya in handling complaints against advocates.