Professional Experience
Emma is a partner at GVA and heads the Mombasa office. Her areas of practice are Commercial and Property law. She has a track record in delivering valuable advice on real estate transactions to both local and foreign investors, developers, investment banks and hotel groups. She guides domestic and international clients through the contractual stages of projects, including corporate and fiscal structuring.
She has steered clients through setting up joint ventures for real estate projects and securing finance by way of leveraged financing tools. Her innovative approach to leasing has enabled clients to realize their real estate objectives through licenses, long-term leasing and operating contracts for developments. She also advices organizations in matters of corporate governance and statutory compliance. She has concluded several mediation sessions since her certification, recording agreements in family disputes and contractual disagreements.
Highlights
- Carried out extensive due diligence investigations on suitable project sites for a major global player in the renewable energy sector that sought to set up operations in the Country.
- Formed part of the defense team for a major salt manufacturing company caught in a labour relations dispute brought by over one hundred and fifty employees.
- Advised a client on legal risks in implementation of a construction contract arising from a joint venture for the development of apartment blocks.
- Established procedure for handling debt collection matters for corporate clients, through strategic communication with debtors to:- determine the suitability of property presented as collateral for debts and the process of transfer of the property to our clients; agree on payment plans and collect additional documentation to support the debt in case of litigation.
- Carried out legal audit of property ownership status for a corporate client with expansive industrial, commercial and residential properties worth Billions across the coastal counties including periodic review of ownership documents and corresponding searches at the land registries and survey offices, maintenance of current records of payment of outgoings and identifying and responding to threats to possession.
- Property management for a client collecting annual rent of over Three Million Dollars from commercial and residential properties including advising on terms of and drafting of leases and licenses and litigious and non-litigious collection of unpaid rent.
- Conventional transfer of prime properties worth Thirty Million Dollars within subsidiary companies for a client within unprecedented turnaround time.
Education & Memberships
Emma holds a Bachelor of Laws degree and a diploma in Medical Jurisprudence and Forensic Science from Pune University and a diploma from the Kenya School of Law. She is a Certified Public Secretary, a Certified Mediator and a holder of a Certificate in Public Private Partnerships from APMG International.
Hobbies
Although Emma has grown to love her profession, she was leaning toward architecture before landing a scholarship to pursue a law degree. Her creative side is still expressed in her love for painting, drawing and sewing and she is generally biased towards the company of professionals in the built industry.