FCIArb
With over Fifteen (15) years of post-admission experience, Mr. Mwangi is a seasoned legal practitioner who holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (Advocates Training Programme - ATP). He is a registered Patent and Trademark Agent having been admitted to practice as such before the Kenya Industrial Property Institute.
As a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb, UK), he has expertise in JCT and FIDIC contracts management and dispute resolution. He is the founding convenor of IPCheckin, a monthly forum on Intellectual Property Law.
He has extensive experience in:
Over his career, he has represented banks, multinational Corporations, public bodies, state Corporations, County Governments and private clients before Tribunals, the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Kenya. His portfolio spans construction disputes, constitutional litigation, election petitions, IP protection, tax controversies, and governance matters. He has also acted as an arbitrator in domestic and international disputes.
Mr. Mwangi has served in corporate leadership, including as a Board Member of the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (2019–2022). In Rotary, he has served as:
He is an active member of the Law Society of Kenya, the East Africa Law Society, the International Trademark Association (INTA), and serves on the Panel of Neutral Arbiters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
• Audited and advised Kenya Planters’ Co-operative Union (KPCU) on restoration and renewal of its IP portfolio, and led similar audits for TSS Grainmillers (in Receivership), Mumias Sugar Company and other multinationals.
• Represented a Kenyan distiller against Diageo and the Scotch Whisky Association in a landmark geographical indications dispute.
• Acted for Sony Holdings in litigation with Sony Corporation (Japan), clarifying test for well-known marks and the Registrar’s jurisdiction.
• Successfully defended a Chinese client’s “FREEDOM” trademark in Class 38, shaping the law on new evidence before the Registrar of Trademarks.
• Represented banks and corporates in high-value recovery actions, contract enforcement, and shareholder disputes.
• Acted for Athi Water Services, Central Ngandori Farmers’ Co-operative Society, and Kenya Planters’ Co-operative Union in governance and restructuring matters.
• Advises Kiambu Water & Sewerage Company in complex disputes on mergers and board appointments.
• Represented a Kenyan brewery in criminal tax-evasion cases, successfully challenging closure and seizure of the factory by KRA.
• Acted in Kiambu High Court Petitions Nos. 1 & 5 of 2017, contesting KRA’s authority to collect levies under an MoU with Kiambu County.
• Advises corporates on excise duty, income tax, and ADR settlements.
• Counsels contractors, developers, and landowners on FIDIC contracts, guarantees, quantum meruit claims, and compensation for compulsory acquisition.
• Represented a supermarket chain against an unsustainable redevelopment of its mall.
• Represented Taita Taveta County in boundary disputes with Makueni and Kwale Counties, arising from long-standing territorial and historical land issues: Environment & Land Court Petition No. ELCPET/33/2021 – County Government of Taita Taveta v Makueni County & Others (Okiya Omtatah Okoiti v Parliament of Kenya & Another), a petition addressing demarcation of county boundaries and related land governance matters.
• Court of Appeal Civil Application No. COACAPPL/E019/2024 – County Government of Kwale v State Law & County Government of Taita Taveta & 3 Others, an appeal concerning implementation of the NLC’s findings on the same boundary. Participated in the National Land Commission hearings on these disputes (link).
• Successfully defended the County Government of Taita Taveta in Voi Petition No. COACAPPL/E031/2024, which raised complex questions on subdivision of ranches, access to cultural sites, protection of cultural heritage, sustainable land use, and human–wildlife conflict.
• Founding convenor of IPCheckin, a monthly forum on intellectual property law.
• Host of webinars on IP & Dispute Resolution, Geographical Indications, and Trademark Practice in Kenya.
• Participant in ARIPO–WIPO ADR seminars on IP and technology disputes.
