Uganda

Firm overview

Founded in 1969 by John W. Katende and Prof. Frederick Ssempebwa, we are Uganda’s largest and leading law firm. Over sixty (60) full time legal and support staff. We are a full-service law firm providing all legal and advisory services categorised under: Transactional & Advisory, Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, Business Support and Pro bono.

We have an uunparalleled client roster. Our major clientele comprises of major international and local corporations, financial institutions, the Government of Uganda and other nations, non-governmental organisations, airlines, oil companies, insurance companies, cutting edge technology firms, most of the prominent individuals in the nation’s economy and other sectors.

We are a member of LEX Africa – Africa’s first and largest Legal Alliance comprising of over six hundred (600) lawyers in twenty-five (25) jurisdictions across Africa.

We boast of talented, highly qualified and experienced lawyers some of whom, uniquely in this market with some recognized as market leaders in their areas of expertise and specialization, are dual qualified and licensed to practice in the State of New York, London and across East Africa, graduated from some of the world’s leading law schools including Harvard, Columbia, Cambridge, London School of Economics etc, and have had practical legal training at other world renown international firms like Slaughter & May, Hogan Lovells, Eversheds, Doughty Street Chambers, Covington & Burling and Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton.

Firm overview

Ortus Advocates is a full-service corporate and commercial law firm in Uganda. The firm is part of the Ortus Africa brand, a professional services firm bringing together resources with a wealth of experience and knowledge in law, tax and business advisory services. 

Our key practice areas include corporate, mergers & acquisitions, banking and finance, capital markets, project finance, project development, oil & gas, tax, and business rescue, restructuring & insolvency. Our lawyers have a unique understanding of Uganda’s political, economic, regulatory, and legal environment.  With a team of over 20 lawyers we confidently guide both local and international clients across a range of industry sectors in execution of complex and innovative transactions and disputes.

The firm also boasts of a dedicated China practice bolstered by our alliance with the Yingke Law which focuses largely on matters born of the commercial expansion of those countries’ interests in Africa.

We are very active in the fintech and innovative ecosystem of Uganda. Through our partnership with the Innovation Village, Ortus Advocates is at the forefront of the innovation and acceleration industry in Uganda.

Firm overview

A leading full-service corporate- commercial law firm in Uganda and the region and consistently ranked Tier 1 by IFLR1000 . The firm holds stellar credentials in: Banking & Finance; Dispute Resolution; Governance, Compliance & Investigations; Technology, Media &Telecoms; Mergers & Acquisitions; Real Estate; Intellectual Property and Infrastructure and Oil & Gas.

We are a market leader in the banking and finance space. - - We service Development Finance Institutions and advise them on transactions not only in Uganda but also in Rwanda and Zimbabwe. We are currently acting for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Eastern and Southern Africa Trade Development Bank (TDB) and Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector (ICD). We have also previously acted for African Export and Import Bank (Afriexim). We are empanelled by and act for about half of the commercial banks in the market. We have also acted for the regulator of the Banking industry, Bank of Uganda, the Credit Reference Bureau and the Uganda Bankers’ Association, an umbrella body bringing together all commercial banks in Uganda. We have represented the Uganda Bankers’ Association in matters regarding licensing, the duty of confidentiality and stamp duty.

•  We pride ourselves in being the ‘go to’ firm in technology matters in the market. Regularly advising on matters of data protection, privacy, cyber security, payments, financial technology and regulatory compliance. We are members of and counsel to FITSPA (Fintech Service Providers Association), an independent, non-profit, membership-based association representing Uganda’s local and global fintech community. We have developed several tool kits to assist these companies, mostly start-ups, in licensing, tax compliance, consumer protection, privacy and data protection. We act for leading technology and social media companies. We have also participated in legislative lobbying for some of these entities and regularly interface with the regulators in the technology space.
• Restructurings & Insolvency practice: We continue to act on some of the largest restructuring transactions in East Africa which have increased due to the pandemic advising our leading financial institution clients on syndicated financing and restructuring and have run webinars on the same.
• Private equity: In the last year, we have acted for several international and regional Private equity firms in mergers and acquisitions as well as banking and finance space.
• Corporate Governance: We are retained as company secretary to market leaders as well as conduct trainings on corporate guidance and other areas to leading companies in Uganda.

Firm overview

Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. Its growth at an average of 6.5% per year and recent oil and gas discoveries position Uganda as one of the most exciting regions for investment. 

Dentons has worked in the region for nearly 20 years and, in November 2019, combined with Kyagaba and Otatiina Advocates to launch in Kampala

The firm is well known for its experienced corporate and finance and  gifted and technically sound litigation teams with an unmatched understanding of the regulatory frameworks of the industries in which we practice.

As the only global firm in Uganda that can leverage sector expertise, along with an award-winning referral network of more than 500 firms and technological innovation, we provide clients with a real competitive advantage.