HB Advocates
Advocate · High Court of Kenya LLM · University of East London CLO · Legit AI Nairobi, Kenya
Brian Khisa.
Transaction Partner · HB Advocates

Architect of the legal infrastructure powering Africa's next economy - at the precise intersection where complex transactions meet the technologies reshaping them.

0+
Years in Practice
Since 2015
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Published Works
Academic & policy
LLM
Postgraduate Degree
University of East London
CLO
Founding Role
Legit AI, Nairobi

"I operate where the law is most consequential and least settled - building frameworks that give bold organisations the confidence to scale, innovate, and endure."

- Brian Khisa · Transaction Partner, HB Advocates
Professional Profile

I don't practise law from a distance. The mandates I take on sit at the edge of what's commercially possible - where the deal structure hasn't been done before, where the regulatory framework is still being written, and where the cost of getting it wrong is existential.

"What distinguishes my practice is the rare duality I bring to every engagement: the precision of a seasoned transactional lawyer and the strategic foresight of a C-suite board advisor."

Nine years in, I've led transactions that would have seemed implausible when I started: M&A structures spanning four jurisdictions, AI governance frameworks for companies operating in legal grey zones, IP monetisation strategies that turned intangible assets into real capital.

At HB Advocates, I lead the Transaction Centre. At Legit AI, I serve as founding Chief Legal Officer - building the compliance architecture from the ground up for one of Africa's most ambitious technology companies. Both roles demand the same thing: the ability to see around corners, structure with precision, and give bold organisations the confidence to scale.

M&A & Transactions
Multi-jurisdictional deals, JVs, private equity, and full restructurings.
AI & Tech Governance
Compliance, data protection, and technology regulation.
Board Advisory
Strategic counsel integrated into business strategy and product.
Contract & Negotiation
High-value drafting and complex commercial negotiation.
Regulatory & Compliance
Cross-border frameworks and risk management.
Legal Infrastructure
Building complete legal functions for high-growth organisations.
Career

The work that
defines the practice.



Jan 2024 – Present
Chief Legal Officer
Legit AI · Nairobi, Kenya
  • Architected the company's entire legal infrastructure from inception - compliance frameworks, IP strategy, data governance, and corporate structure that collectively underpin investor confidence.
  • Engineered multi-jurisdictional AI compliance strategies spanning Africa's regulatory landscape, GDPR-adjacent regimes, and international technology governance standards.
  • Orchestrated high-value contract negotiations for strategic partnerships, enterprise agreements, and licensing structures protecting the company's IP and revenue streams.
  • Permanent trusted advisor to the Board - integrating legal intelligence directly into business strategy and product roadmaps.
May 2023 – Present
Transaction Partner
HB Advocates · Nairobi, Kenya
  • Leads, structures, and closes complex multi-jurisdictional corporate transactions - M&A, joint ventures, private equity, and full business reorganisations.
  • Conducts exhaustive legal and commercial due diligence, systematically interrogating corporate records, regulatory standing, and contingent liabilities.
  • Delivers authoritative corporate governance and regulatory compliance counsel to boards of Kenya's leading commercial enterprises.
Jul 2022 – Jun 2023
Litigation Associate
Mwanyumba Kariithi Consulting · Nairobi, Kenya
  • Represented clients at all levels of Kenya's court hierarchy in complex commercial disputes with rigorous legal strategy.
  • Negotiated and drafted commercial agreements spanning real estate conveyancing, business sale and purchase, and dispute settlement instruments.
May 2019 – Apr 2022
Legal Intern → Pupil → Associate
Oseko & Ouma LLP · Nairobi, Kenya
  • Advanced rapidly through three successive roles, developing cross-disciplinary expertise across land law, IP, banking and finance, and employment law.
  • Authored and published legal articles establishing a sustained record of legal scholarship that enhanced the firm's market profile.
2015 – 2019
Legal Researcher · Judicial Attachment
IHRD~Protect / Milimani Law Courts / KPS
  • Investigated and documented human rights violations across East Africa; worked alongside Senior Judges at Milimani Courts drafting rulings and judgments.
  • Led CUEA Moot Court team 2016–2019 as Lead Counsel, directing strategy and arguing before panelled committees.
Education
Master of Laws (LLM)
University of East London
Completed 2025
Post-Graduate Diploma in Law
Kenya School of Law
2020 – 2021
Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
Catholic University of Eastern Africa
2015 – 2019
Diploma, Criminology
University of Nairobi
2015 – 2017
Thought Leadership & Publications

Writing that shapes
the conversation.



01
Reimagining the Future of Global Governance: Transforming the United Nations for a 21st Century New World Order
Challenging the architecture of international power in an era defined by AI disruption, climate risk, and multipolarity and proposing the institutional redesign the moment demands.
02
Monetisation of Intellectual Property: Exploring the Practical Use of Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks by Start-Up Companies
The definitive IP strategy framework for founders converting intangible assets into valuation, revenue, and the kind of competitive moats that survive market disruption.
03
Nullity of the People's Will: A Critique on the State of Electoral Democracy in Kenya
A forensic legal dissection of Kenya's democratic deficit - essential reading for governance reformers unwilling to mistake constitutional form for substantive accountability.
04
The Role of International Law in Light of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic
An unflinching audit of international law's structural failures when confronted with a global health emergency -exposing the gap between the rules that exist and the architecture the world actually needs.
05
An Assessment of the Strengths and Weaknesses of the African Human Rights System in Dealing with Massive Human Rights Violations
Mapping the structural fault lines of Africa's human rights machinery -and making the case for institutional reforms that move beyond rhetoric toward enforceable protection.
06
The Applicability of Article 68 of the Rome Statute of the ICC: A Case Study of the Collapse of the ICC Kenya Cases
A rigorous post-mortem of the ICC Kenya prosecutions -exposing the Court's most dangerous vulnerability: its failure to protect those who dare to testify against entrenched political power.
07
The Global Financial Crisis of 2008: A Critical Analysis of the Failures and Weaknesses in Corporate Governance Arrangements
Interrogating the corporate governance catastrophe at the epicentre of the worst financial crisis in a generation -and the hard lessons that boardrooms and regulators continue to resist.
08
"Comply or Disclose" vis-à-vis "Comply or Explain": A Critical Comparison of US and UK Corporate Governance Approaches
A transatlantic forensic comparison of competing regulatory philosophies -and why the divergence between Washington and London carries profound consequences for boards, shareholders, and global capital markets.
09
Proving Genocide in Court: Insights from the Bosnian Genocide Case at the International Court of Justice
Exposing the chasm between moral certainty and legal proof in the world's gravest crime -and why the intent standard for genocide may be the most consequential evidentiary threshold in international law.
10
Analyzing the Practice of State Recognition as an Exclusionary Mechanism from the International Community of States: A Case for the Republic of Somaliland
The definitive legal case for Somaliland's statehood -dismantling the fiction that the right to self-determination can be indefinitely vetoed by great-power political convenience.
Beyond the Practice
Languages
English - ProfessionalSwahili - Native
Bar Admission
Advocate, High Court of KenyaAll Courts, Republic of Kenya
Interests
Adventure TravelOutdoor ActivitiesFine ArtJazz MusicPan-African Literature
Get in touch

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