Do we need to register with the Data Commissioner?

It depends on turnover, staff numbers and the nature of the processing. Some activities require registration regardless of size, including processing on a large scale, and processing health, financial or children’s data.

We had a data breach. What are the deadlines?

Notification to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is required without undue delay and within seventy-two hours where the breach presents a real risk to the rights of the people affected, with communication to those people where that risk is high.

Is a climate commitment legally binding?

A public statement can create exposure under consumer, securities and contract law even where no climate statute applies. Before a target is announced we look at what has been promised, to whom, and what evidence will support it.

Can IVIO Advocates act as our outsourced compliance function?

Yes. We take on fractional compliance management with a defined scope, a reporting line to the board, and an agreed monthly fee.

Should I sue or settle?

It depends on what you can prove, what the other side can pay, and what the delay costs you. We give you the merits and the recovery prospects separately.

Do we need a shareholders’ agreement if we have articles?

Usually yes. The articles govern the company; the shareholders’ agreement governs the relationship between the owners.

Is a handwritten will valid in Kenya?

A written will must be signed by the maker and attested by at least two competent witnesses who are not beneficiaries. Oral wills are recognised in narrow circumstances only.

How long does probate take?

An uncontested grant, with complete documents and a clear asset schedule, commonly takes several months including the statutory period before confirmation.

Advocates · Commissioners for Oaths · Notaries Public

Legal counsel, set out in plain language.

IVIO Advocates is a modern Kenyan law firm — full-service legal practice delivered in plain language, backed by an innovation arm building legal-tech and advisory tools for how business works today.

We are a law firm. We advise organisations on data protection and climate compliance, act for businesses and their boards, for families settling estates, and for parties in dispute — from offices in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kabarnet.

Our practice areas Speak to an advocate

Practice areas

Four groups of regulated legal work, led by partners who handle the matters themselves.

Advisory: data protection and climate compliance

Two bodies of obligation that now reach almost every organisation in Kenya, and that are usually handled by the same people. We build the compliance position, document it, and keep it defensible when a regulator, a lender or a customer asks for evidence.

Dispute resolution and litigation

Most disputes are decided by the quality of the record long before they reach a hearing. We take instructions early, work out what can be proved, and give you an honest view of the options — including the option of settling.

Corporate and commercial

Contracts, governance and the paperwork a business runs on. We work with founders, established companies, non-profits and public-sector suppliers, and we draft documents that a client can read without a translator.

Estate and succession

Wills, probate and the transmission of family property. This is work done once and relied on for decades, so the drafting and the record-keeping matter more than the speed.

MZIZI, the innovation arm of IVIO Advocates

One root, two kinds of growth.

MZIZI is where the firm builds tools rather than files. It carries our compliance and training advisory, a data-protection repository, a will-making platform, and a climate network of lawyers and business leaders. All of it sits inside IVIO Advocates.

Visit the innovation arm