About Joseph M. Rituga
Overview
Joseph Rituga is an associate in the Intellectual property & Probate and Administration teams. He has assisted foreign firms and local companies in the financial services, construction, telecommunication, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, textile, beverages and household sectors among others manage their trademarks, copyright, patents, utility models and industrial design in the Kenya registries. He also advises clients in all aspects of probate and administration cases. He also handles related litigation.
Experience
Intellectual Property
Advised a leading private university in Kenya on the ownership of a data management software system developed by an employee of the university. In the matter, a former employee of the University had claimed ownership of the system and threatened the University from further use of the system.
Registered a trade mark for French Company for Metallic Industries-France Metal an international company in the manufacturing industry. Also amended the trade mark application when in the course of application the company introduced an expanded class of goods.
The Company was expanding to the Kenyan market and needed to register its trade mark in Kenya.
Registered a trademark for Patrine Limited a company incorporated in Kenya.
Renewed a trade mark for Kenya Methodist University, a leading university in Kenya.
Probate and Administration
Represented the third wife of the Deceased and her children in the distribution of an estate comprising more than 600 acres of land in Kajiado County. The transaction involved subdivision of land and transmission of sub-plots to beneficiaries and multiple purchasers who had bought informally subdivided portions from the Deceased.
Represented the children of the first wife of the Deceased who owed a vast estate valued at more than 100 Million. In the matter, the second wife of the Deceased had fraudulently obtained transfer of the Deceased's shares in a company that owned prime properties to herself. The said second wife had also fraudulently transferred the shares of some shareholders in the company to the effect that properties proportional to her shareholding were not subject to succession.
Successfully represented a family in the annulment of a grant issued to a distant relative of the Deceased over a vast estate in Nyeri County. In the matter, the family had been cited to apply for grant the distant relative but inadvertently failed to take action.
Represented the second wife of the Deceased that had been disinherited by the first wife in annulment of grant issued to the first wife and redistribution of the estate. In the matter, the first wife petitioned for a grant of representation without involvement of the second wife.
Represented a family in setting aside a distribution mode that had become impossible to implement. In the matter, the problematic mode of distribution required the vast estate which included land and buildings to be subdivided equally among the beneficiaries of the estate.
Advised and represented children of a deceased in proceedings for proof of dependency and for reasonable provision. In the matter the first wife of the Deceased and her children had denied that our clients were children of the Deceased.
Represented the administrators of an estate where some prime properties of the deceased had been registered in the name of the spouse. The spouse had insisted that the properties are not subject to succession.
Real property law and finance law
Acted for a local leading bank in a project involving discharge of charge, subdivision of a prime piece of land in Ngong into 75 titles and resale of the sub-plots to members of a Sacco in Kenya.
Acted for a local bank in the preparation of security documents with respect to a financial facility of Kes 110 million granted to the customer.
Acted for Amica Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited in the preparation of security documents with respect to a financial facility of Kes 50 million granted to the customer.
Acted for a local bank in the preparation of security documents with respect to a takeover financial facility of Kes 22 million granted to a Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited.
Advised a real estate development and investment company in the business of buying and selling land, obtaining change of use in land, construction of gated communities, development of house blocks for sale on the difference between subleases and sectional titles and how each of them is registered. We also advised the company on incidental processes and finally the most secure method of ownership of units in a property.
Employment law
Successfully acted for over 40 claimants who had been unlawfully declared redundant by a local company.
Successfully defended a leading private university in Kenya at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in a claim against it for unfair dismissal.
Advised a company incorporated in Mauritius on salient features of employment laws in Kenya with particular reference to obligations of an employer under Kenya employment laws. The company intended to establish a subsidiary in Kenya and employ foreigners and local citizens.
Education
- Kenya School of Law (Post Graduate Diploma)
- The University of Nairobi Bachelor of Laws,(LLB) MEMBERSHIPS
- East Africa Law Society
- International Commission of Jurists
- Law Society of Kenya
Memberships
- East Africa Law Society
- International Commission of Jurists
- Law Society of Kenya
Accomplishments
- Invited to participate in the University of Nairobi Research Fair in 2015 after having written top 10 best dissertations in year 2013/2014.
