Mellap Wataka

Full Profile

Mellap advises local and international clients on all levels of the courts including successful representation in complex commercial and employment disputes in the Court of Appeal and the High Court. In addition, she represents clients in alternative dispute resolution forums including arbitration and mediation. Moreover, Mellap advises international clients on enforceability of foreign contracts, judgments, and arbitral awards. She has experience advising on matters in Kenya and overseeing matters in the East Africa region.

Mellap has worked with clients in the energy, financial services, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, marine, retail and consumer sectors.

Mellap is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She graduated with a Master of Laws (LLM) from King’s College London and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Nairobi.

Mellap is fluent in English and Swahili.

Experience

Commercial disputes

• Advising an international marine salvor in a claim for unpaid salvage including successfully arresting 277 cargo containers as security for the unpaid salvage.
• Advising a private client on a claim for enforcement of constitutional rights including the right to privacy against a large national publication.
• Advising a large UK-based insurance services provider on the Kenyan legal position on the effect of late notification on a reinsurance contract in a claim of over KES 300 million.
• Advising a large agribusiness company on an internal investigation relating to allegations of racial discrimination and reviewing and revising their HR Policy in line with the Kenyan law on discrimination.
• Advising an insurer in a claim against an insurance broker for unpaid premiums more than KES 58 million.
• Advising a large Kenya-based security services company that employs more than 300 employees on the rights of the employee to access their personal data on termination of employment under the provisions of the Data Protection Act.
• Advising a large financial services company in a claim for recovery of a debt of more than USD 700,000 against an entity with diplomatic immunity.
• Advising an international healthcare provider on a claim of medical negligence with potential damages of over USD 50,000.

Employment

• Advising an international insurance company on the process of termination of one of its senior management officials.
• Advising various clients across various sectors including cosmetics, agriculture, sustainable energy and tech start-ups on the processes of termination of employees and mutual separation from employees under Kenyan law.
• Advising a large manufacturing company on, and successfully implementing, a redundancy process following the reorganisation of its Kenyan operations.
• Successfully negotiating an out of court settlement in an unfair termination claim and reducing the claimed amount by over USD 10,000.
• Advising a global agricultural organisation on contracts of employment, including revising them to include confidentiality and non-compete clauses in line with Kenyan law.