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Julius Wako
Partner

Lawyer

Julius Wako

Nairobi, Kenya
Languages
  • English

Julius is a Partner at the Firm and Head of the Banking & Finance practice. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a qualified English Barrister.
With over two decades of experience, Julius has built a distinguished practice providing legal advisory support services on taking security, project finance, syndicated lending, corporate finance and regulatory compliance work for corporates, banks and financial institutions.  
In addition to his banking and finance work, Julius also advises on commercial, corporate/M&A, energy and climate change, infrastructure, and TMC (technology, Media and Communications) matters.
Julius is consistently ranked as a leading lawyer by international legal directories, including IFLR1000 and Legal 500, in recognition of his deep industry knowledge, commercial acumen, and client-focused approach.

Relevant experience

  • Preparation and perfection of Kenya law governed security documentation to secure multi-million United States Dollar lending to corporates with local and regional operations with business and project activity in a variety of sectors in the East African economy (including construction; energy; food processing; general trading; manufacturing; oil marketing; plastics; pharmaceuticals; transport and logistics, technology and telecommunications) by lenders, banks and financial institutions.
  • Review of a variety of foreign law governed facility agreements and finance documentation for Kenya law compliance purposes and related advisory and negotiation support, the conduct of relevant due diligence and the issuance of appropriate legal opinions in connection with lending transactions.
  • Acting for several banking and financial institutions in connection with their taking of security over real estate assets.
  • Provision of capital markets regulatory compliance set up advice and support and capital markets advisory in connection with capital raise transactions.
  • Provision of regulatory compliance advice and legal advisory support to companies operating in the payment services space; the money remittance space; and the digital lending and credit provision space.

Memberships & Roles

  • The Law Society of Kenya
  • The East Africa Law Society
  • The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
  • East African Law Society Energy Law Committee
  • The Land, Environment and Conveyancing Committee, Law Society of Kenya.

Awards & Rankings

'Julius Wako stands out.’ Legal 500, 2025

'Enthusiastic and intelligent insights and temperament.' Legal 500, 2025

'Efficient, enthusiastic and display tremendous agility and knowledge. Legal 500, 2025

'We worked with Julius Wako, a partner with varied experience and skills.'' Legal 500, 2025

'The team we worked with had excellent skills and experience in the financing sector and gave us valuable guidance we needed for purposes of strategically structuring the financing we were providing.' Legal 500, 2025

Education

2001 – Admitted as Advocate of the High Court of Kenya

1998 – Called to the English Bar

Julius is a Partner at the Firm and Head of the Energy & Climate Change practice. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a qualified English Barrister.

He has considerable experience providing legal advisory services to corporates operating in the energy sector from a regulatory and compliance, corporate and commercial, project development and acquisitions perspective. 

Beyond his energy and climate change practice, Julius also advises on banking and finance, corporate/M&A, infrastructure, and technology, media & communications matters.

He is ranked as a leading lawyer by international legal directories such as IFLR1000 and Legal 500, known for his commercial acumen, sector expertise, and ability to navigate complex, multi-stakeholder projects.

Relevant experience

  • The provision of legal advisory services: to developers of thermal, wind, solar, mini-hydro, bio mass and waste to energy power projects; to clients involved in the provision of off-grid solar power solutions to rural communities, property developments and industrial consumers; to lenders looking to finance renewable energy power projects; to investors looking to acquire or dispose of interests in power projects in operation; on regulatory, fiscal and general investments advices to investors proposing to participate in energy infrastructure projects in Kenya (including renewable energy projects and those on private initiated investment proposal basis or procured public private partnership basis).
  • The provision of legal advisory support services to developers of carbon credit projects.
  • The provision of legal advisory services supporting the establishment of operations of several oil and gas exploration companies and in support of their exploration activities (including support on legal aspects of the negotiation of their Production Sharing Contracts with the Government of the Republic of Kenya).
  • The provision of legal advisory services to oil marketer companies in relation to their corporate and commercial legal service requirements.
  • The provision of legal advisory support to lenders in their lending transactions with entities operating in the energy sector. 

Memberships & Roles

  • The Law Society of Kenya
  • The East Africa Law Society
  • The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
  • East African Law Society Energy Law Committee
  • The Land, Environment and Conveyancing Committee, Law Society of Kenya.

Education

  • 2001 – Admitted as Advocate of the High Court of Kenya
  • 1998 – Called to the English Bar

Julius is a Partner at the Firm and Head of the Projects & Infrastructure practice. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a qualified English Barrister.

With over two decades of experience, Julius advises sponsors, lenders and developers of projects in various sectors of the economy with a focus on delivering bankable, commercially viable, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.

In addition to his projects and infrastructure work, Julius also has extensive experience in banking and finance, corporate/M&A, energy and climate change, and technology, media & communications.

Julius is regularly recognised by leading international legal directories including IFLR1000 and Legal 500 for his strategic thinking, cross-sector knowledge, and ability to guide clients through complex transactions.

Relevant experience

  • Provision of legal advisory support to an international lender in connection with a government residential accommodation project procured on a public private partnership basis.
  • Provision of legal advisory support to a boutique hotel and leisure operator on all aspects of its development and construction of a multi-million US dollar premium luxury accommodation villa project to complement the leisure operations of the hospitality investor.
  • Provision of legal advisory support to the developers of a clean hydroelectric power project on a public private partnership basis involving foreign government part finance support; a foreign manufacturer; a state corporation; and private lenders.
  • Provision of legal advisory support to a developer of a wind power generation project on a privately initiated investment proposal basis involving a state corporation and private investors.
  • Provision of legal advisory services to developers of solar, wind, mini-hydro, bio-mass, thermal and waste to energy power projects.
  • Provision of legal advisory services to developers of carbon credit projects.
  • Provision of legal advisory services to developers of town-house residential accommodation projects.

Memberships & Roles

  • The Law Society of Kenya
  • The East Africa Law Society
  • The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
  • East African Law Society Energy Law Committee
  • The Land, Environment and Conveyancing Committee, Law Society of Kenya.

Education

  • 2001 – Admitted as Advocate of the High Court of Kenya
  • 1998 – Called to the English Bar
Practice Areas
Banking & Finance Commercial Public Procurement Real Estate Foreign Direct Investment
sectors
Energy & Climate Change Funds Infrastructure & Projects Private Equity TMC - Technology, Media & Communications

Insights by Julius

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International
Past event · 17 Jun 2025
Africa Energy Forum 2025
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Kenya
Publication · 20 Feb 2025
Draft National Policy on Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers...
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Kenya
Publication · 18 Feb 2025
Climate Change Regulations Enter Public Participation Phase in Kenya
2 min read
Kenya
News · 27 Nov 2024
Carbon Markets Regulations Appointment of the Multi-Sectoral Technical...
2 min read
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