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About the firm

A clear legal route starts with context.

I help founders, growing teams, families and investors make sound decisions in Kenya — with written scope, plain-English guidance and a clear next step.

Read the founder’s letter

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Herman Tambo, founder and lead counsel at Herman Tambo Law Advocates
Herman Tambo — Advocate & Commissioner for Oaths
01 Written scope You know what is included before work begins.
02 Fee clarity The likely fee and third-party costs are explained early.
03 Predictable updates You know when to expect the next meaningful update.
04 Remote-ready Digital workflows support clients across Kenya and abroad.

01 · The founding partner’s letter

A lawyer who makes the next decision easier to see.

Why the firm exists, and what you can expect from it.

Nairobi

Dear client,

Being the first lawyer in my extended family shaped how I work. I know what it feels like to need dependable advice without the intimidation that often surrounds the legal profession.

Today I help clients through consequential moments: setting up a company, protecting a property or family estate, making a compliance decision, or responding to a dispute. The work is rigorous, but the experience should feel understandable and well managed.

People need a lawyer who speaks their language, not more legal complexity. My approach is practical first: clear scope, clear price, clear next steps.

My aim is simple: do careful legal work, explain what it means, and leave you with a route you can act on.

With respect,

Herman Tambo

Advocate of the High Court of Kenya · Commissioner for Oaths

HERMAN TAMBO LAW ADVOCATES · NAIROBI · HT

02 · Milestones

From the University of Nairobi to the firm.

Admissions, appointments and recognition, in order. Select a milestone for the detail.

Today

Herman Tambo Law Advocates

Nairobi · remote-ready

Counsel for founders, families and Kenyans abroad, with committee work in Tech & IP, Editorial, Litigation Practice and the Milimani Bar-Bench SCC.

03 · The work

Where a clear legal route makes the biggest difference.

Start with the decision in front of you. The right practice, scope and next step follow from there.

  1. 01

    Founders and growing businesses

    Build a legal foundation that keeps pace with the next stage of growth.

    • Incorporation and founder arrangements
    • Commercial contracts and employment setup
    Startups & growing businessesTechnology & IP
  2. 02

    Property, succession and diaspora matters

    Protect what is being built in Kenya, even when the people making decisions are elsewhere.

    • Property verification and conveyancing
    • Wills, trusts and estate administration
    Property & conveyancingSuccession & trustsDiaspora Desk
  3. 03

    Compliance, contracts and disputes

    Turn uncertainty into a documented decision and a route forward.

    • Data protection and workplace compliance
    • Demand letters, recovery and civil disputes
    Data protectionCivil litigationEmployment

04 · The approach

Good legal work should feel organised from the inside.

Whether we meet in Nairobi or work across time zones, the route stays visible.

  1. Understand

    We map the facts, the decision in front of you and any deadline that changes the route.

  2. Define scope

    You receive a written plan, likely timing and the fee basis before substantive work starts.

  3. Execute

    I handle the legal work, documents, checks and negotiations that move the matter forward.

  4. Communicate

    You get structured updates and plain-English notes so you are never guessing what happens next.

Encrypted document intake

Your title deed never travels in the open.

Most Kenyan firms take documents by email attachment. We do not. When you are sent a private intake link, what you write and what you attach are locked on your own device first, and only this firm can open them.

  1. 01

    On your device

    Your browser makes a key for this submission alone, then locks your answers, every file and every file name with it. The key is built from the firm’s public key and a throwaway one of your own.

  2. 02

    In transit and at rest

    What travels is ciphertext. The throwaway private key is discarded the moment it has done its work, so it is never sent and never stored — not by the host, not by the database, not by us.

  3. 03

    In this office

    An advocate unlocks it with the firm’s private key, which is itself held under a passphrase and unwrapped in the browser at the moment of reading.

Locked before it leaves you

  • Every answer you type
  • Every document you attach
  • The file names themselves
  • Unfinished drafts, under a key even we cannot read

Readable to us before unlocking

  • Which kind of matter the form is for
  • Triage flags, so urgent matters are seen first
  • How many documents arrived, and which expected ones did not
  • Your email address, if you ask for a confirmation — used once to send it, never stored

We say this plainly because an encryption claim is worth nothing without it. This much stays in the clear so the matter can be triaged and missing documents chased while the rest is still sealed. It is never the contents.

Key agreement
ECDH on P-256, a fresh keypair for every submission
Key derivation
HKDF-SHA256 over the shared secret
Encryption
AES-256-GCM, a distinct initialisation vector per item
Key at rest
The firm’s private key wrapped under PBKDF2-SHA256, 600,000 iterations

A fresh key per submission means that even if one were ever broken, it would open that one submission and nothing else. We do not call this zero-knowledge: an advocate does read what you send, because that is the point of sending it. What we can say is that nobody between your device and this office can.

A useful boundary

The best working relationship starts with an honest fit.

A good fit

  • You want a documented route, not a last-minute shortcut.
  • You value clear scope, predictable communication and practical advice.
  • You are ready to share the context needed for a careful first assessment.

Probably not the right fit

  • You only want a quick fix without checking the underlying risk.
  • You are looking for certainty before the facts and documents are available.

Featured insight

Family trusts are not companies

A practical explanation of succession structure and why confusing company and trust law creates avoidable risk.

Read the breakdown ↗

Beyond the firm

Herman Tambo’s professional profile

The writing, legal-technology and professional-community work that sits alongside the firm, kept on a separate hub so client services stay here.

Visit the profile ↗

Start here

Still unsure? Send us a message and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.

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