Associate - Tax at DLA Piper Africa, Kenya (IKM Advocates)

Role Profile

• We are seeking to recruit an Associate with 2 - 4 years post-qualification experience to join our Tax practice. The ideal candidate will have experience in tax dispute resolution, advising on tax matters, strong technical expertise, and the ability to manage assignments with minimal supervision.

Key Responsibilities

• Tax Dispute Resolution: Handle tax disputes from the audit stage, objection stage and appeals before the Tax Appeals Tribunal and the superior courts.
• Advisory & structuring: Prepare legal opinions advising on various matters across all tax heads including: structuring advice on mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, financing arrangements, and cross-border transactions;
• Regulatory liaison:  Liaise with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on behalf of clients, including during audits, investigations, and dispute resolution;
• Transaction support: Support in tax due diligence and health checks and in review of share/business transfer agreements;
• Knowledge management: Monitor changes in Kenyan tax laws, key decisions from the Tax Appeals Tribunal and Courts, the budgetary process, and global treaty trends to publish updates for clients and internal teams.

Required Skills and Experience

• Strong technical expertise across all tax heads
• Ability to own assignments and handle multiple assignments concurrently
• Strong commercial awareness and ability to identify key legal and tax risks
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams
• Excellent skills in communication, client relations and teamwork

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from a recognized university;
• Professional qualification from the Kenya School of Law;
• Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, with a valid practicing certificate; and
• Two (2) to Four (4) years’ experience specialized in tax within a top-tier law firm or a Big 4 accounting firm.
• CPA or ACCA will be an added advantage

Value Proposition

The successful candidate will:

• Join a leading regional and global network of over 4,000 lawyers across the globe;
• Become an integral part of a leading tier 1 growing Tax Practice; and
• Work on complex, dynamic, high profile and high value matters for market leading clients.