In today’s interview, I sat with Daniel Mutisya. Danny, who is dual qualified in England & Wales and Kenya, has been a key member of the Clifford Chance’s private equity team since 2014. In recognition of Danny’s invaluable contributions to the team and Clifford Chance’s Africa practice, Danny was promoted to Director of Emerging Markets Private Equity, and Co-Head of East Africa, in November 2021.
In today's interview, Danny shares his journey at Clifford Chance and his advice for any African qualified lawyers seeking to pursue a career at Clifford Chance.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
I was born and raised Nairobi, Kenya. I went to St Mary’s School Nairobi which was then run by the Irish Holy Ghost Fathers. St Mary's played a huge part in defining the type of person I am today. I thrived there; I played lots of sports, performed in a number of school musicals and plays, played some music and was assistant captain of my house in my final year. I had a splendid time there. At St Mary’s, we were not necessarily directed towards or prepared for particular careers. Rather, we were encouraged to become well rounded individuals and equipped with the tools we needed to orchestrate our own destinies. However, one thing that was drummed into us from an early age was the ethos around goodness, discipline and knowledge. All those things prepared me for life generally (not necessarily a career in law).
How did you come into law?
Given that I was involved in so many different activities in school, I toyed with many career aspirations. For example, I wanted to play tennis professionally and at some point I considered becoming a professional actor. Interesting fact, two people I went to school with went on to become professional actors. One acts on the stage in New York and the other went on to make movies and won an Oscar.
I did not always know I wanted to become a lawyer. I enjoyed languages and the arts more than the sciences. Towards the end of my senior years in school, my teachers started suggesting I should pursue law. I followed their advice and applied to read law at University. When I was at school you finished the academic year in November but didn't start University until the following September. Rather than staying at home for the entire time in between I wanted to get a job. I was lucky to find a placement at a law firm in Nairobi which allowed me the opportunity to really evaluate whether law was the right fit for me.
I really enjoyed the experience. I went to court, shadowed a civil litigator and did some commercial and conveyancing work. I learnt a lot and after looking at what the day-to-day life of a lawyer entailed, I felt like I could do this for the rest of my life. At that point, I was really attracted to the advocacy and disputes side of legal practice and felt that was what I wanted to pursue.
Can you tell us a little bit about your university experience?
I did my law degree at the University of Nairobi which was a great experience. Because of my passion for advocacy and perhaps my previous dalliance with acting, I took an interest in moot court at university and quickly immersed myself into it. Moot court opened up interesting opportunities for me. For example in my second year, I was part of a team that represented my University at the African Human Rights moot court competition in South Africa. We did well and I was named the 5th best oralist overall. The following year we participated in the Phillip Jessup International Law Moot Court competition. This time, our team did really well. For the first time in our University's history we delivered a top 10 finish. We came out 9th overall.
My now wife and I were on the same moot court team. After the competition ended, we travelled across the United States for a few weeks, visiting friends & family and touring US law schools. That’s really when I started thinking about grad school and where I wanted to go.
Can you tell us about your qualification in Kenya?
After I finished law school, I went to the Kenya School of Law to take my bar course. At that point, I was still keen on becoming a disputes lawyer. I only applied to one firm (which I now realise was not a very wise thing to do). However, in my defence I wanted to work under the person I considered to be the top litigation lawyer at that time, Fred Ngatia SC. Fred was doing all the standout commercial and constitutional cases at the time. The only problem is that he didn't take pupils. Someone introduced me to him and he invited me to his office for a five-minute chat. Our meeting turned into a one-hour discussion. He then asked “when can you start?”. I was his first pupil in something like 15 years. My pupillage was the period that prepared me for the rigor of the career as I see it today because I worked around the clock 6-7 days a week. Fred pushed me hard to become the best version of myself.
After my pupillage and as I was waiting to be called to the Bar, I applied to and was accepted to the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC to pursue a masters in law.
Can you tell us about your experience in Washington?
I did a Masters in International Legal Studies. I took a variety of courses ranging from Public International Law, International Criminal Law, Cross Border M&A, finance and international arbitration. During this time, I realised how important networking was. When you talk to people and they share their experiences, you realise there are certain things you do not actually know anything about because you have not been exposed to them. At Georgetown my friends, professors and some lawyers I met shared their experiences with international business transactions and encouraged me to look into it. That’s the first time I considered doing anything other than disputes. Georgetown was a great experience. Some of my best friends today are people I met at Georgetown.
I finished my Masters in 2010. I wanted to stay in the United States long term and explore international law firms there. I then got an opportunity through one of my professors (again showing how important networking is!) who was the Managing Partner of Fried Frank in D.C. for a placement there. I was there for a short stint and I mostly helped out with some international arbitration tasks.
However, the global economy was not in a good place and they were not hiring people for permanent roles. So I packed my bags and went home to Kenya.
Can you tell us more about your legal experience in Kenya?
Before I left the United States I applied for jobs at the top commercial law firms in Kenya. Paras Shah, a very well-respected lawyer in Kenya, was the first to email back and say he would like to interview me. He was such a stand-out practitioner and one I really wanted to emulate in my career. I had two interviews with HH&M and even though I had other offers, when I was offered the job to work there, it was a no-brainer. HH&M gave me a great opportunity and people like Paras and Andrew Mugambi (also a very well regarded corporate lawyer in the market) introduced me to the basics of Private Equity ("PE") and Mergers & Acquisitions ("M&A"). I owe a huge debt of gratitude to them.
How did you end up at Clifford Chance?
The desire to work in an international law firm in a globally competitive environment never really left me. After four years of working at HH&M, I learned of an opportunity at Clifford Chance through a friend of mine Jennifer Mbaluto. Jen had had left HH&M to join Clifford Chance a few years before me. After speaking to her about the opportunity, the firm and the team, I decided to apply. The PE team was looking for an associate with Africa M&A & PE experience which I had. After a series of interviews I got a call one day from Spencer Baylin offering me the role. I was over the moon and joined Clifford Chance a few months later, in 2014.
What is the procedure for qualifying in the UK once you are foreign qualified?
To qualify as a Solicitor in England & Wales, I had to do the QLTS which was the main route for foreign qualified lawyers to re-qualify as English Solicitors (this has now been replaced by the SQE. For more details click here.
I was not compelled to re-qualify immediately or at all. The team was very supportive and gave me the option to do it. When I joined the firm all I wanted to do was get my head stuck into the job, learn the job, and get the deal experience without any distractions.
I didn't really think about doing the QLTS until much later. Around 2018, I decided to take the QLTS and re-qualify. But by that time, I was very well settled into the team, had learnt the job and the qualification was just cementing that.
What was the difference in work between your experience in Kenya and the experience at Clifford Chance?
In Kenya, I was doing a broader range of transactional work. On any given day, I might have done a M&A deal, then some PE work, then some Real Estate and maybe some general Corporate Advisory.
Clifford Chance was different in the sense that it was very specialised. I realised very quickly that even though I had good deal experience, it was not as deep as I needed it to be in order to excel at doing the job. So I immersed myself in the work so I could get the depth I needed to.
It was quite daunting at first but Clifford Chance really offers a lot of support. The first hurdle to overcome is to not be afraid to ask questions. There is also a lot of training and a lot of know-how for every single new joiner to get you to the level you need to be for the level you are at. In addition to that, the partners in the PE team were extremely approachable. For example, Spencer Baylin and Nick Hughes at the time were people I worked with a lot. They were both very detail oriented and took the time to build me up. It really is a great team.
How long did it take you to feel comfortable?
About two years. At that point I felt like everything that I was doing, I had done a couple of times before and I was now repeating it having learnt the lessons. I knew where to look when I didn’t necessarily know the answers to questions.
Do you have any advice for any African qualified lawyers looking to pursue a career at Clifford Chance?
Stay hungry, be ambitious and remember there are some fantastic opportunities out there. Clifford Chance is a global law firm and Africa forms a big part of the firm's strategy. Our Regional Managing Partner for Africa, Anthony Giustini recently gave an interview where he affirmed Clifford Chance’s Africa strategy to recruit, develop and promote African lawyers. The full interview can be accessed here.
How did you balance the demanding nature of your career with your family life?
When my wife and I moved here, we had one child. Our daughter was six months old. We were first time parents learning on the job. It was really important for us to be there as much as we could together. The job was very demanding and it will always be, but at that time, it was more demanding because I needed to spend more time at work to make sure I was getting the right experience to get the knowledge and the depth I needed. My wife was hugely supportive. She was a lawyer in a previous life so she understood the demands. To balance everything, I tried to ring-fence my weekends as much as possible so I could be with my family and share the joys of raising our daughter.
What are your thoughts on diversity and inclusion at Clifford Chance?
Clifford Chance is a truly diverse and inclusive place to work and that contributes positively to the experience of all who walk through the revolving doors. Diversity and inclusion is self-evident here. The firm really walks the talk.
How did you feel when you were promoted to Director of Africa, and Co-Head of East Africa?
I was thrilled to get the promotion. It was a natural progression into a role which in some ways I was already doing. For example, alongside being a transactional lawyer, I started to take an active role in developing the business, particularly the Emerging Markets practice a few years ago. I was also a member of the core team that coordinated the firm’s activities in East Africa ranging from profile raising activities to our relationships with local counsel. I therefore felt very privileged to be promoted to help lead bits of the practice that I was already a key part of. Both roles are hugely exciting and present an opportunity to contribute to the firm's success.