Miriam O. Atim

Background

Miriam is an Associate with the Corporate Advisory team at MMAKS Advocates. She has amassed six years of experience where she routinely advises the firm’s clients on a variety of corporate and commercial matters ranging from business structuring, insolvency, technology transactions, regulatory advisory, corporate governance, privacy, structuring commercial transactions, preparation, and review of commercial documents and attending to routine filings and representing clients’ interests before regulators. 

Through her work with the corporate and advisory team, Miriam has amassed a critical skills set for provision of legal services within the sectors of Technology, Media and E-commerce, Financial services, Corporate Governance, Corporate M&As, Insolvency, NGOs and Non-profits. 

Miriam is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda. She holds an LL.M in Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship from Cornell University, USA, an LL.B (Hons) degree from Makerere University, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre, Uganda.

Membership in Professional Societies

• Advocate, High Court of Uganda
• Member, Uganda Law Society

• Member East Africa Law Society

Professional Qualifications

• Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Law Development Centre, Uganda
• LL.M, Cornell University, USA

• LL.B (Hons.), Makerere University, Uganda

Career Summary

November 2021 – DATE    Associate, MMAKS Advocates, Uganda

September 2019 – October 2021    Legal Trainee, MMAKS Advocates, Uganda

January 2019 – September 2019    Junior Associate, Pace Advocates, Uganda

November 2018 – December 2018    Legal Volunteer, Platform for Labour Action, Uganda

April 2018 – June 2018    Clerkship Student, MMAKS Advocates, Uganda

Areas of Expertise

• Corporate M&A
• Technology Transactions
• Privacy
• Corporate Governance
• NGOs and Non-profits
• Corporate and Commercial Advisory

• Insolvency

Top Matters

Corporate M&A

• Currently advising a leading financial institution on the disposal of its business in the Ugandan market. This instruction involves advisory on a range of legal matters including deal structuring, regulatory approvals, customer and employee privacy matters, and on the transaction documents. 
• Currently advising an education investment institution on its proposed acquisition of a Cambridge accredited international school in Uganda. This instruction involves deal structuring, conducting a legal due diligence on the target, and advising on regulatory approvals and the commercial terms of the transaction documents.   
• Advising on the acquisition of a leading agro-processing company in Uganda. This advisory involved a review of the target entity’s corporate documents including a review of shareholder agreements and advising on the transaction documents to effect the acquisition.
• Acting for Sanlam Limited, the holding company of the Sanlam group of companies, in connection with its proposed joint venture with the Allianz group of companies. I was part of the legal team that advised Sanlam on the corporate and commercial aspects of its proposed joint venture. 
• Advised on the amalgamation of the SN Power entities in Uganda. This involved the preparation and registration of the requisite corporate documents at the Companies Registry and obtaining the relevant regulatory approvals for this amalgamation. 
• Advised on the acquisition of a majority stake in a microfinance institution in Uganda. This included advisory on the share acquisition, conducting due diligences on the target, advising on the regulatory landscape for the conduct of a microfinance business in Uganda and advising on all the applicable statutory, and contractual consents, permits and approvals required to realise this acquisition.

Technology Transactions

• Advising Terra Payment Services (Netherlands) B.V., a global financial technology company, on obtaining a payments system operator license from the Bank of Uganda for its Ugandan subsidiary, Terrapay Uganda
• Acted for Google Inc. on its investment in Go Ventures Limited, the holding company of SafeBoda Uganda. This was Google’s first investment through its Africa Investment Fund, where the investment was structured through a Simple Agreement for Future Equity. This advisory involved a review of the transaction documents for the financing and reviewing the privacy policies of SafeBoda and its third-party service providers. Currently advising a venture capital firm on a similar investment in a Ugandan fintech providing investment services.
• Advised Asante Financial Services Limited, a company that provides money lending services on digital platforms, on a partnership with a Ugandan telecom service provider and Mastercard Foundation on providing an asset finance service facilitating access to and ownership of smart phones.
• Advised the Walt Disney Company on the offering of its Disney+ platform to the Ugandan market. This instruction involved advising the client on the regulatory and commercial implications linked to the operation of the Disney+ service in Uganda ranging from broadcasting requirements, embedded payment options on the platform, gift cards, contractual obligations and data protection and privacy requirements, among others.
• Advised WPP-Scangroup Limited, the largest marketing and communications group operating in sub-Saharan Africa on its Merchant, User and Website privacy policies for its Goby platform. This platform is dedicated to managing online businesses.
• Advised Google Inc. on the regulation of its YouTube platform by the Uganda Communications Commission. This advisory involved a review of the legal framework on broadcasting in Uganda and its potential implications on content broadcasted on the YouTube platform.
• Advised Airbnb on the roll out of its online marketplace to Uganda. This instruction involved advisory on the regulatory compliance implications on the business including compliance with accommodation and liquor licenses, data protection and privacy as well as limitation on minors accessing Airbnb establishments.
• Advised a mobility fintech company on the expansion of its drive-to-own business to Uganda. This instruction involved providing regulatory advice on the fintech’s proposed business model in Uganda, obtaining the relevant licenses, preparation of the requisite corporate documents and review of the commercial agreements.
• Advising Instagram on the launch of its Reels product that enables users to create and share short videos using music, effects and even original audio. Our advice covered various aspects including data protection and privacy related aspects relating to the Reels product.
• Advised Aceli Africa on the regulatory requirements for the roll out of its API platform under a partnership framework with a leading financial institution in the East African market. This brief involved a review of Aceli Africa’s API platform and assessing the regulatory implications applicable to all the models through which the platform could be deployed.

Privacy

• Routinely advise on privacy compliance matters with the Personal Data Protection Office, the Ugandan regulator of data protection and privacy.
• Providing training to numerous organisations on compliance matters under the Uganda data protection and privacy legal regime.
• Advising Standard Chartered Bank Uganda Limited on the compliance of its employee and customer data privacy notices with the Uganda data protection and privacy legal regime. 
• Advising the Rath Health Foundation on the privacy aspects affecting the roll out of its community outreach activities. This involved the review of the organisation’s content and the programs to ensure compliance with the legal requirements.

Corporate Governance

• Advising Mildmay Uganda on a range of corporate governance matters including advisory on convening Annual General Meetings and board meetings, company policy matters, etc. This brief also involves organising the company’s meetings as company secretary.
• Advising the Rath Health Foundation on governance structures best applicable to the organisation and attending to a members’ dispute.

NGOs and Non-profits

• Routinely advising indigenous, local, regional and international Non-Governmental and Charity Organisations on the registration requirements to operate in Uganda.
• Advised on the reinstatement and registration of the American Bar Association as an NGO in Uganda with the NGO Bureau.
• Advises on and facilitates Mildmay Uganda’s compliance with the NGO Bureau by preparing and attending to the relevant filings.

Corporate and Commercial Advisory

• Advised the Office of the Auditor General on its audit of UMEME’s operations in Uganda. UMEME was the major electricity distributor in Uganda. This involved a review of the concession agreements and interpretation of the commercial arrangements of UMEME to establish the buy-out amount as provided for under the agreement to ensure a seamless end to the concession agreement.  
• Advised Beyond Capital Ventures on its first fintech company investment in Xeno Corporation. This instruction involved a review of the business of Xeno Corporation’s subsidiary in Uganda including advising on the company’s compliance with data protection and privacy requirements.
• Advising RF20 Limited, a company conducting business within the gaming and betting sector in Uganda, on obtaining and renewing bingo and general betting licenses from the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board.
• Advised the Uganda National Oil Company on the proposed construction of the Kampala Storage Terminal. This advisory involved a review of regulatory matters that would affect the construction of the terminal including but not limited to petroleum, procurement of contracts with the government, environment matters, finance, etc.
• Routinely advising companies on business structuring and the set-up requirements best applicable to their businesses for the Ugandan market.

Insolvency

• Part if the team that is currently advising on the insolvency recognition processes in Uganda for a charity organisation being wound up in the UK.
• Routinely advising companies (branches and subsidiaries) on the insolvency processes available to them under the Uganda legal regime.
• Attending to several insolvency processes for companies at the office of the Official Receiver including the deregistration of Oxford Pty Limited and Open Society Institute Uganda Limited and the winding up of Sundries Bargains Uganda Limited.