Nairobi, July 16 -- A law firm has lost its bid to recover Sh56.3 million in legal fees from Dutch brewer Heineken after the High Court upheld the dismissal of its advocate-client bill of costs.

The court found that LJA Associates LLP and Heineken had operated under an agreed work-in-progress (WIP) billing arrangement, making the advocate-client bill of costs ineligible for taxation.

LJA Associates previously represented the Heineken Group in its long-running legal battle with businessman Ngugi Kiuna's Maxam Ltd over the termination of East African distributorship agreements in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

It was not immediately clear from the court record whether the Sh56.3 million in legal fees arose from that litigation.

In rejecti...