Nairobi, July 9 -- There are stories Mahesh Acharya tells about growing up in Eldoret; about a Peugeot 505 station wagon that carried his dreams, about being raised in a garden full of brothers, and being the spoilt child.

If he was not pushed, he says, maybe he wouldn't be the managing partner of ENS in Kenya. That willingness to embrace uncertainty would later define one of the biggest decisions of his career.

"We left Kaplan & Stratton, four partners, with nothing but hopes and dreams for this opportunity of opening this office for ENS. Ninety per cent of our team today followed us-including our clients," he says.

Now their law firm advises clients across financial services, cross-border corporate and commercial transactions, includ...