African Legal Awards launch with call for entries from continent's top firms and legal teams
Fifth annual awards ceremony to take place in South Africa on 8 September
April 27, 2017 at 06:12 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
The African Legal Awards has launched today (27 April), with a call for entries from international and African law firms as well as in-house legal departments and general counsel.
Hosted by Legal Week and the Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa (CCASA), and supported by The American Lawyer, the awards – which are in their fifth year – will take place on 8 September at The Wanderers Club, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Key awards include International Law Firm of the Year, African Law Firm of the Year (Large and Small Practice), General Counsel of the Year and Legal Department of the Year (Large Team and Small Team). The practice area awards cover: M&A; banking, finance and restructuring; competition and regulation; employment; IP; litigation and dispute resolution; environmental, energy and natural resources; TMT; transportation and infrastructure; and property and construction.
Key winners in 2016 included Clifford Chance, which was named International Law Firm of the Year; Kenyan firm Anjarwalla & Khanna, which won the award for African Law Firm of the Year – Large Firm; and Standard Chartered, which collected the award for Legal Department of the Year – Large Team category. South African firms ENSafrica, Bowmans and Linklaters ally Webber Wentzel all had successful nights, each scoring a hat-trick of awards.
The evening will culminate in the announcement of the winner of the CCASA Achievement Award, which is chosen by the association and last year went to outgoing public protector Thuli Madonsela.
Despite sluggish growth in Africa, due to low commodity prices and ongoing governance concerns, international law firms continue to be attracted by its potential.
In March, Baker McKenzie chairman Paul Rawlinson told Legal Week the firm was targeting Africa's mining and infrastructure and consumer sectors, while in January Pinsent Masons became the latest UK firm to open in South Africa after recruiting an eight-strong team of Bowmans lawyers including two partners. In the same month, Norton Rose Fulbright bolstered its presence by acquiring four-lawyer commercial law boutique Keller Snyman Schelhase in Cape Town.
Click here to view all the categories, criteria and instructions on how to enter.
- For sponsorship enquiries, please email [email protected]
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
How Qualcomm’s General Counsel Is Championing Diversity in Innovation
6 minute read
About the Awards: Southeastern Legal Awards Q&A with Regional Managing Editor Michael Marciano
Call for Nominations: TLI's Pennsylvania Legal Awards 2025
About the Awards: Florida Legal Awards 2025 Q&A with Regional Managing Editor Katie Hall
Trending Stories
- 1Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 2Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 3NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 4A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
- 5Deception or Coercion? California Supreme Court Grants Review in Jailhouse Confession Case
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
