Power shortage drives South African firms
South Africa's leading law firms are being protected from some of the worst effects of the global credit crunch, with the country's power crisis and consolidation in the mining sector translating into a stream of long-running mandates for those with energy and utilities experience. State-owned electricity firm Eskom ran out of power in 2006. The country's power shortage peaked early this year.With power shortages leading to forced blackouts affecting multinational giants such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, Eskom has committed some R300bn (£20.6bn) to building new power plants across the country, a project expected to last 20 years, to deal with the problem.
September 25, 2008 at 12:12 AM
2 minute read
South Africa's leading law firms are being protected from some of the worst effects of the global credit crunch, with the country's power crisis and consolidation in the mining sector translating into a stream of long-running mandates for those with energy and utilities experience.
State-owned electricity firm Eskom ran out of power in 2006. The country's power shortage peaked early this year.
With power shortages leading to forced blackouts affecting multinational giants such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, Eskom has committed some R300bn (£20.6bn) to building new power plants across the country, a project expected to last 20 years, to deal with the problem.
Bell Dewar & Hall's energy practice is working on some Eskom contracts and is also acting for independent equipment suppliers and bankers.
Meanwhile, local leaders such as Webber Wentzel Bowens (WWB) have already won roles as Westinghouse prepares to build the country's first nuclear power plant for
20 years.
Law firms are also landing a stream of construction instructions in prepareation for the 2010 World Cup including new stadium projects and other infrastructure improvements.
Michael Hart, chairman of local firm Deneys Reitz, said: "There is a programme of infrastructure spending that will provide a lot of commercial and legal work over quite an extended period of time. It forms a very solid base on which things can develop."
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
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 AllMcKinsey Subsidiary to Pay Over $122 Million to Settle US Investigation into South Africa Bribery Case
Gibson Dunn, Linklaters Advise on Talabat’s $2BN IPO in World’s Largest Tech IPO of 2024
2 minute readTrending Stories
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