Linklaters and South Africa's Webber Wentzel have put together a cross-firm committee of partner representatives to oversee their alliance.

The magic circle firm, whose exclusive tie-up in South Africa went live on 1 February, is represented by emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa chief Sandeep Katwala, Africa co-head Andrew Jones and capital markets partner Patrick Sheil, all of whom were involved in negotiating the alliance.

The trio will sit on the committee alongside three representatives from Webber Wentzel: senior partner David Lancaster (who spearheaded discussions over the alliance opposite Linklaters), M&A co-head Christo Els (pictured) and head of energy and mining projects Peter Leon.

The committee is understood to have been appointed by the respective firms' boards, and will meet regularly to manage key clients and oversee communication between the firms' relevant industry groups, including energy, mining and infrastructure.

The firms already have a number of shared clients, such as mining group Anglo American, diamond company De Beers, Johannesburg bank Absa Group, packaging group Mondi, construction contractor Murray & Roberts, telecoms giant Vodafone and a number of other South African and global financial institutions.

Both have jointly acted on a number of mandates in recent years, including Absa Group's £1.3bn purchase of Barclays' Africa operations, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's acquisition of a controlling interest in Standard Bank of South Africa, and Vodafone's acquisition of a controlling stake in mobile operator Vodacom.

The alliance, which is not regarded as a precursor to a merger, has seen Webber Wentzel change its branding to reference its alliance with Linklaters, as well as its separate association with the Africa Legal Network (ALN).

Following confirmation of the Linklaters alliance, Webber Wentzel downgraded its membership with the ALN to associate status, as the network has a strict policy that its member firms remain fully independent. 

Webber Wentzel no longer sits on ALN's board or has voting rights on financial issues or strategy, although it remains the network's go-to firm in South Africa. Its website now features the banner 'Webber Wentzel in alliance with Linklaters'.