Legal Week's inaugural African Legal Awards paid tribute to the best and brightest law firms and in-house teams on the continent

alison-lee-ala-2013-webTwo hundred lawyers gathered at the African Legal Awards in October to celebrate the achievements of the continent's leading business lawyers. The ceremony was hosted by Legal Week in association with the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa (CLASA) and featured leading South African investigative journalist Derek Watts in the role of master of ceremonies.

There were 16 categories at the event, which was held at La Toscana Montecasino in Johannesburg. The awards recognised outstanding performances by individuals, teams, legal departments and law firms. 

The event culminated with the CLASA Lifetime Achievement Award, which was sponsored by ENSafrica and went to Judge Albert Louis Sachs, the prominent former anti-apartheid campaigner who went on to be one of the founding members of South Africa's Constitutional Court.

In a pre-recorded acceptance speech, Sachs called on African business lawyers to uphold the rule of law and good governance while acting on behalf of their clients.

He urged lawyers to follow a code of "honesty, integrity and fairness", adding: "Knowing the young guys who were at university with me – who are now very important senior partners in these big firms – knowing who they are, I am very, very hopeful that that is something you will bring to the table with you in all your dealings as litigators, as lawyers, as human beings, as South Africans, as Africans, wherever you might be."

Sachs spent long periods of his life in exile. In 1988, while working as a law professor in Maputo, Mozambique, he lost an arm and his sight in one eye in a car bomb attack instigated by members of the South African security forces.

CLASA chief executive Alison Lee (pictured, above) praised Sachs for his record as a Constitutional Court judge: "In his 15 years on the court, Judge Sachs assisted in upholding and enforcing those very rights that he had ensured were placed in our constitution, including the abolition of the death penalty, overturning laws criminalising homosexuality and ordering the Government to distribute free-of-charge drugs that prevent transmission of HIV from pregnant women to their children."

noella-lubano-a-k-1-webWinner Anjarwalla & Khanna

Finalists Bowman Gilfillan • Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr • Daly & Figgis • Oxford & Beaumont • Webber Wentzel

The judges agreed that Anjarwalla & Khanna's (A&K) entry provided strong evidence of a dynamic firm with a clear vision for its future as a global and sustainable law firm. 

Founded in 1958, A&K has grown into a 50-lawyer practice, making it Kenya's largest law firm. Key recent deals include acting for Ugandan energy company Umeme on the first ever cross-listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and acting for the Kenya Government on the granting of coal concessions to China-based Fenxi Mining. 

Client wins in 2013 include Abraaj Capital, Bharti Airtel, Jumeirah Restaurants, National Oil Company of Kenya and Liberman Group of South America. The firm has also been involved in policy, bringing together local law firms and real estate investors to present a memorandum to parliament on new land laws.

On a strategic level, the firm has been steadily building the African Legal Network (ALN), a regional legal alliance it set up in 2004. ALN now operates in 12 jurisdictions following the addition this year of K-Solutions & Partners in Rwanda and Omer Ali Law Firm in Sudan. 

A&K has also set up a legal consultancy in Dubai called Anjarwalla Collins & Haidermota. Last month it underlined its pan-African reach with the hire of Roddy McKean, the head of South African firm Weber Wentzel's Africa practice. 

Staff development is also a priority for the firm and this year it sent three lawyers overseas on sabbaticals to obtain LLM qualifications. 

A&K also holds a programme of seminars for clients as well as conducting one-to-one training in the fields of consumer protection, land law and employment law.

Pictured: Noella Lubano (right) collects her firm's award from Derek Watts

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edmund-boyo-cc-ala-2013-webWinner Clifford Chance

Finalists Allen & Overy • Baker & McKenzie • Dentons • DLA Piper • Miranda Correia Amendoeira • Norton Rose Fulbright • White & Case

Its large client base, the quality of its work and its track record advising international corporations wanting to do business in Africa convinced the judges to award the International Law Firm of the Year to Clifford Chance. 

"Truly international lawyers covering vast territories along with a notable CSR contribution," is how one judge characterised this firm. Clifford Chance's Africa practice is made up of more than 200 partners, lawyers, trainees and business support staff. 

They are broken down into regional teams and sub groups to cover the different legal systems that exist on the continent including Roman Dutch law, French civil law and English common law. 

Clifford Chance notes that, in recent years, advisory work has branched out from traditional sectors such as energy and resources to reflect the continent's recent growth. Highlight deals include advising Nigeria's largest bank, Zenith Bank, on its technical listing of global depositary receipts representing interests in its ordinary shares, and advising Carlyle on the first investment by its Sub-Saharan Africa Fund. 

In 2012 the firm opened its first African office, in Casablanca, Morocco. The office's mandates include advising the Ministry of Finance on the setting up of Casablanca Financial City and advising leading Asia agribusiness group Wilmar International on its first investment in Africa. 

The firm has also been working hard to build links with the African legal community. 

This July Clifford Chance held its inaugural African counsel retreat. The two-day event was attended by 80 lawyers from 60 law firms across 30 countries. It featured a networking session to introduce London-based clients to the delegation.

Pictured L-R: Chadwick Nott's Simon Chadwick with Titus Edjua and Edmund Boyo of Clifford Chance

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willie-du-plessis-eskom-ala-2013-webWinner Willie Du Plessis, Eskom

Finalists Josie Lyon, Virgin Active South Africa • Luche Joubert, British American Tobacco South Africa • Madeleine Truter, Growthpoint Properties

 Willie Du Plessis secured the General Counsel of the Year award for his work promoting black economic empowerment within his in-house legal team and among the law firms Eskom instructs. 

He heads up Eskom's 30-strong legal and compliance department and oversees a substantial legal spend. As a state-owned company, Eskom's legal team is expected to take a leading role in the field of black economic empowerment while at the same time ensuring that the electricity generator and transmitter receives quality legal advice and value for money. 

If a premium is paid for legal advice under the black economic empowerment drive, the philosophy is that it be kept to a minimum and that the benefits outweigh the costs. Du Plessis's priority in relation to his in house team has been to improve their skills through training undertaken by firms Eskom instructs, 95% of which is carried out at no cost. 

When instructing South Africa's largest law firms, Du Plessis has set out guidelines as to the make-up of the teams fielded for Eskom. 

The firm mainly instructs black partners and also ensures there is sufficient female representation on the teams. Eskom expects the top law firms to recruit from previously disadvantaged universities, thereby encouraging them to extend their recruitment and marketing activities to these institutions. 

Under Du Plessis's leadership, Eskom also identifies black law firms with the expertise to take on commercial legal work and then finds ways to help them develop their experience and skills. This can involve joint instructions requiring the country's leading law firms to team up with smaller black-owned practices. 

Pictured: Willie Du Plessis

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johann-koenn-absa-ala-2013-webWinner Johann Koenn, Absa Financial Services

Finalists Alison Wixley, Bidvest Panalpina Logistics • Vickie Govender, Eskom

Johann Koenn is a legal counsel at Absa Financial Services with responsibility for handling the legal work behind the roll-out of Barclays Africa Group's bancassurance business into a number of African jurisdictions.

Over the past year-and-a-half, this challenging role has seen him involved in the establishment of insurance companies in Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. In all three jurisdictions, getting to grips with current and draft legislation, as well as case law, has been challenging. 

Koenn set up company secretary departments in each of the local insurance companies to ensure compliance with local company law and established panels of law firms that operate to the standards of Barclays Africa Group. Operating in Mozambique was a particular challenge for Koenn and he has learned Portuguese so that he can review documents in both English and Portuguese. One of his most eye-catching initiatives has been the establishment of a committee of legal counsel in each jurisdiction to assist local insurance associations in their activities, including their interaction with the insurance regulators. 

While Koenn continues to oversee the legal work associated with these new businesses, he will be in a good position to take the legal lead as and when the bancassurance business expands into new territories. The judging panel praised him for his strong technical skills and initiative, with one commenting: "He appears to be a natural leader."  

Pictured: Johann Koenn (left) picks up his award

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evashni-govander-aspen-ala-2013-webWinner Aspen Pharmacare

Finalists Eskom Holdings • Siemens • Anglo American

"Quite astonishing" was how one judge summed up Aspen Pharmacare's submission for Legal Department of the Year – Large Team. It painted a picture of a multinational legal department operating to the standards of equivalent teams based in any of the world's leading financial and business centres. 

Based in Durban, Aspen Pharmacare is the ninth largest generic pharmaceutical company in the world, operating 45 companies in 26 countries. Headed by group legal officer Kurt Drieselmann, the team is comprised of 18 lawyers and 14 support staff. 

In recent months, it has overseen an impressive number of deals. These include transactions with GlaxoSmithKline for a portfolio of established over-the-counter products in selected territories, and a portfolio of products in Australia; with Nestle in respect of the Pfizer infant milk products in Australia and South Africa, followed by a second transaction for Latin America; and with Merck for the acquisition of a pharmaceutical manufacturing business and related products. 

Recent initiatives include:

• the establishment of a searchable contract management system, with a section for every Aspen company worldwide; 

• the refinement of an electronic legal portal for precedents, templates and other relevant documents;

• a matter tracker for staff that facilitates the oversight of all legal matters across the group; and

• an annual legal workshop attended by all legal staff.

"Meets criteria," observed one of the judges, "with innovative tools, aligned to support overall business objectives, entrepreneurial attorneys and teamwork."

Pictured: Aspen's legal counsel Evashni Govender (right) picks up the award from ENSafrica's Glenda Benson

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pieter-badenhorst-afgri-ala-2013-webWinner AFGRI

Finalists Bidvest Panalpina Logistics • Life Healthcare • Virgin Active South Africa

In its submission, AFGRI's three-strong legal team was able to demonstrate both its technical prowess overseeing a string of groundbreaking transactions and its organisational and strategic skills through the implementation of an impressive programme to improve the company's risk and compliance framework. 

AFGRI is a South African-headquartered agricultural services and diversified foods group with operations in South Africa, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Ghana, Mozambique and Australia. 

The legal department, headed by director of legal and risk Pieter Badenhorst, was set up four years ago. Key transactions overseen by the team include the sale of the farmer debtor book of its financial services division to the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa for ZAR4bn (£241m) and the sale of its corporate debtors book to Land Bank for ZAR1bn (£60m). 

Both such deals are described by the team as firsts for the food and agriculture sector which have been used as a blueprint for similar transactions. The team also led on the merger of AFGRI's and Senwes' retail businesses.

The legal department succeeded in navigating the ZAR900m (£56m) transaction through potential competition, tax and employee law challenges. It was the first time that the Competition Tribunal had approved a transaction of this nature in the agricultural sector. 

Meanwhile, the legal team has instigated legal risk and litigation management policies that have dramatically reduced the number of successful claims against the company. Measures include the introduction of a regulatory, compliance and policy framework and charter. 

"This is an impressive team," said one judge. "It has managed to reduce litigation claims, steered through a successful restructure and implement a sound compliance framework, notwithstanding the compliance challenges of having multinational business operations."

Pictured: AFGRI's Pieter Badenhorst (right) collects the award from Derek Watts

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lipco-ala-2013-webWinner LIPCO

Finalists Anglo American • Fairbridges • Growthpoint Properties • International Lawyers for Africa • Webber Wentzel • Whipping the Cat 

"Unaffordable, traumatic, remote, and cripplingly delayed" is how legal costs insurer LIPCO characterises the South African legal system, despite the fact that access to justice is enshrined in South Africa's constitution. 

The legal system is only just catching on to the benefits of mediation, draft rules having been published in November 2011 that will require all defended civil cases to first be referred to mediation. 

LIPCO says it has been promoting the benefits of mediation ever since it was set up in 1993. It has an in-house legal team that seeks to resolve disputes through mediation before they are referred to its panel of law firms. 

It says that of the more than 3,000 legal files registered at LIPCO each month, it manages to resolve the majority without them going to court and maintains a mediation success rate of more than 80%.

Last year, LIPCO set up the Independent African Mediation academy to offer mediation training to both its employees and independent practitioners. "Mediation is growing in popularity and these guys have clearly thought this concept through," said one of the judges in praise of LIPCO.

Pictured: LIPCO CEO Kwena Moabelo (right) smiles on picking up the award from Derek Watts 

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Winner DLA Piper

Finalists Allen & Overy • Bowman Gilfillan • Eskom • Gabinete Legal Mocambique/PLMJ

The DLA Piper Africa Group scooped the CSR award for its work supporting the activities of its not-for-profit initiative New Perimeter, which was established in 2005 and whose mission is "to provide long-term, high-impact pro bono legal support to qualifying non-profitable organisations, governments and academic institutions, primarily in developing and post-conflict regions." 

Staff working at the DLA Piper Africa Group network of law firms have contributed to a wide variety of initiatives across Africa that are carefully chosen to further social and economic development and foster the development of transparent and sound legal institutions.

This is sometimes achieved by providing direct assistance to projects designed to strengthen a country's legal system. But New Perimeter also provides legal advice to organisations working to further similar goals. Recent projects include:

• an initiative between Tanzanian DLA Piper Africa Group firm IMMMA Advocates, General Electric and Barclays Bank to provide students at the University of Tanzania Law School with two weeks' training that has benefited 580 Tanzanian law students in the past three years;

• a joint venture with the International Bar Association and the Open Society Institute of Southern Africa to launch the Southern African Litigation Centre, which advises on high-impact human rights cases; 

• the provision of the legal agreements needed to underpin a forest carbon conservation projectin the Democratic Republic of Congo run by the Conservation International Foundation; and

• the provision of pro bono legal support to The Omba Arts Trust, a Nambian NGO that works with rural art and craft producers throughout the country.

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norton-rose-fulbright-ala-2013-webWinner Norton Rose Fulbright

Finalists Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr • Gabinete Legal Mocambique • Herbert Smith Freehills • Slaughter and May • Webber Wentzel • Werksmans Attorneys

Norton Rose Fulbright advised Barclays on the combination of its African operations with Absa – a £1.3bn deal that created the largest retail bank in Africa. 

The transaction saw Absa acquiring Barclays' operations in eight African countries – Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia – as well as majority interests Mozambique and Tanzania. 

The share deal raised Barclays' majority stake in Absa from 55.5% to 62.3%. With the term sheet having been completed in August 2012, the team achieved the ambitious deadline of completing the deal before Christmas.

The challenge was to sell eight different banks across eight different jurisdictions simultaneously. This required negotiations with multiple stock exchanges and takeover authorities. 

One challenge was to devise a legal structure that allowed the single issue of Absa shares despite the potential for the staggered closing of the related acquisitions. This was achieved by using the S40 trust structure of the South African Companies Act. It was a first for a deal of this size. 

For the Mauritius leg of the transaction, there was no specific legislation dealing with the transfer of banking businesses at the outset of the deal. The team devised a unique solution to this problem involving a structure that had never been used before. In the event, new legislation was introduced in time for the deal to be completed. 

Norton Rose Fulbright has 300 lawyers based in its South Africa, Tanzania and Morocco offices and cites the fact it was chosen for this highly strategic deal as evidence that its Africa strategy is paying off. "The complexity of the deal executed in tight timelines makes this a winner," said one of the judges.

Pictured: Norton Rose Fulbright's South Africa head of corporate Kevin Cron (right) 

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lionel-shawe-bowman-gilfillan-ala-2013-webWinner Bowman Gilfillan

Finalists Allen & Overy • Baker & McKenzie • Dentons • ENSafrica • Norton Rose Fulbright • Orrick • Slaughter and May

Bowman Gilfillan's (BG) highlight deal in this category was its work advising on the high-profile corporate and debt restructuring of AfriSam, South Africa's second largest cement producer. 

The deal had an added significance as AfriSam had been acquired by a black economic empowerment consortium in 2006, making it one of South Africa's flagship black-owned businesses. BG, which was not AfriSam's historic adviser, was selected to lead on the deal after a competitive tender. 

At the time of the instruction, AfriSam was weighed down by ZAR21.5bn (£1.3bn) of debt under an unsustainable capital structure that would have led to the largest default in South African history if it was not restructured. 

The first phase of the transaction closed in February 2012 with bridge financing and new equity, and the deal was successfully completed a year later with the closing of a ZAR6.5bn (£400m) long-term refinancing transaction that reduced the overall financial indebtedness of the group by ZAR15bn (£900m).

The BG team was led by head of banking and finance Lionel Shawe and consisted of lawyers from specialists in banking and finance, debt capital markets, insolvency and restructuring, corporate and M&A, derivatives, mining, competition, tax, litigation, corporate governance and exchange control. 

Challenging aspects of the deal included the need to interpret the newly implemented South African Companies Act, which introduced a new business rescue regime, and complex corporate governance issues relating to AfriSam's structure. 

The deal inevitably required the team to resolve complex tax, competition and exchange control issues as well as litigation relating to the restructuring.  

"This turnaround of an unsustainable capital structure saved the company and jobs," noted one of the judges. "The submission demonstrated teamwork and client satisfaction."

Pictured: Lionel Shawe (right) accepts his award

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david-herlihy-skadden-ala-2013-webWinner Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

Finalists Allen & Overy • ENSafrica • Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer • Herbert Smith Freehills • Mourant Ozannes/Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick • Orrick

The judges were deeply impressed by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom's work advising South Sudan on its successful mission to recover oil assets that had been seized by its larger and more powerful neighbour, Sudan. The dispute led the countries to the brink of war.  

"What an inspiring submission," commented one judge. "Who says lawyers can't make a difference using their knowledge of the law? This project required the team to put themselves 'out there' and not behind the letter of the law. The solution saved lives and benefited a young country." 

The crisis flared up when Sudan unilaterally hiked the transit fees for oil that it levied on landlocked South Sudan. When South Sudan refused to pay, Sudan seized oil assets in its territory and attempted to sell them. 

Skadden's reponse was to send letters to shipowners and other potentially interested parties and publish advertisements in Lloyd's List stating that the oil belonged to South Sudan and that anyone purchasing the oil would be liable to South Sudan. 

This strategy effectively froze the market and showed the global oil industry that South Sudan planned to pursue its assets. At the same, the proceeds of sale from one cargo were held in escrow for the English courts to later determine ownership. The strategy provided breathing states for the two countries to enter into negotiations over the dispute. 

Given that 98% of South Sudan's revenue comes from oil, a lengthy litigation process would not have been in its interests. 

The dispute over transit fees was resolved via an inter-governmental agreement that led to one of the most peaceful periods of co-existence between the two countries.

Pictured: Skadden's litigation and international arbitration partner David Herlihy (right) picks up the award

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rob-morson-bowman-gilfillan-ala-2013-webWinner Bowman Gilfillan

Finalists ENSafrica • Norton Rose Fulbright

"Great submission," said one judge of Bowman Gilfillan's (BG) winning entry in this category. 

"It shows legal expertise, innovation, project management skills and teamwork." 

The firm's highlight deal was its work advising Eskom on the procurement and execution stages of the Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power stations in South Africa. They are the largest power stations of their kind currently under construction anywhere in the world. The capital budget for each project exceeds ZAR100bn (£6.2bn). 

The BG team advised Eskom on all aspects of these projects, including regulatory law, construction procurement, construction execution, management, claims and disputes, employment, finance and general commercial matters.

This involved advising on more than 80 discrete components, including the turbine island and air-cooled condenser works; various generator units; other transformer works; and several materials handling works, including separate contracts for coal handling from the mine to and within and power station perimeter. 

The deal required the team to marry the legal expertise needed for international deals of this magnitude with experience of factors particular to South Africa, including the volatile and complex industrial relations that predominate in this country. 

An integral part of the firm's relationship with Eskom has been the running of secondment and training programmes designed to improve the skills of the utility's legal department. 

The firm has also worked with a small black-owned law firm to assist in the development and training of other lawyers advising Eskom.

Pictured: Bowman Gilfillan's head of construction Rob Morson (right) collects his firm's award

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michael-davies-webber-wentzel-ala-2013-webWinner Webber Wentzel

Finalists ENSafrica • Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer • Hogan Lovells • Norton Rose Fulbright

"A great niche practice with excellent research and project management skills," was one judge's response to Webber Wentzel's submission in the Transportation and Infrastructure Team of the Year category. 

The firm's highlight deal was its work advising the City of Cape Town on the implementation of its MyCiti Bus Rapid Transit System. The firm has been advising on this deal for more than five years, during which it has provided 50 opinions on legal issues that have arisen during the system's roll-out.

The legal work has covered administrative law, intellectual property, tax, employment, property law, litigation and consumer protection. The firm has represented the municipality in complex negotiations with the vehicle operating entities that make up the scheme. These include various taxi associations that are largely unregulated in South Africa. 

Key parts of its work include drafting, negotiating and finalising vehicle operating contracts, securing a tri-partite agreement between the City of Cape Town, the provincial authorities and the bus industry's Golden Arrow Bus Services, and drafting the contracts for the fare system and the management of the bus stations. 

Webber Wentzel has played a leading project management role throughout the period, helping to co-ordinate the activities of all the South African and international advisers who have worked on the project.

Off the back of its work, the firm has been retained to advise the eThekwini Municipality (Durban), Polokwane Municipality (previously known as Pietersburg) and the George Municipality in relation to the roll-out of their BRT systems and other public transport matters.

Pictured: Derek Watts congratulates Webber Wentzel partner Michael Evans (right) 

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haydn-davies-webber-wentzel-ala-2013-webWinner Webber Wentzel

Finalists Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld • Gabinete Legal Mocambique • Herbert Smith Freehills • McCarthy Tetrault • Norton Rose Fulbright • Oxford & Beaumont • Siemens • Slaughter & May

Webber Wentzel's highlight deal was its work advising on a £440m debt financing that will make Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Zambia one of the top 10 copper producers in the world. A team from Webber Wentzel was lenders' counsel on the deal, advising Standard Chartered Bank and The Standard Bank of South Africa. 

Standout features of this transaction included the fact that it involved significant security risks and an exceptionally quick turnaround time. Because of the security risks associated with the deal, the team put together an innovative security package to allow debt service and lender comfort while the majority of the documents needed to close the deal were signed within three to four months of the term sheets being finalised. 

The deal required Webber Wentzel to team up with Zambian firm Corpus Legal Practitioners, which advised on Zambian law, due diligence and the review of mining licences and environmental permits. Webber Wentzel regards it as a significant achievement that the firm – as opposed to an international practice – was instructed as lenders counsel despite the fact that the deal was conducted under English law. 

Evidence of client satisfaction came from an endorsement from Brad Breetzke, head of mining and metals finance at Standard Bank, who described the deal as the largest export credit backed underwrite by the Export Credit Insurance Corporation. As a result of the transaction, Konkola Copper Mines' production will double and the life of the mine will be extended by 23 years.

Pictured: Derek Watts and Webber Wentzel partner Haydn Davies (right) 

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glenda-benson-ensafrica-1-ala-2013-1-webWinner ENSafrica

Finalists Dentons • Norton Rose Fulbright

ENSafrica secured the TMT Team of the Year award for its work on the implementation of a new enterprise software system at a major African company in a project that spanned 50 jurisdictions. 

The project's goal was to provide the business with consistent and reliable business information across all its business units. However, the identity of the client and exact nature of the project remain confidential.

ENSafrica fielded Ridwaan Boda, joint head of TMT, on the deal. The work has involved him working closely with the in-house legal team as well as numerous consultants and third parties to ensure that it is kept on budget and to its timetable. 

According to the judging panel, ENSafrica put together a compelling submission that included evidence of high levels of client satisfaction and of the firm's ability to provide the right blend of local, international and technical experience. 

Pictured: ENSafrica's Glenda Benson on stage to collect the award