African legal awards launch with call for entries from continent's leading law firms and legal departments
The second annual African Legal Awards launch today (5 June) with a call for the continent's top law firms and legal departments to submit entries.
June 05, 2014 at 08:34 AM
3 minute read
The second annual African Legal Awards launch today (5 June) with a call for the continent's top law firms and legal departments to submit entries.
Hosted by Legal Week and the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa (CLASA), the awards set out to recognise exceptional achievement within the African legal profession.
The ceremony will take place on 31 October at The Wanderers Club in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Key awards include International Law Firm of the Year, African Law Firm of the Year, General Counsel of the Year and Legal Department of the Year.
There are seven practice area awards covering: M&A; banking, finance and restructuring; competition and regulation; litigation and dispute resolution; energy and natural resources; TMT; transportation and infrastructure; and commercial law.
New categories include Diversity Initiative of the Year and Supplier of the Year and the evening will culminate in the announcement of the winner of the Achievement Award, which is chosen by CLASA. Last year, the achievement award 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.
Key winners last year included Anjarwalla & Khanna and Clifford Chance, which respectively secured the African and international law firm awards and Aspen Pharmacare, which walked away with the Legal Department of the Year – Large Team award.
The judging panel will be made up of Africa-based general counsel and other senior members of the African legal community.
Over the last year, there was £16bn worth of M&A deals in sub-Saharan Africa, according to figures supplied by Mergermarket, while the consultancy IHS estimates that the region's economies will grow at an average of 5-6% over the next eight years.
Africa's economic growth has fuelled unprecedented interest from international firms with a host of practices scrambling to gain a local presence, many by securing alliances with South African firms.
Last month Clyde & Co launched in South Africa by opening two offices with a five-lawyer team hired from Linklaters partner firm Webber Wentzel. And in April, Dentons opened in South Africa through a tie-up with KapdiTwala, giving the firm a presence in Cape Town.
Click here for a full list of the categories and entry criteria and here for a full rundown of last year's winners.
Watch a video of Judge Sachs accepting his achievement award here.
British Legal Awards 2014 launches with call for entries and two new categories
- For details about Legal Week Corporate Counsel Forum Africa click here.
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