The African Legal Awards set to distinguish leading lawyers
The African Legal Awards set out to recognise exceptional achievement at a time when Africa’s legal sector is going through a period of rapid change. Over the last year, there was £16bn worth of M&A deals in sub-Saharan Africa, according to figures supplied by Mergermarket, while IHS estimates that the region’s economies will grow at an average of 5-6% over the next eight years.
As African economies grow and diversify, local and international lawyers will be presented with both opportunities and challenges as they seek to underpin this expansion with sound legal advice. And as multinational companies like Barclays, GE, Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Diageo expand their activities in the region, their in-house legal teams will face considerable logistical and legal challenges.ggpala-121
Hosted by Legal Week (organisers of The British Legal Awards) and the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa (CLASA), the African Legal Awards will bring the region’s legal community together for a glittering awards ceremony on Friday 16 October 2015 at The Wanderers Club in Johannesburg, South Africa. Key awards include International Law Firm of the Year, African Law Firm of the Year (Large Practice and Small Practice), General Counsel of the Year and Legal Department of the Year. 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; and transportation and infrastructure. Categories include the Diversity, Transformation and Economic Empowerment Award and Innovation Award. The evening will culminate in the announcement of the winner of the Achievement Award, which is chosen by CLASA and last year went to Advocate George Bizos.
A major feature of the award is the credibility of the judging process as the winners are decided by an independent judging panel made up of general counsel and other senior members of the legal community.