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25.10.2013 Africa

Prominent Anti-Apartheid Campaigner Receives Achievement Award At Inaugural African Legal Awards

25.10.2013 LISTEN

The Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa (CLASA) Achievement Award at last night's inaugural African Legal Awards in Johannesburg went to Judge Albert Louis Sachs, the prominent anti-apartheid campaigner who was appointed by Nelson Mandela to sit on the Constitutional Court which was established after South Africa's first national multiracial elections in 1994. The awards ceremony was attended by 200 private practice and in-house lawyers and was hosted by Legal Week in association with CLASA.


CLASA chief executive Alison Lee said Sachs had “made a tremendous contribution to the legal community and our rule of law”.

Award winners included Clifford Chance which scooped the headline International Law Firm of the Year award. The magic circle firm was one of four international firms to secure awards at the sell-out event.

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom secured the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year for its work helping Southern Sudan recover misappropriated oil assets while Norton Rose Fulbright walked away with Corporate Team of the Year and DLA Piper won the CSR Award.

Willie Du Plessis, of South African electricity utility Eskom Holdings, won General Counsel of the Year while Aspen Pharmacare secured the Legal Department of the Year Large Team award.


The leading Kenyan law firm Anjarwalla & Khanna beat of stiff competition to win the African Law Firm of the Year award. It was also a good night for South African law firms with Webber Wentzel and Bowman Gilfillan both securing two awards apiece. Webber Wentzel picked up the transportation and infrastructure and energy and natural resources awards while Bowman Gilfillan walked away with the property and construction award as well as the highly-competitive Banking, Finance and Restructuring Team of the Year category, which it secured for its work advising on the procurement and execution stages of the Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power stations in South Africa – the largest power stations of their kind currently under construction anywhere in the world.


The winners
CLASA Achievement Award - Judge Albert Louis Sachs
International Law Firm of the Year – Clifford Chance

African Law Firm of the Year - Anjarwalla & Khanna
General Counsel of the Year - Willie Du Plessis, Eskom Holdings SOC

Legal Counsel of the Year - Johann Koenn, Absa Financial Services

Legal Department of the Year – Large Team - Aspen Pharmacare

Legal Department of the Year – Small Team - AFGRI
Innovation Award - LIPCO Law for All
CSR Award – DLA Piper
Corporate Team of the Year - Norton Rose Fulbright
Banking Finance and Restructuring Team of the Year - Bowman Gilfillan

Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year - Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

Property and Construction Team of the Year - Bowman Gilfillan

TMT Team of the Year - ENSAfrica
Energy and Natural Resources Team of the Year - Webber Wentzel

Transportation and Infrastructure Team of the Year - Webber Wentzel

The full awards winners and shortlist are published at www.africanlegalawards.com

-Ends-
For more information please contact:
Duncan Campbell
Marketing manager EMEA, Legal Week
Tel +44 (0)20 7004 7426
Email: [email protected]
Notes to editors
About The African Legal Awards
Hosted by Legal Week (organisers of The British Legal Awards) and the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa (CLASA), these inaugural awards will celebrate legal excellence in Africa and are open to in-house legal teams and law firms operating throughout the continent. The full awards shortlist has been published at www.africanlegalawards.com

For table bookings contact call Anthony Epega on +44 (0)20 7004 7473 or email [email protected], or book online at www.africanlegalawards.com

About Legal Week
Legal Week is essential reading for business lawyers, offering clear reporting and hard-hitting analysis of news and events affecting the legal profession in the UK and around the world. Legal Week Events manages high-profile events, creating unrivalled programmes and networking opportunities while legalweek.com provides an indispensable online resource with daily news bulletins and an archive of over 27,000 news stories.

www.legalweek.com
www.legalweekevents.com
About the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa (CLASA)

The Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa (CLASA) was formed in 1982 to promote the common interests of corporate lawyers (in-house counsel) in South Africa.

CLASA is a non-profit association managed by a Board which is annually elected by CLASA's members. The Association is funded by members' subscriptions and by revenue generated by educational courses and other activities. CLASA currently has approximately 500 individual members mainly comprising of corporate lawyer representatives of more than 60 companies and other organizations.

It aims to improve and promote the proficiency and competency of its members and to encourage professional and ethical conduct. CLASA provides a forum for the exchange of views and mutual liaison on matters of common interest to corporate lawyers in South Africa, and liaises with representative national and international organizations in the interests of its members.

www.clasa.co.za

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