Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Inc
Headquarters	Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa
No. of offices	3[1]
No. of attorneys	270+ (2011) [2]
Major practice areas	Corporate law
Key people	Dines Gihwala (Chairman), Chris Ewing (CEO)
Date founded	1853
Company type	Law firm
Website
www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Inc is one of the largest law firms in South Africa, with more than 130 partners and 270 attorneys.^[3] The firm has a significant national footprint with offices in Sandton, Johannesburg and Cape Town; it is also affiliated with DLA Piper.

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr was established in September 2008 as a result of the merger between Cliffe Dekker (formerly Cliffe Dekker Fuller Moore) and Hofmeyr, Herbstein & Gihwala.^[4]

History

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr's roots date back to 1853.^{[clarification needed]} The firm has evolved and grown through a series of mergers, culminating in the milestone merger on 1 September 2008 of two of South Africa's largest and leading, national corporate law firms, Cliffe Dekker and Hofmeyr Herbstein & Gihwala.

Practice areas

The merger created enhanced depth of skills and capabilities^{[citation needed]} across the full complement of business legal services, which are structured around ten core practice groups: Corporate and Commercial (including Intellectual Property); Competition/Antitrust; Dispute Resolution: Litigation and Arbitration; Employment/Labour; Environmental; Finance, Projects and Banking; Real Estate; Tax; Technology, Media and Telecommunications; and Trusts and Estates.

The firm's lawyers specialise in their particular fields and provide niche services in key sectors including: aviation; Black Economic Empowerment; employee benefits; energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals; infrastructure; insolvency and restructuring; insurance; Islamic finance; mergers and acquisitions; mining; occupational health and safety; outsourcing; pensions; projects and PPPs; public sector law; and private equity.^{[citation needed]}

Professional recognition

The firm was the legal adviser to the 2008 'Deal of the Year' and 'outstanding deal of the year' (DealMakers magazine, Ernst and Young Review, and Mergermarket M&A activity roundups for 2008) – the R180bn Remgro and Richemont restructuring that resulted in the creation of Reinet Investment Holdings and the listings of British American Tobacco and Reinet on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr made the biggest gains in M&A advisory work among SA's top five law firms in both deal flow and deal value rankings.^{[citation needed]}

Other recent accolades include being ranked by clients as the 'No. 1 large law firm in South Africa, 2009' in a national survey of the leading legal firms in South Africa (PMR.Africa); named 'Best Corporate M&A Practice – Africa, 2008' (The New Economy Legal Awards); 'Legal Adviser of the Year 2008' and 'Client Focused Law Firm of the Year' (ACQ Finance Country Awards). Mondo Ntlha, Head of the Competition practice was named 'Best Competition Lawyer 2009' (World Finance Legal Awards).

The firm and a number of its lawyers are regularly ranked in the top tiers in the world's most authoritative professional and business directories.^{[citation needed]}

Black Economic Empowerment

As a leader in promoting empowerment and diversity in the legal profession in SA, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr has achieved an accredited Level Three BEE contributor rating.^{[clarification needed]}

External links

• Official site

References

1. ^ http://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/aboutus/contact.htm Contact us Retrieved 6 March 2011
2. ^ http://www.iflr1000.com/JurisdictionFirm/7192/129/DLA-Cliffe-Dekker-Hofmeyr.html#Jurisdiction107 DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Retrievd 6 MARCH 2011
3. ^ http://www.iflr1000.com/JurisdictionFirm/7192/129/DLA-Cliffe-Dekker-Hofmeyr.html#Jurisdiction107 DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Retrievd 6 MARCH 2011
4. ^ Legalweek.com - DLA Piper ally completes South Africa merger