Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP is pleased to announce the expansion of its Africa practice through the addition of a leading team of lawyers led by Morné van der Merwe and Wildu du Plessis. The team joins from Werksmans Attorneys, where Mr. van der Merwe headed the Mining & Resources practice and Mr. du Plessis headed the Banking & Finance and Capital Markets practices.
Mr. van der Merwe and Mr. du Plessis are accompanied by Chris Moraitis, Astrid Berman, Esmé Ferreira, Amelia Heeger, Muhammed Sader and Mike van Rensburg. Upon joining Dewey & LeBoeuf, Mr. van der Merwe will become Co-Chair of the firm’s Global Natural Resources practice (with Partner Nabil Khodadad) and Mr. du Plessis will become Co-Managing Partner of the Johannesburg office (with Partner Scott Brodsky).
Collectively, the team brings vast experience in areas including banking and financial services, capital markets and securities, corporate finance, project finance, private equity and securitization law and sectors including financial institutions, mining, infrastructure and energy. The majority of the team members have been recognized as leading lawyers in their respective fields by a number of international and local publications. Members of this team have advised on many complex and large empowerment, merger and other transactions in the mining and resources sector. Other team members were instrumental in starting the South African securitization industry and in the expansion of the South African debt capital markets. They were also key players in most of the toll road projects in South Africa and many of the other infrastructure projects. The team has advised on the largest equity and debt capital markets transactions in South Africa and in many complex mining and resources transactions.
Steven H. Davis, Chairman of Dewey & LeBoeuf, commented, “We have been based in Johannesburg for over a decade, and our record of working on high profile matters in Africa predates that by several decades. The addition of this team of high quality, respected lawyers places us at the head of the market and presents exciting opportunities to grow our practice in Africa as the continent continues to become a more significant part of the global economy. We also look forward to developing and nurturing a good relationship with the many top notch clients that the new team brings with them.”
Joseph Tato, Chairman of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s Africa Practice Group and Johannesburg Policy Committee commented, “The team’s arrival is a major step for our Johannesburg office, and more broadly our practice across Africa. We are one of the few international law firms with an office in Africa and our strategy to date has largely been to target energy clients and project finance work across the continent. This has been a great success and Morné and Wildu’s highly regarded team now brings significant new dimensions to the services we can offer our clients. We have always wanted to offer a broader range of services in our Johannesburg office to South African and other clients and our team on the ground gives us a unique opportunity to do that, especially in areas such as corporate M&A, mining and natural resources, banking and financial services, corporate finance and securities and capital markets.”
Mr. van der Merwe added, “We’re very excited to be joining the firm. Dewey & LeBoeuf is well established as a leading firm in Africa, with highly experienced individuals based across the firm’s international offices, as well as on the ground in Johannesburg. We look forward to working alongside the existing members of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s strong global natural resources practice and building on the firm’s reputation for excellence.”
Mr. du Plessis commented, “Dewey & LeBoeuf’s finance practice is widely-recognized for its international reach, its many first class lawyers and the leading financial institutions that make up its client base. The combination with our own experience and contacts promises to create great opportunities for growth and high quality new mandates.”
Opened in 2000, Dewey & LeBoeuf’s Johannesburg office specializes in working with clients in the energy, mining, power, telecommunications and infrastructure sectors and has advised on matters in more than 40 African countries. Recent highlights have included advising South Africa’s national utility Eskom on its US$1.75 billion bond offering in January 2011; advising ZESCO Ltd, Zambia’s national electricity utility, on the Kariba North Bank Extension hydro power project, which reached financial close in May 2011; advising the Overseas Private Investment Corporation on its award winning financing of ContourGlobal’s “quad gen” power plants across Africa and Europe; and playing a leading role as advisor to private sector participants on the development of South Africa’s renewable energy programme.
