African Legal Awards 2018: And the Winners Are …

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The high quality of the legal work taking place in Africa was showcased at The African Legal Awards, which took place in Johannesburg in September.

Baker McKenzie and leading South African firm Bowmans were among the big winners at the awards, with Bowmans picking up four trophies and Baker McKenzie named International Law Firm of the Year for the second year in a row.

The Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa (CCASA) Lifetime Achievement Award went to Justice Edwin Cameron, a former South African constitutional court judge and gay rights campaigner.

Accolades for in-house lawyers and legal teams included General Counsel of the Year, which went to Tinuade Awe of The Nigerian Stock Exchange, while Legal Department of the Year – Large Team went to the African Legal Support Facility, which is affiliated with the African Development Bank and helps African governments negotiate commercial transactions.

The event was jointly hosted by CCASA and Legal Week, and was attended by nearly 300 lawyers from in-house legal departments and law firms.

Click on the links below for full coverage of who won what, including insight into the judging panel’s thinking in each category.

• CCASA Achievement Award: Stellenbosch University Law Clinic

• International Law Firm of the Year: Baker McKenzie

• African Law Firm of the Year – Small Practice: Manokore Attorneys

• African Law Firm of the Year – Large Practice: Bowmans

• Specialist Law Firm of the Year: Harris Hadar Inc.

• Legal Department of the Year – Large Team: Africa Legal Support Facility

• Legal Department of the Year – Small Team: Life Healthcare

• General Counsel of the Year: Tinuade Awe, The Nigerian Stock Exchange

• Senior Corporate Counsel of the Year: Faith Damilola Adesua, Guinness Nigeria Plc.

• Junior Corporate Counsel of the Year: Naomi Kasi Mue, Adrian Group, Kenya

• Attorney of the Year (Partner): Moray Hathorn, Webber Wentzel

• Attorney of the Year (Associate/Assistant Solicitor): Darryl Jago, Hogan Lovells (South Africa)

• African Network/Alliance of the Year: ALN (Africa Legal Network)

• CSR, Diversity, Transformation and Economic Empowerment Award: Webber Wentzel

• Innovation Award: Exigent Limited

• Best Use of Technology: Law For All

• Banking, Finance and Restructuring Team of the Year: Webber Wentzel & Linklaters

• Employment Law Team of the Year: ENSafrica

• Energy & Natural Resources Team of the Year: Bowmans

• Environmental & Renewables Team of the Year: Aluko & Oyebode

• IP Team of the Year: ENSafrica

• Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year: LNP Attorneys Inc.

• M&A Team of the Year: Anjarwalla & Khanna

• Property and Construction Team of the Year: Bowmans

• Transportation and Infrastructure Team of the Year: White & Case

• Competition and Regulatory Team of the Year: ENSafrica

• TMT Team of the Year: Bowmans