Webber Wentzel > Johannesburg, South Africa > Firm Profile

Webber Wentzel > The Legal 500 Rankings

South Africa > Banking and finance Tier 1

At Webber Wentzel, the banking and finance team has solid experience in advising on debt capital markets matters, which are a core area of strength for Lindi Marais. The group is also well-versed in handling debt finance mandates for banks and development finance institutions. Marais co-heads the practice with Khurshid Fazel, who is sought after by borrowers and lenders to advise on acquisition financing, restructuring and leveraged finance work. Preference share funding transactions are prominent in Kathy Shepherd‘s workload, and Rashaad Carrim brings expertise in advising on transactions in the mining sector.

South Africa > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 1

Webber Wentzel‘s corporate team garners praise for its ‘in-depth understanding‘, and has a strong offering in transactional and advisory corporate matters. BEE transactions are prominent in practice head Safiyya Patel‘s workload, and Gareth Driver is well known for handling securities, corporate finance, joint ventures and corporate governance work. Firm managing partner Sally Hutton is sought after for her private equity expertise, and Jesse Watson is a key contact for consumer and retail sector clients for equity capital markets and securities regulatory matters. Christo Els is highly regarded for his strength in handling large-scale, cross-border transactions across sub-Saharan Africa.

South Africa > Competition Tier 1

Led by Mark Garden, Webber Wentzel‘s ‘agile‘ team handles cross-border transactions, multi-jurisdictional merger applications, abuse of dominance claims, and investigations brought by the Competition Commission. Robert Wilson‘s workload includes merger control mandates involving public interest considerations, while Shawn Van Der Meulen has established strength in advising on prohibited practices cases. Daryl Dingley is a highly regarded competition law practitioner, with an excellent track record in assisting with the full range of competition law issues, and Martin Versfeld is well versed in advising on high-profile, pan-African competition cases. Burton Phillips and Clare-Alice Vertue are other key contacts. Gina Lodolo joined the team in March 2024.

South Africa > Dispute resolution Tier 1

Headed up by Sarah McKenzie, the dispute resolution practice at Webber Wentzel is home to a ‘solution driven and very accessible‘ team. International and domestic arbitration is a key driver of work for the group, which is experienced in class action litigation and contentious business rescue proceedings. Trevor Versfeld is a highly regarded practitioner in the space, and specialises in handling disputes for clients in the financial services sector. Class action disputes are a key area of instruction for Nick Alp, and Lionel van Tonder brings extensive experience in advising on large, cross-border investigations. The ‘excellent‘ Maria Philippides fields expertise in contractual litigation and insurance disputes. Vlad Movshovich regularly handles complex international arbitration.

South Africa > Employment Tier 1

At Webber Wentzel, the ‘knowledgeable and experienced‘ team has established expertise in handling a wide spectrum of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters, and is well regarded for its strength in advising on employee benefits cases. Kate Collier heads up the practice and is a key contact for workplace health and safety mandates, while the ‘exceptional practitioner‘ Lizle Louw has extensive experience in acting for mining sector entities on collective and individual labour law issues. Andries Kruger handles unfair dismissal disputes, retrenchments, employment contracts, and collective agreements, while Dhevarsha Ramjettan acts on restraint of trade cases. Johan Olivier and Nick Robb have excellent track records in appearing before the Labour Courts and Siya Ngcamu regularly advises on labour law disputes.

South Africa > Investment funds Tier 1

The 'brilliant' investment funds team at Webber Wentzel, led by Michael Denenga, acts from within the firm’s private equity practice, which is led by Nicole Paige. Denenga has an excellent track record in advising on the formation of Africa-focused investment funds, and is equally adept at handling cross-jurisdictional fund formation mandates. Paige is a key contact for secondary fund transactions, and Ashford Nyatsumba regularly acts for private equity firms and asset managers in private equity fund formation matters across a range of sectors, including healthcare and infrastructure.

South Africa > Mining Tier 1

Webber Wentzel‘s well-regarded mining practice is led by regulatory expert Jonathan Veeran and department deputy Rita Spalding, who has a solid track record in handling corporate and M&A matters and restructuring work in the mining sector. Kate Collier is very experienced in advising on health and safety issues in the space, and Bruce Dickinson has an excellent reputation for handling a broad range of mining matters. Giada Masina is a key contact in the group for high-profile mining transactions.

South Africa > Shipping and transport Tier 1

The shipping practice at Webber Wentzel has extensive experience in advising on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious maritime work. Insurers, shipowners, charterers, port owners and operators, and agents are included in the client base, and the team regularly assists with, among other areas, international trade issues, ship arrests, maritime casualties, enforcement of maritime claims and commercial shipping transactions. The practice is jointly led by Patrick Holloway, the ‘technically outstanding‘ Andre Bowley and Gavin Fitzmaurice, ‘one of the most commercially-savvy maritime lawyers in the international market‘. On the aviation side, the group is jointly led by Neerasha Singh, who is well versed in handling aviation finance, and Scott Edmundson, who has a solid track record in assisting banks, export credit agencies and airlines with a broad range of financing matters. The team is equally strong at advising on the import and export of aircraft among other aviation regulatory issues.

South Africa > Tax Tier 1

The ‘very strong and knowledgeable‘ tax team at Webber Wentzel is headed up by the ‘practical‘ Brian Dennehy, who specialises in corporate tax; Dennehy is supported by Cor Kraamwinkel, who is ‘incredibly knowledgeable across various tax matters‘ and has recognised expertise in international tax. Shirleen Ritchie is very experienced in assisting private equity and regulatory sector entities with corporate tax issues, and regularly advises on the tax aspects of complex transactions. Lumen Moolman‘s workload includes handing the tax aspects of corporate restructurings, and Chetan Vanmali is a key contact for VAT matters. Anne Bennett brings expertise in international tax planning, including private equity fund structuring issues.

South Africa > Construction Tier 2

Webber Wentzel‘s construction team is commended as ‘knowledgeable of the law and the construction industry‘. Practice head Tyron Theessen focuses on handling construction and engineering transactional matters for mining, energy, infrastructure, and property sector entities. Sarah McKenzie is well versed in complex arbitration, and Jennifer Eborall has expertise in infrastructure matters. Ofentse Mazibuko is experienced in advising on cross-border construction transactions. Nazia Dinat departed the firm in January 2025.

South Africa > Intellectual property Tier 2

Headed by Peter Grealy, Webber Wentzel‘s key team members include Leanne Mostert, who is versed transactional IP matters and Bernadette Versfeld who handles trade marks, patents, copyrights, and designs. Tim Ball is a strong choice for pharmaceutical clients on patent litigation, while Carla Dennehy handles the monetisation of IP and data assets.

South Africa > Projects and infrastructure Tier 2

Jason van der Poel heads up the project finance and development practice at Webber Wentzel, and is very well known for assisting lenders, sponsors and contractors with limited recourse project financings, power purchase agreements and public-private partnerships. Calvin Nchabeleng advises state-owned entities, private entities and governments on infrastructure and energy projects, and has particular strength in assisting private sector client with private power purchase transactions. Hielien Venter‘s broad practice takes in assisting energy, water, and transport sector entities with all aspects of infrastructure projects. Mmotlana Kgoadi brings expertise in handling project development for project finance transactions. Makgati Makgatho is well versed in assisting cross-border state entities with public-private partnerships relating to prominent infrastructure projects. Danielle van der Vaart joined the team in April 2024, and Emma Bleeker left the firm in March 2025.

South Africa > Real estate Tier 2

The ‘detail-oriented, always accessible and responsive‘ real estate team at Webber Wentzel is very well known for handling the full life-cycle of property matters, with notable strength in real estate transactions. Practice head Sulani Jooste is ‘always on top of the details and ensures transactions are seamless for her client‘. Mark McIntosh is a key contact for financial services, mining and hospitality clients, and counts sectional title schemes and commercial finance notarial and mortgage bonds as key areas of strength. Abdul Allie is ‘absolutely superb‘; Venashrie Mannar assists with the the land-related aspects of renewable energy transactions and the registration of transfers; and Desiree Bayman‘s practice includes conveyancing issues, commercial property transactions and issues relating to land usage.