Four kinds of moment, recognisable to the operators they happen to. The firm is brought
in early in each of them, when there is still time for judgement to matter.
The institutional engagement
Counsel to boards and chairs. Governance under the PFMA, Companies Act and King Code.
Engagement with the Public Protector, the Information Regulator, the IEC, the SAHRC,
broadcasting regulators, and the public entities themselves. The work here is to keep
the institution intact while the dispute is resolved: at the table, on the record,
before the matter reaches a hearing or a headline. By the time outside counsel has
been called, half the strategy is already in motion.
The transaction with regulatory weight
Acquisitions, restructurings and shareholder arrangements where the deal turns on more
than the term sheet. Cross-border holding structures. BBBEE ownership and skills work
where the structure has to survive a competition authority and a Department review at
the same time. Banking and control provisions written to hold up at year five, not just
at signature.
The dispute against an institution
High Court and urgent applications. PAJA reviews of administrative decisions taken by
organs of state. Labour matters where the federation is the counterparty and the
ground is political as much as legal. Defamation and broadcasting complaints where the
forum chooses the outcome. The firm writes its own pleadings, runs its own settlement
strategy, and goes to court when there is a reason to.
The estate that mirrors the operating business
Divorce, succession and antenuptial work for principals whose personal estate sits
inside a trust, an operating company, or a family-business structure. Contested
estates where the operating business has to keep running while the dispute is heard.
The same advisor on the personal file and the commercial one, because in this kind of
business that line was never real.
Tell us. The firm will say plainly whether it is the right brief for this kind of work,
or whether someone else is. Either is a useful answer.
