Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer celebrates 10 years of success and growth in Johannesburg

Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer celebrates the 10th anniversary of the opening of its Johannesburg office, affirming a decade of sustained growth and commitment to the African legal market.

Since opening its doors in November 2015, the Johannesburg office has grown significantly to a present-day team of 125 dedicated professionals with 51 lawyers, including nine partners. The latest to join were Corporate partner Ziyanda Ntshona, Projects, Energy and Infrastructure director Spencer Naicker and Corporate director Tebogo Moloko.

The HSF Kramer Johannesburg practice offers expertise across multiple domains including Corporate, Competition, Corporate Crime and Investigations, Disputes, ESG, Projects, Energy and Infrastructure, Mining as well as Digital Legal Delivery.

The firm's clients, including many Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies, benefit from on-the-ground advice from the Johannesburg team and the firm's relationship law firms in Africa, alongside access to the firm’s Africa Practice comprising approximately 200 partners across its global network.

Jean Meijer, Johannesburg Managing Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, commented: “South Africa continues to play a critical role as a hub for international investment into Africa. While the market has faced challenges, it remains a jurisdiction with extraordinary resilience. In a relatively short time, our Johannesburg office has grown exponentially and I am proud of the progress we continue to make, expanding our teams with top talent and providing clients with best-in-class service."

The Johannesburg office regularly advises on high profile innovative and cross-border matters, including:

• Absa, Nedbank, FirstRand, and Standard Bank, Afrexim and EAIF (represented by Ninety One) (the lenders), and the ECA, ECIC, on the Beitbridge Border Improvement Project in Zimbabwe. The lenders were a combination of South African commercial banks and DFIs, with support from the South African ECA, ECIC (Africa Project Finance Deal of the Year - IFLR Africa Awards 2021 - Beitbridge Border Post Modernisation Zimbabwe).
• Engie and G7 Renewable Energies in respect of the OYA Hybrid Renewable Energy project as part of the Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme. The project is for a hybrid renewable energy project that is comprised of wind, solar and BESS and is fully centrally dispatched, creating a quasi-baseload power solution out of renewable energy.
• Engie Southern Africa, Scatec Solar Africa, Total Energies Hydra Storage & EDF Renewables Investment in High Court proceedings launched by a local solar photovoltaic systems manufacturer (ArtSolar) against all of the major Independent Power Producers (IPPs) who were successful bidders for the development and construction of solar power plants in the Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme and the Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme, Bid Windows 5 and 6.
• Exxaro on its Black Economic Empowerment Transaction and maintaining Eyesizwe (RF) Proprietary Limited's 30.81% shareholding in Exxaro until 2027.
• MultiChoice and the BEE investors in respect of the mandatory public takeover offer made by Canal+ to acquire the shares in MultiChoice that were not held by Canal+ (DealMakersSA 2024 Deal of the Year).
• South32 in relation to an earn-in agreement and strategic alliance with Noronex to accelerate copper exploration in Namibia.
• Standard Bank, Standard New York Securities, Standard Americas and certain HSBC entities in defence of a complaint by the Competition Commission of South Africa, in which it is alleged that a number of local and international banks engaged in price fixing and market division in foreign exchange trading involving the USD/ZAR pair. The matter has been litigated in various fora since 2017 and was most recently heard by the Constitutional Court in August 2025.

Nina Bowyer, EMEA Managing Partner for Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, commented: "The Johannesburg office plays an important role in our EMEA platform as it enables us to reach domestic and international clients across the African continent. With strong disputes and transactional expertise as well as deep sector knowledge, the Johannesburg team's capabilities enhance our offering to clients across key cross-continental business corridors."