Herbert Smith Freehills further strengthens South Africa offering with addition of leading CC&I hire

Herbert Smith Freehills has further bolstered its rapidly growing Johannesburg office, with the addition of Disputes Director Cameron Dunstan-Smith who will join the firm's Corporate Crime and Investigations practice.

Cameron joins Herbert Smith Freehills from Bowmans, where he was a Partner in the Governance, Compliance & Investigations practice.

Cameron has carved out a successful career in investigations and compliance over the past 12 years and his extensive experience includes fraud and corruption investigations, compliance, governance and regulatory matters, FCPA and UK Bribery Act compliance advice and due diligence, anti-money laundering compliance and investigations.  He has also worked in multiple African jurisdictions, the UK, East Asia, Europe and the United States on a variety of investigations and has provided advice to regulators in South Africa, the United States and the UK.

The news comes just months after the firm added its first dispute resolution component to its rapidly growing Africa presence, with the arrival, at partner-equivalent level, of leading disputes lawyer Jonathan Ripley-Evans, together with associate Fiorella Noriega Del Valle – both from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH).

Herbert Smith Freehills has expanded rapidly in South Africa, after setting up its office in Johannesburg in October 2015. Highly respected energy and infrastructure finance lawyer Brigette Baillie and Peter Leon - one of the top twenty mining lawyers in the world - were first to be recruited to the firm's office. They both joined Herbert Smith Freehills from South African firm Webber Wentzel, where Brigette was head of the Energy and Infrastructure Sector Group, and Peter head of Mining Regulation.

In May 2016 the firm appointed corporate lawyer, Rudolph du Plessis, as partner in its Johannesburg office from Bowmans, where he had been a partner since 2001. In February 2017 the firm added two further market-leading lawyers - competition Partner Jean Meijer and Project Finance Consultant Biddy Faber to its offering.

Jean joined Herbert Smith Freehills from Bowmans, where she was a Partner for over 10 years and served as head and co-head of the Competition Practice. Biddy joined from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, where she was director (often a term used in South Africa to describe Partner) of the Finance and Banking practice.

Meanwhile, Herbert Smith Freehills Partners Ed Baring and Bertrand Montembault have also both relocated to the Johannesburg office. They were Head of the firm's Banking and Finance practice in Moscow and Head of the Paris Energy and Infrastructure practice respectively. 

Ed Baring, Managing Partner of the Johannesburg office said: "We welcome Cameron to the firm and we look forward to working with him. His breadth of experience in investigations and compliance will be a great addition to our South Africa office and the wider Africa practice, as well as our leading global network."

Commenting on his move to Herbert Smith Freehills, Cameron added: "Being part of a leading Global Disputes Practice is a fantastic opportunity for me. The strength and quality of the firm's global network will enable me to offer clients a comprehensive range of expertise from one point of contact."

Our leading Africa practice has been built over 30 years and is serviced by partners from across our global network of offices, including Johannesburg. We have one of the largest teams of common and civil law lawyers dedicated to Africa work who advise across all key industry sectors, including Energy, Mining, TMT, Banks, Consumer & Retail and Financial Buyers. With experience advising in all of Africa's 54 jurisdictions, we have a thorough understanding of the continent's local and regional legal systems, business practices, local cultures and socio-political considerations, and of the issues and realities of doing business in Africa.