Herbert Smith Freehills expands South African office with three senior hires

Global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills today announced that three leading South African lawyers will join the firm in its Johannesburg office. The hires – two partners and a senior consultant – are bringing well established teams with them, resulting in a total of 13 appointments.

Expanding Herbert Smith Freehills’ corporate, competition and technology & telecoms offerings, the three senior hires bring a total of 77 years' experience advising high-profile South African and global companies.

Ross Lomax, a seasoned corporate transactions lawyer with a track record of advising on M&A deals focusing on the mining and renewable energy sectors, joins the firm on 1 August, together with a five-strong team. He brings the experience of developing a practice in the area of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), a key economic driver of commercial activity in South Africa that covers all industries and sectors, and will be the second M&A partner in Johannesburg, after Rudolph du Plessis joined the firm in 2016. Ross comes to the firm from Norton Rose Fulbright in South Africa, where he was Head of Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions.

Nick Altini joined the firm as a partner on 1 July from Baker & McKenzie, where he headed the firm's South African competition practice. He brings a track record of advising high-profile companies on competition law as well as providing regulatory and compliance advice across the advertising, airline, entertainment and gaming sectors. Nick brings extensive experience in developing teams and is set to play a key role in the firm's graduate recruitment going forward. He joined with director, Leana Engelbrecht. Together they add significantly to the bench strength of the firm's competition, regulation and trade practice.

Rohan Isaacs joined Herbert Smith Freehills in June as a senior consultant alongside one other technology and privacy law specialist. With a focus on outsourcing, system implementation, public procurement and privacy he will support the expansion of the Johannesburg office's TMT offering. Rohan was most recently the head of the TMT practice at Norton Rose Fulbright in South Africa.

These are the latest in a series of high-profile hires for the Johannesburg office, which has grown to a total team of about 70 since it opened in October 2015. By joining, Ross and Nick bring the number of partners in the office to seven.

Ed Baring, managing partner of the Johannesburg office, said: "Client demand for expertise and advice on mergers and acquisitions, competition and innovation through technology is constantly rising and we are meeting this demand by building our offer across the firm. The additions of Ross, Nick, Rohan and their teams, all of whom enjoy unparalleled reputations in the market, serve to demonstrate our determination to provide clients with access to the highest-quality advice under one roof."

Over the past 30 years, Herbert Smith Freehills has established a leading position in Africa, acting on matters in all of Africa's 54 countries. With one of the largest teams of common and civil law lawyers dedicated to Africa work, the firm operates across a large number of sectors in Africa, including energy, mining, TMT, banks, consumer and retail, and financial buyers.

The launch of the Johannesburg office – and its subsequent growth and success – has further strengthened the firm's Africa practice. Consistently placed in the top tier by Chambers and Legal 500, Herbert Smith Freehills has more ranked lawyers for Projects & Energy Africa in Chambers Global than any other firm.