Angela Graham

For the third year in a row, business law firm DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr has been ranked first overall and rated South Africa’s most outstanding large law firm in the PMR.africa annual national survey of legal firms. The firm was highest rated on a mean score of 4.36 out of a possible 5.00. According to the PMR.africa, a random sample of 300 respondents who use South Africa’s leading law firms rated DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr first across a range of the 29 most important attributes clients require in a legal firm. PMR.africa is an independent research-based monthly periodical. DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr chief executive officer Brent Williams said, “Our firm has worked hard to stay relevant and innovative in a services environment that has seen increased consolidation, specialisation and globalisation. “We are currently focussed on developing best practice in key practice areas and consolidating our association with DLA Piper Africa group firms on the rest of the continent, thereby providing seamless capability and competence across Africa. “We continue to pursue our strategic objective of being the leading business law firm in our own jurisdiction. This requires that we remain active and visible and, continue to offer well priced capabilities and competencies, in the markets and service areas that remain traditional differentiators and indicators for leading large law firms, namely, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, tax, finance and banking, commercial dispute resolution and arbitration, technology and employment law. “We are thrilled that this vision has been acknowledged by our valued clients,” he added. Over the last ten years, DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr has achieved the No. 1 ranking seven times and has twice been ranked second. ends   URL: http://cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com Twitter: https://twipter.com/DLACDH Facebook: https://facebook.com/DLACDH YouTube: Author: Angela Graham from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. Originally …

The Financial Services Charter (FSC) has been approved to be gazetted as a Financial Services Sector Broad Based BEE Code. According to Dr Robin Woolley, Executive Director of Transcend Corporate Advisors, “After years of not achieving consensus on what the Financial Services Charter should look like, it is significant that the FSC, at this point in time, has been able to converge." “There is now clarity on the way forward for FSC companies, which is welcome at a time of legislating flux in Black Economic Empowerment," he said. Transcend Corporate Advisors is running workshops to help businesses understand the impact of these changes on the BBBEE scorecard. The public sessions on the gazetted BBBEE FSC code will be held January 2013, with 16 and 23 January 2013 provisionally booked for the full day workshops in Johannesburg. Cape Town and Durban workshops will follow thereafter. The corporate advisory firm is also available immediately to assist in-house. Please contact brian@transcend.co.za to indicate your interest in attending the workshop or register at https://www.transcend.co.za/workshops/financial_services_sector_bbbee_codes_session.html. ends More Info: https://www.transcend.co.za Author: Angela Graham from Transcend Corporate Advisors. Originally distributed by MyPR.co.za. No of Images Uploaded: None   …

Johannesburg 21 November 2012 - Parliament’s portfolio committee on labour has released the Employment Equity Amendment Bill (EEAB) and the Employment Services Bill for public comment. When these bills come onto law they will have a significant impact on how employers conduct their business. The public has been invited to provide written submissions on the Bills by no later than 14 December 2012. “Among the many changes made to the current Employment Equity Act, No 55 of 1998, the EEAB introduces a new form of unfair discrimination,” says Johan Botes, Director in the Employment practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. “This will regulate situations where different employment conditions are applied to different employees who do the same or similar work (or work of equal value). Unless the employer can show that differences in wages or other conditions of employment are, in fact, based on fair criteria such as experience, skill and responsibility, such conduct will constitute unfair discrimination,” he explains. Botes says that with regard to affirmative action, the Labour Department (Department) will now have increased powers to fine companies who do not comply with their employment equity obligations. The quantum of fines will be increased and may now also be determined by making reference to the employer’s annual turnover. “Furthermore, the group of people who benefit from affirmative action will now be limited to persons who were citizens of South Africa before the democratic era (or would have been entitled to citizenship, but for the policies of apartheid), and to their descendants. This means that the employment of persons who are foreign nationals, or who have become citizens after April 1994, cannot assist employers to meet their affirmative action targets,” he explains. Mark Meyerowitz, an Associate in the Employment practice, says that the amendments will also affect a company’s use of contract workers. “In line with proposed amendments to the …

In terms of the Electrical Machinery Regulations of 2011 (the Regulations), issued under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, an additional compliance certificate is now required where there is a change of ownership of immovable property. This is according to Muhammad Gattoo, Director in the Real Estate practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. “The compliance certificate relates to electrical fence systems. An electrical fence system, as defined in the Regulations, is an electrified barrier consisting of one or more bare conductors erected against the trespass of persons or animals coupled with electrical machinery arranged so as to deliver a periodic non-lethal amount of electrical energy to an electric fence connected to it,” Gattoo explains. “Regulation 12(4) and 12(5) of the Regulations requires every user or lessor of an electric fence system to have an electric fence system certificate in respect of such electric fence system if it has been installed after 1 October 2012 or, as with an electrical compliance certificate, if any addition or alteration was effected to an existing electric fence system after 1 October 2012. Furthermore, if there is a change of ownership of immovable property on which such electric fence system exists, after 1 October 2012, an electric fence system certificate will be required,” he explains. Gattoo says that the Regulations relating to the change of ownership are not as clear cut as the regulations relating to electrical compliance certificates. The Regulations do not specifically state that the current user or lessor (seller) is responsible for obtaining the electric fence system certificate before transfer, neither does it prohibit transfer of the immovable property from taking place without the certificate. “As the Regulations permit transference of a certificate, it can only be inferred that the seller will be responsible to obtain the electric fence system certificate and will transfer it to the purchaser. …

Interested parties have until 4 December 2012 to submit comments to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on the Revised Codes of Good Practice (COGP), which were published in the Government Gazette at the beginning of October. According to Verushca Pillay, a director in the Corporate and Commercial practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, every individual in South Africa should take the opportunity to comment on and thus contribute to improving the revised COGP. “Failure to do so will result in a missed opportunity to ensure the COGP fulfill their mandate of transformation of individuals and development of the economy,” said Pillay. Pillay noted that comments submitted to the DTI should highlight general errors in the Codes, impracticalities, impossibilities, ambiguities and unintended consequences of the Codes. Comments can be summited via email to xzondo@thedti.gov.za. ‘It is important that the submissions are constructive,” noted Pillay. Lisa Tait, Chairperson of Transcend Corporate Advisors, said that the codes were broadly revised to address obvious errors in the existing COGP. However, there is also the need to make sure that the BEE is aligned to all of Government’s other strategy documents, such as the new growth path, which focuses on national priorities such as job creation, localisation and industrialisation. “However, although Government has expressed its commitment to these broad developmental objectives little or no mention is made of these in the revised COGP. “There is no recognition in the COGP for entities that create jobs, or procurement from other companies that create jobs. There is no mention of localisation, except in the Enterprise and Social Development Pillar, where importers are now included in the target, but there is no further incentive for companies in South Africa to produce or procure local content. “With regards to Local Content, the DTI has attempted to incentivise this through the exclusion of all entities …

The tremendous growth and development of the DLA Piper Africa Group, an alliance of independent law firms in Africa, was celebrated at an event in Johannesburg on 18 October 2012. The event, hosted by DLA Piper Africa Group member Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, was attended by more than 30 leading lawyers from within the Africa Group, DLA Piper lawyers from around the globe, as well as Sir Nigel Knowles, the joint CEO of DLA Piper. "Our specialist lawyers from across the world have worked extensively with DLA Piper Africa Group firms for many years and I am delighted that both the number of firms in the Africa Group, and our global team, have increased in the last 12 months. "With Foreign Direct Investment into Africa expected to grow significantly to US$150 billion by 2015, from countries as diverse as the UK; US; China; India and the Middle East, DLA Piper, with a global footprint of 77 offices, is uniquely placed to share know-how and work seamlessly together with our Africa Group colleagues to develop the leading business law practice across the continent," Sir Nigel said. Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Chairman, Chris Ewing said: "over the past decade, six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world have been in Africa and this rapid growth will continue. DLA Piper Africa Group has been developed to meet the increasing demand for seamless legal services across Africa, combining national and regional knowledge and experience with top global expertise. DLA Piper Africa Group firms have worked together on a number of the largest and most exacting transactions and projects in Africa." James Kamau, Managing Partner of Iseme, Kamau & Maema Advocates, DLA Piper Africa Group member in Kenya explains: "the complexity and size of legal assignments in Africa has increased considerably. With an emphasis on sharing know-how and working and training together, the combination of strong national firms across Africa with the leading global expertise and resource of DLA …

Transcend Corporate Advisors will be holding training sessions around the country to highlight the proposed changes in the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice, the implications for business and how businesses need to prepare. The sessions will be held in Johannesburg on 11th, 17th and 22nd of October 2012 at the Glenhove Conference Centre, in Durban on the 9th of October and 6th of November at the Garden Court Umhlanga and in Cape Town on 10th of October and 16th November at Atlantic Imbizo in the V&A Waterfront. The sessions start at 08h30 and end 13h00 and cost R1250 ex VAT per delegate’ with a 50% discount for NGOs. All delegates will receive a CD containing the proposed changes in searchable format. For more information please contact Brian Hendrikz at Transcend Corporate Advisors on 011 442 2433 or brian@transcend.co.za More Info: https://www.transcend.co.za Author: Brian Hendrikz from Transcend Corporate Advisors. Originally distributed by MyPR.co.za. No of Images Uploaded: None   …

Following international best practice, South African courts are now adopting case management as a valuable tool to achieve speedier dispute resolution. Case management involves court intervention in a process that up to now has been directed almost exclusively by attorneys. In August 2012, at a planning meeting attended by the country's senior judges, a key decision taken was to immediately implement judicial case management so as to involve judges at an early stage to dictate the pace of litigation and prevent postponements and backlogs. According to Willem Janse van Rensburg, Director in the Dispute Resolution Practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, “There are basically two models, one of which results in case management through a committee of judges and the other, the more popular South African model, a case manager being appointed to a particular matter.” Janse van Rensburg explains that case management has proven to be very successful in Hong Kong and Canada. The Hong Kong system incorporates a committee of judges and mandatory mediation as part of their system in dealing with the extremely high volume of cases in that jurisdiction. “The Canadian system on the other hand, involves a master in control of their case management system who calls for case conferences on short notice and exerts pressure on the attorneys to avoid delays and tactical abuse of the legal process. His main objective is to work with the parties, using his powers to narrow and resolve issues through facilitated consensus. He has the power, among other things, to extend or abridge deadlines, to confine parties to genuine disputes, to issue interlocutory directives, and, most importantly, to strike pleadings, dismiss actions and award punitive costs, especially de bonis propriis costs (payable out of the attorneys own pocket). “Our courts seem to be leaning towards the Canadian practice, except that judges, rather than a master, manage cases,” he notes. Shanna Gammie, an Associate in …