Baker McKenzie’s Employment team was named the Employment Team of the Year at Legal Week’s African Legal Awards ceremony on Friday 6 September.

The Employment Practice in Johannesburg was part core advisory team for Maersk’s multi-jurisdictional merger. The Johannesburg team was led by Johan Botes, Partner and Head of the Employment Practice, and included Tracy Robbins, Senior Associate, who was responsible for the project. The team ran the project in respect of African jurisdictions, and together with the Dutch team of Mirjam de Blécourt, Partner in Amsterdam, and Gerhard Wentink, Director of Business Development in Amsterdam, were the central team that managed the project globally.

The team assisted Maersk Line in a global, multi-jurisdictional merger of Maersk and Damco, which spanned 14 African jurisdictions and 134 jurisdictions globally. This was the next step in Maersk's journey to become a global, integrated container transport and logistics company and enabled it to offer more solutions to customers in its 14 African jurisdictions.
 
The firm was also highly commended in the Environmental & Renewables Team of the Year award for advising the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), a fund focused on the development of sub-Saharan Africa's renewable energy industry. The team advised on the development and funding of five separate transactions involving technologies ranging from solar, hydro, biomass and mini-grid projects.
 
Further, Bridgett Majola was highly commended in the Private Practice Rising Star Category. A Senior Associate in the Banking & Finance Practice in Johannesburg, Bridgett has previously been named one of Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans and has also been identified as a Global Shaper for the World Economic Forum.  She has also served as the National President of the South African arm of United Nations-affiliated Junior Chamber International (JCI) in 2017 as well as chairperson of the Future Leaders Network, under the auspices of the International Project Finance Association.
 
Morne van der Merwe, Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg, comments on these wins, “Congratulations to our Employment team for bringing home the Team of the Year Award. Baker McKenzie is known for its expertise in advising the most complex cross-border, multijurisdictional deals in Africa and a win for this major transaction is a perfect example of the way in which we are able to fluently co-ordinate our legal services across our global offices and work as an integrated team.
 
Well done also to our  Energy, Mining & Infrastructure team and to Bridgett Majola for being highly commended in their categories. It is fantastic to see our legal expertise being recognised in this way.”
 
Baker McKenzie’s Global Head of Africa, Esteban Raventos adds, “We excel in cross-border deals in Africa and it is always rewarding to be acknowledged for our hard work in the region. In Africa and around the world, we are known as a transactional powerhouse, closing three global deals per day. Our unrivalled activity has allowed us to give advice on some of the most important transactions over the last few years. We are proud to be working to help develop a sustainable future for the continent."