The outstanding legal expertise of preeminent African law firm, Bowmans, has been lauded in the Legal500 Europe, Middle East and Africa Report for 2025, which was released earlier today (26 March 2025).

Bowmans achieved a total of 87 rankings in this prestigious publication, which provides a who’s-who guide to the best law firms and top lawyers in the world.

Bowmans’ rankings include recognitions in 21 legal areas with 13 in Tier 1, which is the highest possible rating in the report. The firm’s lawyers were also highlighted, with 63 (up from 51 last year) individuals receiving 66 rankings: 11 lawyers being included in the prestigious 'hall of fame' category; 28 being identified as 'leading partners'; 20 being listed as 'next generation partners'; and seven being ranked in the leading associate category.

The Legal500’s comprehensive research process involves a team of researchers assessing the strengths of law firms in over 150 jurisdictions on a series of criteria, including feedback from clients.

Chairman and senior partner, Ezra Davids, says, ‘It’s very pleasing to see Bowmans’ deep strength and breadth of legal, transactional and disputes expertise recognised by the Legal500. This acknowledgment reflects the hard work, dedication, detailed knowledge and creativity of our team members across multiple practice areas and jurisdictions.’

Some of the client comments in the report include the facts that:

• Kenya: The ‘broad’ services of Bowmans’ dispute resolution team ‘reflect the department’s growing capacity for dispute mandates. This includes regulatory compliance, including anti-corruption and anti-money laundering, international commercial arbitrations, insolvencies, and employment litigation’.
• Kenya: ‘Clients praise the ‘top calibre country experts’ in the projects team at Bowmans, which stands out for its expertise in energy sector-related projects, including solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and oil and gas power generation, alongside its activity in the agriculture and public utility sectors. The team boasts a breadth of projects expertise, being involved in project transactions, investments, due diligence, and PPPs.’
• South Africa: Bowmans’ Banking and Finance Department ‘continues to handle a high volume of sustainability-linked funding transactions and large-scale restructurings. Cross-border mandates are prominent in the ‘responsive and knowledgeable’ team’s workload, and the group is well versed in representing borrowers and lenders in complex matters.’
• South Africa: ‘The M&A practice at Bowmans is ‘distinguished by its deep expertise and extensive experience in handling complex transactions.’
• Mauritius: ‘The corporate and banking and finance teams offer M&A and transaction support to both domestic and international financial institutions such as private equity firms and major banks.’
• Tanzania: ‘Bowmans is a full-service firm, housing a team with ‘an attentive and pragmatic approach’ and established strength in acting for clients in the financial services, mining and tourism areas, among others.’
• Zambia: ‘Recently expanding its dispute resolution practice, Bowmans Zambia delivers ‘robust and dynamic’ advice in banking and finance, as well as corporate matters.’

Davids concludes, ‘These results underscore our commitment to delivering high-quality, client-focused legal services across Africa. We remain dedicated to building on this success, continuously evolving to meet our clients' needs, and maintaining our position as the preeminent African law firm.’