The awards are adjudicated by an independent panel made up of general counsel and other senior members of the legal community.
South Africa's outgoing Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, was awarded the Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa Achievement Award.
South African firm, Webber Wenztel took home four awards, including Attornery of the Year, which went to a member of their pro bono team, Odette Geldenhuys. The company had been shortlisted in 13 categories, receiving a total of 14 nominations, the highest number for a single firm in this year's awards.
“A special acknowledgement goes to two of our lawyers, Odette Geldenhuys, winner of the Attorney of the Year award and Pooja Dela, who was nominated for the same award, for their outstanding work in the pro bono space in the last year. Both are also in the running for the IBA Pro Bono Award 2016, which will be announced in Washington DC later this month,” said Christo Els, senior partner at Webber Wentzel.
In an impressive showing, ENSafrica won three of the four categories in which it was nominated. Newly-rebranded Bowmans also picked up three awards.
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa Achievement Award | Thuli Madonsela |
| International Law Firm of the Year | Clifford Chance |
| African Law Firm of the Year - Large Practice | Anjarwalla & Khanna |
| African Law Firm of the Year - Small Practice | AB & David |
| African Network of the Year | DLA Piper Africa |
| Legal Department of the Year - Large Team | Standard Chartered Bank |
| Legal Department of the Year - Small Team | AFGRI Group |
| General Counsel of the Year | Josie Lyon, Protea Hotel Group |
| Senior Corporate Counsel of the Year | Christian Kallenbach, Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Junior Corporate Counsel of the Year | Tammi McMahon-Panther, Procter & Gamble |
| Attorney of the Year | Odette Geldenhuys, Webber Wentzel |
| Innovation Award | Norton Rose Fulbright |
| CSR Initiative of the Year | Hogan Lovells |
| Diversity Initiative of the Year | Webber Wentzel |
| M&A Team of the Year | Webber Wentzel |
| Banking Finance & Restructuring Team of the Year | Bowmans |
| Restructuring Team of the Year | ENSafrica |
| Competition and Regulatory Team of the Year | ENSafrica |
| Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team of the Year | Shepstone & Wylie |
| Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources Team of the Year | Baker & McKenzie |
| TMT Team of the Year | Webber Wentzel |
| Employment Team of the Year | Bowmans |
| IP Team of the Year | ENSafrica |
| Transportation and Infrastructure Team of the Year | DLA Piper and IKM |
| Property Team of the Year | Bowmans |
| Construction Team of the Year | White & Case and Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr |
