Legal support that moves
with your business.
From daily operational advice to complex disputes and long-term protection, our counsel is tailored to your particular needs and objectives.
Commercial & Corporate
Pragmatic legal structures, agreements and governance built around the reality of your business.
Litigation & Arbitration
Deliberate dispute strategy, rigorous preparation and confident representation when the stakes are high.
Intellectual Property
Protection for the names, ideas and commercial assets that make your business distinct.
Employment & Labour
Clear employment frameworks, compliant policies and considered support through workplace disputes.
Risk & Compliance
Practical guidance across Companies Act, POPIA, consumer protection and regulatory exposure.
Succession & Structuring
Legal continuity for ownership transitions, key stakeholders, personal assets and long-term growth.
Tender Disputes
Focused legal support when a public procurement process is unfair, irregular or unlawfully decided.
Calculated counsel for business, risk and growth.
Cerebro Building
516 Peter Mokaba Ridge
Essenwood, Durban
Commercial & Corporate
Build agreements and governance around how your business actually operates, from its first shareholders to its next transaction.
How we can help
- Drafting and reviewing shareholder, supply, distribution, service and confidentiality agreements.
- Aligning decision-making powers, board resolutions and shareholder arrangements with the company’s Memorandum of Incorporation.
- Reviewing commercial risk in a proposed investment, business sale or ownership change, including due-diligence priorities.
The South African context
The Companies Act 71 of 2008 provides the framework for South African companies, including governance and directors’ duties. A contract review also considers the transaction and any legislation that applies to the parties; a standard template is rarely the whole answer.
General information. The scope of an engagement and advice depend on your circumstances.
Litigation & Arbitration
Choose a dispute strategy with the commercial outcome, evidence and cost of each step in view.
How we can help
- Assessing the claim or defence, relevant documents, urgency and the appropriate forum.
- Preparing demands, responses and settlement proposals, and considering negotiation or mediation where suitable.
- Advice and preparation for court proceedings or arbitration, with representation and specialist counsel scoped to the matter.
The South African context
Domestic arbitration is generally governed by the Arbitration Act 42 of 1965. International commercial arbitration has a separate framework under the International Arbitration Act 15 of 2017. The agreement and applicable law determine the route; arbitration is not automatically faster or less expensive. Time limits and urgent remedies must be assessed promptly.
General information. The scope of an engagement and advice depend on your circumstances.
Intellectual Property
Identify the rights behind your brand, work and commercial know-how, then decide how to protect and use them.
How we can help
- Reviewing ownership of commissioned work and intellectual property created by employees or contractors.
- Drafting licences, assignments and confidentiality terms, and assessing misuse or infringement concerns.
- Planning trade mark protection and coordinating specialist registration advice where patents or registered designs are relevant.
The South African context
South African trade marks, patents, designs and copyright protect different things. Copyright generally arises automatically in qualifying work; it is not a general registration system for ideas. Registrability, ownership and territorial protection require separate assessment before commercial disclosure or expansion.
General information. The scope of an engagement and advice depend on your circumstances.
Employment & Labour
Support sound workplace decisions with clear documents, fair processes and advice suited to the dispute.
How we can help
- Reviewing employment agreements, workplace policies and day-to-day employment obligations.
- Advising on disciplinary, incapacity and operational-requirements processes before decisions are taken.
- Preparing for conciliation and dispute proceedings, including assessing the forum and representation rules that apply.
The South African context
South African employment matters must be considered under the Labour Relations Act, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and other applicable rules. Unfair-dismissal referrals ordinarily have a 30-day time limit; late referrals require condonation. The correct forum may be a bargaining council or the CCMA, and entitlement to legal representation depends on the proceedings.
General information. The scope of an engagement and advice depend on your circumstances.
Risk & Compliance
Turn legal obligations into practical responsibilities, records and decisions within your business.
How we can help
- Mapping information flows and reviewing privacy notices, service-provider arrangements and internal accountability.
- Assessing governance and contractual controls, and identifying areas that need a focused specialist review.
- Developing a prioritised action plan and helping the business prepare for information-security incidents.
The South African context
POPIA sets conditions for the lawful processing of personal information. Compliance requires appropriate practices as well as documents, including accountability, purpose, safeguards and attention to data-subject rights. The obligations that apply depend on your activities, information and role; a policy alone does not establish compliance.
General information. The scope of an engagement and advice depend on your circumstances.
Succession & Structuring
Plan for changes in ownership and key people while keeping business continuity and personal arrangements aligned.
How we can help
- Reviewing shareholder exit, transfer and buy-and-sell arrangements alongside the company’s governing documents.
- Considering how wills, trust arrangements and business ownership fit together, with specialist tax advice where needed.
- Identifying authority, document and handover gaps that could disrupt operations when a key person leaves or dies.
The South African context
Trust administration falls under the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988 and the Master’s supervision. Deceased estates follow their own administration process. Business assets, personally held shares and trust property should be distinguished when planning succession; placing an arrangement in a will does not remove estate-administration requirements.
General information. The scope of an engagement and advice depend on your circumstances.
Tender Disputes
Protect your position when a public procurement process goes wrong—from irregular tender requirements and unfair evaluation to unlawful awards and contract implementation.
How we can help
- Reviewing tender documents, specifications, evaluation criteria and procurement processes to identify irregularities, inconsistencies or unfair treatment.
- Advising on appropriate remedies, including objections, representations, internal challenges, PAIA requests, reviews and urgent court applications where necessary.
- Assessing the legality of an award or procurement decision, including concerns relating to evaluation, preferential procurement, conflicts of interest, responsiveness and deviations from the stated process.
- Preparing focused correspondence, legal opinions and court papers designed to protect your commercial position while pursuing an appropriate remedy.
The South African context
Public procurement is governed by constitutional principles of fairness, transparency, competitiveness and cost-effectiveness. A tender award must be made in accordance with the applicable procurement framework and the rules that governed the particular process. Where an irregularity has materially affected the process or outcome, affected bidders may have remedies under administrative law, procurement legislation and the applicable tender conditions.
The appropriate response depends on the stage of the procurement process, the nature of the irregularity and whether an award or contract has already been implemented. Early legal intervention can be critical in preserving an effective remedy.
Protect your opportunity
A tender dispute can have a direct impact on revenue, market access and your ability to compete. If you believe a procurement process has been unfair, irregular or unlawfully decided, get advice before the opportunity is lost. We help businesses assess their position quickly, identify the commercially meaningful issues and take proportionate action to protect the opportunity.