Jump to content

Bowmans (law firm)

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bowmans
No. of offices9
No. of attorneys650
No. of employees1150
Major practice areasCorporate Law Firm
Key peopleEzra Davids (chairman and senior partner)
Alan Keep (managing partner)
Date founded1885
FounderDouglas Flemmer Gilfillan, Richard Bowman
Websitewww.bowmanslaw.com

Bowmans is a global law firm headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.[1][2] Staffed by over 650 lawyers, it comprises nine offices in six African countries: South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Mauritius, and Kenya.[1] It is one of the so-called Big Five law firms in South Africa.

The legal practice comprises the following law firms: Coulson Harney LLP (Kenya), Koep & Partners (Namibia),[3] Bowmans Mauritius (Mauritius), Bowman Gilfillan (South Africa), Bowmans Tanzania (Tanzania) and B&M Legal Practitioners (Zambia). Bowmans offices are located in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town, South Africa; Swakopmund and Windhoek, Namibia; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Lusaka, Zambia; Moka, Mauritius; and Nairobi, Kenya.[1]

Bowmans has signed alliance agreements with Aman & Partners LLP in Ethiopia and Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie in Nigeria and has a non-exclusive co-operation agreement with French international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel.

It is a representative of Lex Mundi, a global association of independent law firms in more than 125 countries.

History

[edit]

Bowman Gilfillan was formed through the merger in 1998 of three law firms – Bowman Gilfillan Hayman Godfrey (established 1902), Findlay & Tait (established 1885) and John & Kernick (established 1923).[citation needed]

In January 2025, 57 former members of A&O Shearman, including 14 partners, joined Bowmans.[4][5] This was after A&O Shearman announced that they would shut down their South African operations.[6]

Major deals

[edit]

In 2009, the firm advised Bharti Airtel, India's largest cellular services provider in their proposed acquisition of the MTN Group, the largest announced but uncompleted merger in South Africa's history with a value of $23 billion.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "About Us". Bowmans. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Bowmans". Chambers and Partners. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Bowmans enters Namibia". African Law & Business. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Bowmans welcomes legal team from A&O Shearman South Africa in strategic expansion". Bowmans. 6 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  5. ^ Andrew, Mizner (3 October 2024). "A&O Shearman Johannesburg partners to join Bowmans". African Law Business. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  6. ^ Mizner, Andrew (9 September 2024). "A&O Shearman to close Johannesburg office". African Law Business. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Bharti shares jump as MTN merger called off". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bowmans_(law_firm)&oldid=1293541833"