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Winners of the 2016 African Legal Awards

12 Sep 2016

The 2016 African Legal Awards were held on Friday, 9 September 2016, at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg. Hosted by Legal Week and the Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa (CCASA), the awards recognise excellence and innovation in the legal profession on the African continent.

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.

Christo Els, senior partner at Webber Wentzel

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.

Complete list of winners

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