Baker McKenzie appoints three partners to augment its South Africa transactional practice

Baker McKenzie appoints three partners to augment its South Africa transactional practice

Baker McKenzie has recently hired three partners in Johannesburg to strengthen its transactional offering in the African market.

Angela Simpson, Lydia Shadrach-Razzino, and Verushca Pillay, who are prominent M&A and private equity practitioners in South Africa, will be joining the firm's corporate practice from local rivals Webber Wentzel, ENSAfrica, and Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr respectively. The three partners bring a wealth of experience in the African market to their new firm.

Lerisha Naidu, the firm's Johannesburg managing partner, termed the trio as highly respected transactional partners while welcoming them to Baker McKenzie's corporate/M&A team.

"These appointments form part of our strategy to grow our African transactional capability in order to service our clients' increasing needs in key markets across the continent," Naidu said.

Simpson, who spent over 17 years at Webber Wentzel, was a partner in the firm. She is an expert in corporate and M&A law, specifically private equity, and advises on all aspects of acquisitions and disposals by public and private entities, including cross-border transactions.

She has experience in regulatory issues such as the Takeover Regulation Panel Code and Exchange Control and is frequently consulted for advice on empowerment-related transactions. She is ranked by Chambers for her expertise in this area.

Shadrach-Razzino is a specialist in M&A, takeovers, private equity transactions, equity capital markets, and general corporate finance. She has moved to Bakers after a decade at ENSAfrica where she was an executive.

During her tenure there she worked with clients such as RMB Ventures, Oppenheimer Partners, and Vodacom. Before her tenure at ENSAfrica, she was a director at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer.

Pillay, a director at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer since 2007, brings experience in black economic empowerment and general corporate and commercial matters alongside M&A.

"Joining Baker McKenzie with Angela and Verushca presents an exciting opportunity to grow Baker McKenzie's African M&A and private equity practice and to showcase the firm's solid African capabilities," Shadrach-Razzino said.

The trio's arrival in Johannesburg is expected to further strengthen the firm's local corporate/M&A team, which currently houses five lawyers.

The firm had in the recent past experienced major turmoil in its Johannesburg office, which led to the departure of its previous managing partner and corporate/M&A team lead, Morné van der Merwe. He quit the firm at the end of 2021 to start his own boutique firm, along with veteran banking and finance partner Wildu du Plessis and director of Africa operations, Bruce Shubach.