| Specialisations |
Neil is a dual-qualified attorney and solicitor who possesses substantial experience in general corporate and commercial law matters as well as in the alternatives sector.
He focuses on advising small, medium and large-sized South African, African and multi-national clients in a variety of sectors including the manufacturing, engineering, mining, financial, IT, telecommunications, entertainment, pharmaceutical, health care, education and veterinary sectors in relation to domestic and cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture capital, e-commerce and information technology, investment funds and alternatives and non-contentious employment law.
His specific experience includes: (a) providing advice and input on the South African law aspects of global re-organisations, restructurings, acquisitions and disposals; drafting and reviewing all agreements in relation to these transactions; undertaking the necessary due diligence investigations and preparing due diligence reports; (b) advising on and drafting shareholder agreements and providing strategic advice in relation to shareholder rights and the duties and responsibilities of directors and officers; (c) providing advice and input in relation to the purchase or sale of shares, the sale of businesses as going concerns or the purchase or sale of assets; (d) advising on and drafting supply, distribution and services agreements for clients in a number of different sectors; (e) advising clients in relation to the best legal structure to be utilised when establishing a presence in South Africa, as well as other legal, exchange control and tax consequences thereof; (f) providing strategic advice on and drafting a variety of day-to-day commercial and IT agreements; advising on the impact of inter alia the Companies Act, the Consumer Protection Act and National Credit Act; (g) advising on and preparing opinions for clients on a variety of topics; (h) providing guidance on and drafting employment contracts and dealing with other employment-related issues; (i) establishing Cayman Island, Luxembourg and Irish off-shore and US onshore hedge funds and other investment vehicles; (j) negotiating investment management agreements for segregated managed accounts; (k) overseeing the legal side of sales and distribution activities; and (l) negotiating a wide variety of trading, broker and counterparty documentation including ISDA’s, GMRA’s, MRA’s and the like. |
The firm practises directly in several Southern African countries and through long-established associates in others.
