South African law firm Bowmans has expanded its business rescue, restructuring and insolvency (BR&I) capabilities in Johannesburg with the hire of a six-strong team from Big Five rival Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.  

The team includes Cliffe Dekker’s former BR&I sector head, Tobie Jordaan, alongside three more partners and two associates. Bowmans said the new arrivals brought experience that is in strong demand in the legal services market, with expertise in both litigious insolvency and non-contentious insolvency work. 

“We are very pleased to welcome this high-calibre team to Bowmans,” said firm chairman and senior partner Ezra Davids. “They regularly act for major financial institutions, liquidators, business rescue practitioners and various corporate entities, and have experience with large and complex matters. They will be an asset to our firm and our clients.” 

Jordaan brings 13 years of experience in the field and represents business rescue practitioners, creditors and investors acquiring assets from entities in business rescue, liquidators, trustees, banks, financial institutions and corporate entities. His experience covers industries including energy, mining, retail and telecoms. 

Moving over alongside him are partners Kgosi Nkaiseng, Roxanne Webster and Kylene Weyers. Nkaiseng joined Cliffe Dekker in 2016 from Hogan Lovells and specialises in corporate recoveries and general commercial litigation as well as business rescue and insolvency. He regularly acts for major financial institutions. 

Meantime Webster and Weyers each bring about eight years’ experience in BR&I. Webster joins after two stints at Cliffe Dekker, in between which she worked at Johannesburg firm Werksmans, and has advised on matters including the restructuring of now-defunct rail company Edcon. 

Weyers was at Hogan Lovells before joining Cliffe Dekker and has worked with clients including South African financial services conglomerate Absa and the business rescue practitioners of coal mining major Silver Lake Trading. 

The hires mark a significant expansion of Bowmans’ BR&I offering. The firm said the new Johannesburg team would supplement its restructuring team in Cape Town, which is led by practice co-heads Juliette de Hutton and Lyndon Norley and includes two more partners according to the firm’s website. 

The firm also secured banking and finance partner Pride Jani for its Johannesburg office from DLA Piper last December.