For 40 years, Best Lawyers has been committed to presenting the extraordinary accomplishments of those in the legal profession; we present completely unbiased legal referrals from the best attorneys in the world.
Since 2008, Best Lawyers™ has proudly honored the professional excellence of lawyers in South Africa. Now in its 13th Edition, The Best Lawyers in South Africa™ 2022 list recognizes more than 800 lawyers across 56 practice areas, including more than 40 “Lawyer of the Year” recipients. “Lawyer of the Year” honors are awarded annually to only one lawyer per practice area in each region with extremely high overall feedback from their peers, making it an exceptional distinguishment.
Lawyers who are nominated for consideration are voted on by currently recognized Best Lawyers working in the same practice area and located in the same geographic region. Our awards and recognitions are based purely on the feedback we receive from these top lawyers. Those who receive high peer reviews undergo a thorough verification process to make sure they are currently still in private practice. Only then can these top lawyers be recognized by Best Lawyers.
Publication Statistics
Here are highlights from the 2022 13th Edition of The Best Lawyers in South Africa™️:
- 814 Lawyers Recognized
- 140 Firms with Listed Lawyers
- 56 Practice Areas
- 13 "Law Firm of the Year" Awards
Top metro areas (by number of listed lawyers):
Top 10 practice areas (by number of listed lawyers):
- Corporate Law
- Litigation
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Labor and Employment Law
- Banking and Finance Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- Competition/Antitrust Law
- Real Estate Law
- Construction Law
- Tax Law
Top 10 most searched practice areas in South Africa in the past year on bestlawyers.com:
- Corporate Law
- Litigation
- Real Estate Law
- Banking and Finance Law
- Construction Law
- Mergers & Acquisitions Law
- Environmental Law
- Private Equity Law
- Labor and Employment La
- Competition/Antitrust Law
Law Firm of the Year
“Law Firm of the Year” awards recognize a single top firm for its work in a specific legal practice area nationwide. Awards are determined based on a handful of factors including lawyer feedback, the number of lawyers included in Best Lawyers for that firm and practice area, the number of office locations a firm has, historical analysis of the firm’s “Lawyer of the Year” awards, materials submitted by firms, and the firm’s overall scope and areas of expertise.
The 2022 “Law Firm of the Year” recipients are:
Allen & Overy - Banking and Finance Law
Bowmans - Competition / Antitrust Law and Labor and Employment Law
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr - Mining Law
ENSafrica - Tax Law
Glyn Marais - Real Estate Law
Herbert Smith Freehills - Project Finance and Development Practice
Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa - Insurance Law
Pinsent Masons - Construction Law
Spoor & Fisher - Intellectual Property Law
Webber Wentzel - Corporate Law and Litigation
Werksmans Attorneys - Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Interested in seeing Best Lawyers honorees in South Africa? Use our Find a Lawyer tool to search by location and specialty.
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