DLA Piper - Afrikan Heroes

South Africa’s DLA Piper Appoints Two New Directors to Johannesburg Office

September 10, 2021

DLA Piper announced the appointment of two Directors to its Johannesburg office, Tumisang Mongae, who joined the Litigation & Regulatory practice from 1 September 2021 and Sibonelo Mdluli, who joined the Corporate practice on 1 August.

Tumisang joins the firm from Bowmans where he has been a partner since 2015 and led its construction disputes team. An experienced and respected lawyer in his field, Tumisang advises clients on large scale disputes work relating to major infrastructure projects including power stations, road and rail infrastructure and sporting venues. He will play a key role in the growth and expansion of the South Africa disputes practice, adding specialist sector capability.

Sibonelo is a specialist in private and public M&A, equity capital markets, securities regulation and general commercial law. He also joins from Bowmans but has also spent time on secondment at international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell where he practised in their New York office. Sibonelo’s addition bolsters the firm’s existing corporate capability, adding further weight in particular to its capital markets offering.

According to Johannes Gouws, Managing Partner for DLA Piper in South Africa “Both appointments are a clear illustration of DLA Piper’s continued investment in and commitment to South Africa. Both Tumisang and Sibonelo bring with them great experience of their respective markets and will help add value to our clients and to our firm as we continue to build our overall presence. The appointments are in line with the growth and transformation objectives in South Africa and also demonstrate our firmwide commitment to ensuring a more diversified and inclusive workforce, especially at the more senior levels of the firm. This is not only an integral part of our culture but is also increasingly important to our clients and, as such, we are firmly committed to ensuring strong progress here.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Invest Africa and DLA Piper Partners to Support African Renewable Energy Projects

May 12, 2021

Natasha Luther-Jones, Global Co-Chair Energy and Natural Resources and International Co-Head Sustainability and ESG at DLA Piper

Renowned global law firm DLA Piper has entered into partnership with Invest Africa, the leading trade and investment platform for African markets, to support the development of ESG best practice in African renewable energy projects. Clear Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets and measurements have become an increasingly important part of fundraising as investors seek to align their portfolios with sustainable growth. For a continent boasting ample natural resources, this presents a significant opportunity for Africa’s green energy sector. However, renewables do not always equal sustainable development and developing and articulating ESG metrics can pose a significant challenge to projects as they prepare investment rounds.

The project will assemble experts from the worlds of impact investment, development finance and law. Across a series of online meetings, participants will discuss strategies to improve ESG practices in African renewable projects from both a fundraising and operational perspective.

Amongst those speaking in the inaugural session on Thursday 13th May are Cathy Oxby, Chief Commercial Officer, Africa Greenco, Dr. Valeria Biurrun-Zaumm, Senior Investment Manager, DEG, Orli Arav, Managing Director – Facility For Energy Inclusion (FEI) – Lion’s Head Global Partners, Beatrice Nyabira, Partner, DLA Piper Africa, Kenya (IKM Advocates) and Natasha Luther-Jones, Partner, Global Co-Chair of Energy and Natural Resources, International Co-Head, Sustainability and ESG, DLA Piper.

Veronica Bolton-Smith, COO of Invest Africa said, “Africa is particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change despite contributing very little to global emissions. As the price of renewables fall, they will form an ever more important part of Africa’s electrification. In this context, it is essential that projects be given the tools to apply best practice in ESG not only from an environmental perspective but also in terms of good governance, fair working conditions and contribution to social inclusion. I look forward to working closely with DLA Piper on this important topic.”

Natasha Luther-Jones, Global Co-Chair Energy and Natural Resources and International Co-Head Sustainability and ESG at DLA Piper also commented, “Climate change is one of the biggest challenges companies, and people, face today and when we look at its reduction – whether that be in how we power our devices, what we eat or how we dress, where we live or how we work – all roads come back to the need to increase the amount of accessible, and affordable, clean energy. However, renewable energy companies are not automatically sustainable as sustainability is a focus on all ESG factors, not just environmental. We know the need for renewable energy is only going to continue to rise, and therefore so will the number and size of renewable energy companies. The additional challenge is to make sure they are truly sustainable organisations and that’s what we’re excited about discussing during the webinar.”