Please follow the Areas of Practice Sitemap for alternative navigation.
SAB Miller BEE Deal: We are acting for SABMiller ...
Bharti Airtel/MTN: Acting as the legal advisor to the largest cellular pho...
Online services for the law and legal industry including free electronic law newsletters, Intellectual Property Portfolio Management software and our Promotion of Access to Information ManualBookmark this page and add to your favouritesRSS FeedsA number of audio podcasts are available online - listen to interviews concerning the Companies Act featured on Classic FM as well as the SALT™ Competition Law Training Q&A sessionVodcastsDisplay Chinese content
SEARCH FOR IN

who are we

Bowman Gilfillan is generally regarded as one of the premier corporate law firms in South Africa with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and London. The firm has an association with Coulson Harney in Nairobi. Employing more than 300 specialised lawyers (including over 110 partners), with a total staff of over 580, the firm is widely recognised for its professionalism and superior legal services. 

As one of South Africa’s biggest and oldest commercial law firms, Bowman Gilfillan draws from a solid knowledge of the local business environment and an in-depth understanding of the country’s complex socio-political climate. Essentially, this enables us to offer technical legal services of the highest calibre in the context of sound, practical business advice.

Bowman Gilfillan’s committed and diverse team of corporate attorneys, years of experience in the industry and supreme legal expertise comprise a winning formula that has earned us a series of accolades, including Law Firm of the Year: Africa at the PLC Which lawyer? Law Firm Awards 2008.

our legal services

The firm’s dynamic combination of local expertise and international presence has attracted high-profile clients both in South Africa and around the world. Investment banks, industrial conglomerates, financial institutions, governments and state authorities are just some examples of clients who depend on Bowman Gilfillan to handle their corporate legal affairs.

Bowman Gilfillan’s extensive list of specialist legal services includes:

We also offer a formal Pro Bono Programme, which was established in June 2003. Since its inception, we have provided more than 42 250 hours of free legal services to the programme’s beneficiaries at a total value exceeding R41 million.

a global network of commercial and corporate law attorneys

Bowman Gilfillan has the unique advantage of operating as part of a global network of commercial and corporate law attorneys. Our London office, which was established 10 years ago, serves the legal requirements of both South African and international corporations with regard to cross-border transactions.

Many of our partners belong to the International Bar Association, and we are members of influential international intellectual property law organisations such as AIPPI (International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property), the Licensing Executives Society, and FICPI (International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys). The firm’s directors also attend International Trade Mark Association, Marqes, Chartered Institute of Patent Agents and the Asian Patent Attorneys Association meetings on a regular basis.

As a member of Lex Mundi, the leading association of independent law firms in the world, Bowman Gilfillan works in close association with more than 160 international member firms and 12 500 lawyers all over the world.

Bowman Gilfillan is the exclusive South African representative of the Employment Law Alliance, the world’s largest and most important network of labour and employment lawyers.

the africa group

Bowman Gilfillan established the Africa Group to unite lawyers across the firm in providing integrated legal services to our clients throughout Africa. Focusing primarily on corporate law, commercial law and financial law, the Africa Group facilitates cross-border legal services of the highest global standards in Africa.

The Group serves corporations, financial institutions, parastatals and governments by offering the expert and timely legal advice they need in order to achieve their commercial objectives on the continent. The Africa Group’s dynamic relationships with prestigious commercial law firms across the continent, afford our clients excellent and dependable legal advice, irrespective of where they are based in Africa.

contact us for your legal requirements

Whether you need a corporate law attorney, dispute resolution lawyer, employment law attorney, or almost any other specialist business lawyer, Bowman Gilfillan is guaranteed to exceed your legal expectations.

Contact us today for more information about the legal services you require and to find out how we can be of service.

Recent Deals and Matters that Bowman Gilfillan has assisted companies in
Anglo Platinum

Anglo Platinum regarding the restructure of their offshore subsidiaries/holding structure

view all deals & matters
view all news & current matters
Attend one of Bowman Gilfillan's Seminars or Events
Protection of Personal Information Act - POPIA

presented by Talita Laubscher & Warren Weertman
on Friday, February 19, 2010

Companies Act Seminar Series

from 16 September 2009 to 2 June 2010

view all seminars & events
Thanks to the efforts of our expert commercial attorneys, Bowman Gilfillan has received a range of prestigious awards
Chambers and Partners 2009 ranked us first band in the following:

Competition/Antitrust - This first-rate outfit has responded well to the increase in cartel investigations by the Competition Commission, significantly growing its department so that it now includes seven partners.

Corporate/M&A - M&A work is the bread and butter of this “highly proactive and hands-on” team, which “provides serious legal muscle” on some of the country’s largest M&A transactions. The team has become a market favourite by “covering all the issues and doing everything possible to satisfy the client”.

IT & Telecommunications - Clients praise the lawyers for “keeping us well informed and never missing deadlines. They provide extremely good-value advice."

Projects: Project Finance/PPP - Clients appreciate that the group has the ability “to throw resources at a project,” while still “maintaining a personal client-lawyer relationship.”

view all awards and rankings
Law articles and legal publications for legal advice
Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research, Act 51 of 2008

Please find attached Act No. 51 of 2008 - Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research

view all articles
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Transformation policy of Bowman Gilfillan
Bowman Gilfillan is involved in a continuous transformation process and in 2004 adapted a Transformation Charter.  The Transformation Charter was revised in 2008 with recommendations for the next 3 years.

read more
Pro Bono work by lawyers | attorneys in South Africa
Bowman Gilfillan is proud to be one of the first large commercial firms to develop and implement a comprehensive pro bono policy.  In accordance with this policy we pursue meritorious public-law cases and act for indigent clients in a number of ongoing matters.  As a responsible corporate citizen, Bowman Gilfillan encourages its practitioners to seek to provide legal services to deserving organisations and individuals on a pro bono (free) basis.  A number of pro bono matters have been taken on in a wide variety of fields, from education to healthcare and other social services and partnerships have been established with recognised public interest legal services providers such as the Legal Resources Centre and the Aids Law Project.

Bowman Gilfillan has also entered into an arrangement with CIDA City Campus, particularly in business subjects, in terms of which we prepare the lecture materials for, and present lectures to, their second year students.  We also provide CIDA with legal advice. All of this is done free of any charge, as part of our social responsibility programme.

read more
International links with Bowman Gilfillan
We are an independent corporate law firm with well established relationships with some of the leading law firms in the major financial centres of the world.
Bowman Gilfillan has formed an association with Coulson Harney Advocates, a corporate and commercial law firm in Kenya. The association provides Coulson Harney with a springboard for its involvement in legal advisory work around Africa.



 
In Association with Coulson Harney Advocates       Member of Lex Mundi - The World's Leading Association of Independent Law Firms       Member of Employment Law Alliance - Helping Employers Worldwide       We support The Global Compact
Copyright 2007 - All rights are reserved     Terms and Conditions
Bookmark to: Linkarena Bookmark to: Bookmarks.at Bookmark to: Seoigg Bookmark to: Folkd Bookmark to: Del.icio.us Bookmark to: Facebook Bookmark to: Reddit Bookmark to: Jumptags Bookmark to: Simpy Bookmark to: StumbleUpon Bookmark to: Slashdot Bookmark to: Propeller Bookmark to: Furl Bookmark to: Yahoo Bookmark to: Google Bookmark to: Blinkbits