awards

2008 Who’s Who Legal South African Law Firm of the Year Award

In judging these awards Who’s Who Legal have studied the nominations made by clients and fellow professionals. All lawyers on this website are leaders in their fields but the exceptional performances of some deserve recognition. They also give Who's Who Legal awards to the outstanding firms in 50 countries and five US states. For more information please visit the Who's Who Legal website.

Winner: Best Law Firm of the year: Africa 2008 at the PLC Which Lawyer Law Firm Awards

Jon Schlosberg with the 2008 award

For more information please visit the PLC Which Lawyer for 2008 awards website.

2007 African Law Firm of the Year - Chambers & Partners

Chambers Global Awards 2007

Bowman Gilfillan won the 2007 African Law Firm of the Year award, and was also the winner of the 2003/4 – and runner up of the 2005/6 – African Corporate Law Firm of the Year Award by legal publisher Chambers and Partners.

Top Company of the Year

The Top Companies of the Year represent the country’s best performers in 13 different business sectors, which are selected by the Awards Nomination Panel according to a number of key criteria. These include annual turnover, growth, export and trade orientation, contribution to Black Economic Empowerment and transformation, contribution to job creation and the economy, and overall quality of performance.

For more information please visit the Top Company of the Year for 2005 Awards website.

Ideal Employer In Law

Human Resources Officer of Bowman Gilfillan,
Khulile Ngombane (right), receiving the firm's award

Bowman Gilfillan has been voted the Ideal Employer in the law category during a survey that was done among students of all major universities throughout the country. The survey was conducted by Swedish company, Magnet Communications, in conjunction with the SA Graduate Recruiters Association.

The main purpose of the survey was to identify companies that graduates believe to be the best employers.

International Law Office Client Choice Award

The ILO Client Choice Awards were established in 2005 to recognize those law firms around the world that stand apart for the excellent client care they provide and the quality of their service. The criteria for the awards focus on law firms' ability to add real value to their clients' business above and beyond the other players in the market.

The Client Choice Awards are unique in that they only approach in-house counsel for nominations. This year's winners were chosen from more than 1,500 individual assessments received from corporate counsel worldwide. Firms were assessed on the following criteria: Quality of legal advice; Value for money; Commercial awareness; Effective communication; Billing transparency; Tailored fee structures; Depth of team; Response time; Sharing of expertise and Use of technology.

The 2005/2006 trophy was presented to Bowman Gilfillan chairman, Jonathan Schlosberg, at a ceremony in Chicago.

The criteria for the awards focused on law firms’ ability to add real value to their clients' businesses above and beyond the other players in the market. The shortlist was generated exclusively from an ILO subscriber survey of corporate counsel.

The firms were assessed on the following criteria: Quality of legal advice, value for money, commercial awareness, effective communication, billing transparency, tailored fee structures, depth of team, response time, sharing of expertise and use of technology. The awards research team also conducted interviews and additional research to establish this year's winning firms. Winners were chosen across 34 jurisdictions worldwide.

The Client Choice Awards are issued by the International Law Office (ILO). ILO became the official online media partner of the International Bar Association in 2002, and an international online media partner of the Association of Corporate Counsel in 2005.

Launched in 1998, the International Law Office (ILO) is one of the leading online legal update services for major companies worldwide. With over 37,000 subscribers, it represents a key portal through which law firms communicate with their clients. Recognized for the pre-eminent service it provides, ILO became the Official Online Media Partner to the International Bar Association in 2002, an International Online Media Partner to the Association of Corporate Counsel in 2005 and European Online Media Partner to the European Company Lawyers Association in 2006.

For more information please visit the International Law Office Client Choice Awards website.