Dewey & LeBoeuf boosts South Africa practice with hire of 12 attorneys

Dewey & LeBoeuf has announced the addition of eight partners and four associates to its Johannesburg office. The lawyers come from leading South African firm Werksmans Attorneys. With the addition of the new talent the Johannesburg office will have a partner headcount of 15, making Dewey’s one of the largest to be opened in the country by an international law firm. Those making the lateral move include Werkmans’ mining and resources head Morné van der Merwe, and former banking, finance, and capital markets head Wildu du Plessis. Van der Merwe and du Plessis are joined by members of their core deals and finance teams, including partners Chris Moraitis, Astrid Berman, Amelia Heeger, Muhammed Sader, Mike van Rensburg, Esmé Ferreira, and several associates. At Dewey, van der Merwe will serve as co-chair of the firm's global natural resources practice alongside Nabil Khodadad. Du Plessis, meanwhile, has been named co-managing partner of Dewey's Johannesburg office, joining Scott Brodsky, Dewey's resident managing partner.

Dewey & LeBoeuf boosts South Africa practice with hire of 12 attorneys amlawdaily.typepad.com Fri, Jan 6, 2012