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 270 specialised lawyers (including over 100 partners), with a total staff of over 550, the firm is widely recognised for its professionalism and superior legal services.
As one of South Africas 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 countrys 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 Gilfillans 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 and South African Law Firm of the Year 2008 by Whos Who Legal.
It was voted as the 2003/04 and 2007 African Corporate Law Firm of the Year by the UK legal publishers Chambers and Partners and was runner up in 2005/06. The firm was also voted as the Top Company of the Year in the support services category for 2005 at the South African Business Awards and as an Ideal Employer to work for in the legal category by a graduate survey in 2005.
We were ranked first in the category Legal Advisors Mergers & Acquisitions 2006 on deal values for Dealmakers M&A; Awards. First in the category Legal Advisors Mergers & Acquisitions in 2006 and second in 2007 for Ernst & Young M&A; Awards.
In addition the firm has won the International Law Office Client Choice Awards for South Africa for 2005, 2006 and 2008. This award recognises 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 award focused on the law firms ability to add real value to their clients business above and beyond other players in the market.
Bowman Gilfillan is the exclusive South African representative of Lex Mundi, a global association of 163 independent law firms in all major centres across the globe, and the South African representative of the ELA (Employment Law Alliance), the worlds largest network of labour and employment lawyers.