The awards survey senior corporate counsel only and focus on the ability to add real value to clients' business above and beyond other players in the market. This year, lawyers in 50 jurisdictions were recognised in the Client Choice International segment.
Clients are asked to rate individual lawyers and law firms on the following client service criteria: quality of legal advice, value for money, commercial awareness, effective communication, billing transparency, tailored fee structures, response time, sharing of expertise and use of technology.
"Aadil, Johan and Peter are highly respected lawyers, clearly at the top of their game," says Brent Williams, CEO of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. "The client comments say it all and I congratulate them for leading from the front in terms of their legal expertise and client service. My colleagues have taken to heart our firm's business strategy to be the best business law firm in South Africa, and in key jurisdictions on the rest of the continent that are important to our clients."
Hesseling was a winner in the category General Corporate, South Africa. He has extensive experience in insolvency law, company law, corporate restructuring, transaction structuring, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, black economic empowerment, the investment industry, various types of financing and selected areas of tax law.
Latsky was a winner in the category Mergers & Acquisitions, South Africa. Johan Latsky specialises in legal projects mainly in the fields of securities and exchanges, mergers and acquisitions, and financial services regulation, including banking, taxation, structured and project finance.
Latsky has made a significant contribution to the process of transformation in South Africa, particularly in the field of land reform. After the 1994 democratic elections, the Ministries of Housing and Land Affairs commissioned him to overhaul South Africa's planning and tenure frameworks in order to expedite development and cut through the apartheid mosaic of former racial zones. This resulted in the adoption of the Development Facilitation Act (67/1996) by Parliament. He served as a commissioner on the Development and Planning Commission established by the minister of land affairs under that act.
Patel was a winner in the Employment and Labour category, South Africa. He has acted extensively for various employers in both the public and private sector and has been recognised for his in-depth expertise in employment law. His extensive track record includes having successfully advised and represented a number of state-owned enterprises as well as companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Peter Hesseling, Johan Latsky and Aadil Patel have been named as winning partners in the 2014 Client Choice International Awards which were announced in London recently. Hesseling and Latsky are directors in the Corporate and Commercial practice, while Patel is national head of the Employment practice at business law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.
