Baker McKenzie elevates Shane Johnson to Director Designate, Khayakazi Thomas to Senior Associate

The talent, commitment, and continued growth of Shane Johnson and Khayakazi Thomas strengthens Baker McKenzie South Africa’s legal teams and the service provided to clients, said the firm yesterday as it celebrated Johnson’s appointment this month as a Director Designate in the Employment & Compensation team, and Thomas’ promotion to Senior Associate in the IPTech team in Johannesburg.

“Please join us in congratulating Shane and Khayakazi on these well-earned career milestones and wishing them continued success in their new roles,” said the firm.

A law graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand, who also earned an LLM in Labour Law in 2018, Johnson joined Baker McKenzie South Africa as an associate in late 2022, and became a Senior Associate in July 2023. He is a trusted advisor on a wide range of complex and strategic employment law matters for multinational and leading domestic clients across varied sectors including healthcare, financial services, technology, energy, manufacturing, retail, and private equity.

The firm says a significant part of Johnson’s employment law practice involves cross-border and multi-jurisdictional work. He integrates local employment law considerations into global projects, and supports international clients on employment matters across Africa and collaborates regularly with colleagues in London, Amsterdam, the United States and other Baker McKenzie offices.

Johnson began his legal career with Webber Wentzel, and has also lectured on labour law at his alma mater. Alongside his work in the Employment & Compensation team, he sits on several Baker McKenzie South Africa internal committees, contributing to initiatives on graduate recruitment and inclusion & diversity. He also, says the firm, plays a leading role in fostering connection and comradery within the Johannesburg office. His elevation to Director Designate “recognises Shane’s expertise, dedication, and valuable contribution to the team”.

Now a Senior Associate in the IPTech team in Johannesburg, Thomas joined Baker McKenzie in May 2024, after working at two of South Africa’s leading law firms and serving as a Junior Legal Counsel (Technology) for Massmart, an African retail and wholesale group represented in over 300 stores in eight sub-Saharan countries.

Responding to her promotion to Senior Associate on social media, Thomas said she was “deeply grateful” to everyone who had supported her during her legal career.

A law graduate of Nelson Mandela University, with an LLM from the University of the Witwatersrand, Thomas has advised on small, medium, and large mergers M&A transactions from an intellectual property, technology and data privacy perspective. She has also advised on technology procurement and compliance matters.

“Her promotion reflects her hard work, talent and continued professional development,” said Baker McKenzie South Africa when sharing the news.

The Johannesburg office of Baker McKenzie was launched in 2012 as a corporate, banking and project finance practice, with around 30 lawyers and support staff. It has grown to more than 120 lawyers and business services staff and has added core practice areas including dispute resolution, antitrust and competition law, employment and compensation, tax and international trade, IPTech, and investigations, compliance, and ethics. Since 2022 it has been led by Lerisha Naidu, who at the time of taking the reins as Country Manager Partner, was the youngest managing partner across Baker McKenzie's entire global network.

By combining substantial global resources and market-leading local presence in South Africa, the Johannesburg office of Baker McKenzie provides an international, on-the-ground service offering to clients operating across the African market.