Natural resources and project finance expert Hugo Meyer van den Berg bolsters growing Bowmans Namibia office

The skills and experience that leading commercial lawyer Hugo Meyer van den Berg brings as a partner in its Windhoek office will be invaluable as Bowmans deepens its capacity in several key sectors that will contribute most to future development of the continent, said the award-winning African law firm in an announcement today. 

Bowmans Namibia has shown good growth and is ready for expansion, two years after the firm established a local presence by merging with Koep & Partners, when it brought more than 40 local staff, including six partners, into the pan-African firm. 

Now it has added Meyer, who has twice served as Chair of the Law Society of Namibia, as a new partner. Along with 16 years’ experience in private practice, Meyer is also an adjunct professor of Mineral Law in Africa at the University of Cape Town (and a past lecturer for Company and Commercial Law at the University of Namibia), has been involved in some of Namibia’s largest project financing transactions, and regularly advises clients in the mineral, petroleum, and renewable energy sectors.

“It is an honour to join Bowmans as a partner and to contribute to the continued strengthening of the firm’s Namibian footprint” says Meyer, speaking with Africa Legal this afternoon. “Namibia’s evolving commercial landscape presents substantial opportunities, and I look forward to supporting our clients as we deepen the firm’s reach and impact across the continent.”

Meyer’s skills and expertise are well-matched with the growth nodes in the Namibian economy, says Bowmans, including mining, oil and gas, and energy. 

‘We are delighted to welcome Meyer to our commercial team in Namibia,” said Ezra Davids, Bowmans chairman and Senior Partner, in today’s announcement. “He joins us at a critical time in the growth trajectory of Bowmans Namibia with a skills set that will benefit our clients not only in Namibia but further afield on the continent.” 

A law graduate of Stellenbosch University, with an LLM in Mining Law and a PhD in Oil and Gas Law from the University of Cape Town, Meyer is recognised for the depth of his experience in mining, oil and gas, and energy, as well as for his expertise in M&A, competition, environmental, banking and finance, and project finance law. 

He is currently the only person with a doctorate in law in private practice in Namibia, and also serves as a registered notary public and a court-appointed mediator. 

By joining Bowmans Namibia as a partner in Windhoek, one of nine offices Bowmans has across six African nations, Meyer is also reacquainting himself with many former colleagues and clients, having risen from candidate attorney to partner at Koep & Partners between 2009 and 2020, prior to the Namibian firm joining Bowmans. 

At the IFLR Africa Legal Awards held in Cape Town last Tuesday night, Bowmans won eight awards, including African Law Firm of the Year, along with South African Law Firm of the Year, Team of the Year for M&A: Regional, four Deal of the Year trophies, and the prestigious Lawyer of the Year: South Africa for Davids. Bowmans Alliance firm Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie in Nigeria also scooped several awards.